Sling TV, the OTT service owned by Dish Network is making waves.  But is its service really worth the price?

Let me start by saying that I like the idea of Sling.  I honestly do.  Give me a base package and let me configure the channels the way I want.  There is something exciting about the idea of being in control of my domain, ahem, my TV package.  Unfortunately that control comes at a great cost and I don’t necessarily mean money.

Sling TV isn’t expensive.  Their packages start at $20 a month and give you the usual cable channel fare (30+ channels to be exact).  Need a bit more, add $5 and go to 45+ channels.  And for an additional $15, you get even more channels.  This sounds appealing, and frankly it can be.  But then you need to add sub packages that start at around $5 a month.  These channel packages are called “Extras.”  Add $5 a month for DVR, $5 a month for broadcast channels, and $5 for everything else, and your bill could continue to creep up.

Is Sling that customizable?

The point of all this is simple, customize your TV lineup the way you want it.  But what drives me crazy about Sling is how confusing they make this whole process.  First you have your “Sling Blue” channels.  These are channels you can stream to multiple devices at the same time.  Second, you have your “Sling Orange.”  These are channels that can only stream on one device.  While most channels are available in both packages, not all are available.  For that, you need to combine both packages and pay $45.  Unfortunately, this brings up complaint number one and that is you’re paying for the same channels twice.  Price wise, this isn’t breaking the bank.  Unfortunately, it’s not cheap either.  You are literally paying for both a Blue version of a channel and an Orange version.  Why?

What exactly is Ala Carte?

But where the confusion kicks in even further is when you somehow have to manage these packages with the “Extras.”  Need more kids shows? You’re going to pay for it.  How about comedy shows?  Same deal.  To put this in perspective, the configured package I needed was around $60 to get all the same channels I wanted, which DirecTV Now has in their basic package for $35.  This is quite a difference in price.  Now to be fair, channel lineups are subjective as everyone has different needs.  I certainly won’t dock Sling for not having what I wanted in every tier.  But I will say that the idea of ala carte isn’t truly ala carte.  You do have options, but nothing that is completely configurable.  Now to be fair, Sling does give you a wide variety of channels and has a few channels that even DirecTV Now doesn’t have.  But this is something you’ll have to decide on your own based on your needs

As for interface, however, this is where Sling drives me nuts.  Let me start with the program guide.  Sling does give you one but the channels are sorted by this Orange versus Blue mechanic.  You can turn this off but it’s on by default.  While I appreciate the company trying to make my life easier, I just want everything integrated.  Show me exactly what I’m getting; that’s all.  What the company does well, however, is the “My TV” and “On Now” sections.  I like the idea of the “Netflix” style system where you thumb through different thumbnails.  You can even arrange your own favorite stations so you can see what you like on launching the app.  I love this idea.  But the company has also found a way to make it redundant, like making sports its own tab while also showing it under “My TV.”  A small quibble but still unnecessary.

However, will all these small complaints, there are still many things that Sling gets right.  It does offer a DVR that gives you 50 hours of storage.  Yes, you have to pay extra for it, but it’s not bad at $5 a month.  I was a little disappointed in the ease of use of fast forwarding but I did like it a heck of a lot better than Playstation’s Vue DVR.  I also like Sling’s little trick with AirTV.  For those not familiar, AirTV is an over-the-air (OTA) tuner that connects through the web.  In a genius move, it integrates fully with Sling TV, putting your local channels on the same screen as the cable channels. I  wasn’t able to fully test the service before this writing so I can’t say if the service works with DVR, but it’s a great idea. Sling is really coming up with great ideas.

Unfortunately, a lot of this is poorly executed.

But these great ideas don’t lend themselves well to poor execution and that’s ultimately what I don’t like about Sling.  The company has a great idea but it’s poorly executed in many ways.  The division of Orange and Blue comes to mind.  The interface was often sluggish for me.  I used the service on an Apple TV 4K and Roku box as well as my MacBook Pro and it was a chore.  On my notebook, for example, I was often denied entrance using Safari.  I was able to log in using Chrome but then I would get errors like the one pictured here.  On the Apple TV, channels often wouldn’t load at all.  Roku was the only device that was tolerable to use the service.  It shouldn’t be this complicated.  Picture quality was good but was often subject to artifacting, something that doesn’t happen on Vue or DirecTV Now.  I wouldn’t say the performance was bad, but it wasn’t great.

So what’s the final verdict?  I really wanted to like Sling.  Honestly I did.  I don’t hate the service but I would prefer a more user friendly interface.  The service does deliver a ton of channels and some solid options for those who don’t want everything but you should check to make sure the service fits your needs before you sign up.  One advantage this service has over Vue is the inclusion of Viacom channels; something Vue didn’t have.  But with all that said, fixing the interface and making the service just work is what I would need to commit to the product.  The ability to integrate AirTV is definitely a win.  So I wouldn’t say that Sling TV is bad.  But you might want to do some math and decide if it’s worth it.  And if you’re willing to put up with a clunky interface, you might actually like what you get.  Feel free to try the service out, you do get a 7 day free trial.  But also make sure you compare it with others before you decide to spend the money.