Sling TV Increases Price For New Customers, Adds Extra DVR Storage

Streaming live television service Sling TV is increasing its cost for new subscribers, though it is easing the burden a bit by also offering additional free DVR storage. The announcement comes alongside a new promotion that offers new customers a free preview of its '4 Extras Deal' until the middle of February.

All Sling subscribers, including ones who have already signed up for the service, will benefit from the newly announced DVR expansion. With this, the company is offering 50 hours of free DVR storage, which is a 40-hour increase over the previous free offering. As well, the DVR Plus option has been bumped to 200 hours from 50 hours for the same $5/month rate.

Now, the bad news: new customers will pay a bit extra for the base Sling services and its Extras add-ons. Both the Sling Blue and Sling Orange services cost $35/month with this change, a five-dollar increase over the previous rate. Subscribing to both base services will cost $50/month, which is likewise a five-dollar increase.

New customers will also pay more for some extras; the Sports Extra, for example, is increasing by one dollar to $11/month if you have only the Blue or Orange base service. All of the other extras are also increasing by one dollar to $6/month each for new customers.

These new subscribers have the option of signing up for the Total TV Deal at $21/month if they have either base package (yes, that's a one-dollar increase), or for $27/month if you have the two base services (that's a two-dollar increase).

Why the price increase? Sling TV group president Michael Schwimmer said:

Unfortunately, we are forced to raise prices because the television networks keep charging us more, but we fight hard to get the best deal for our customers. The proof of our commitment is apparent, as SLING TV is still the best deal in the market, keeping our prices much lower than cable and other live streaming services. SLING TV customers can rest assured that we'll continue to offer the best combination of live news, sports and entertainment cable channels at the best value.

Existing customers will continue to pay the lower rate until at least July 2021.