Google Fiber adds Sling TV as its latest streaming OTT partner

You may have missed the news back in February that Google Fiber dropped its conventional cable offering, choosing instead to partner with some OTT services for customers interested in live TV offerings. The company only had two streaming partners at the time — fuboTV and YouTube TV — but it finally expanded that back in August with the addition of Philo. Now it is back with yet another partner.

It's no secret that traditional cable is on its way out. Consumers have been slowing transitioning to a streaming-only entertainment portfolio for years, and the arrival of several over-the-top streaming services offering live television — including sports games — was the catalyst for the mass exodus we've seen over the past few years.

There are multiple benefits to going with a streaming television plan rather than a traditional one — you don't have to agree to contracts, the pricing is often better, the channel lineup usually focuses on the networks that are most popular, and consumers can easily add on channel packages narrowly focused on specific genres.

It really wasn't a surprise back in February when Google announced that it would stop offering its Fiber customers the option to sign up for traditional cable television service, instead encouraging them to sign up for a streaming alternative — of which it has its own service to boost, YouTube TV.

In an update late last week, Google said that it has added Sling TV as its latest live television streaming partner. Sling TV starts at $30/month and offers two different core channel packages with different offerings; customers who want other channels can add on packages for things like certain types of sports, Spanish language shows, and more.