DISH Network’s latest baby is getting to be a more attractive call for the SEC fan with this news:
Core package ($20/mo):
ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, TNT, TBS, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, ABC Family, Disney Channel, CNN, El Rey, Galavision, Maker NetworkNews and Information Extra ($5/mo):
Bloomberg, HLNKids Extra ($5/mo):
Disney Junior, Disney XDSports Extra ($5/mo):
ESPN News, ESPN U, SEC ESPN Network, ESPN Buzzer Beater, Universal Sports, Bein Sports
So 25 bucks a month gets you most of the ESPN package, along with the SEC Network. Hmmm…
(h/t TSK)
Get The Picture 
I compete against Dish and have to say that is going to be a huge hit for them.
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That is HUGE. I’m considering dropping my provider.
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As mentioned below, find out what you’ll have to pay for stand alone internet service first. You might be surprised to find out how much that is, and how little savings you’ll come away with in the end.
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I cut the cord a few months ago and the hardest thing to give up was college football. Now that I can get my CF fix in the fall, off contract, for $25 / month I don’t think I’ll ever subscribe to traditional cable or satellite again.
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Is this for real? Like legitimately no catch, no contract with hefty cancellation fees and all that stuff? If so, that’s unbelievable. I too cut the cable cord and the hardest part to give up was college football.
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This sounds crazy; I’m excited to see how it works out before committing to it, though. This might be a good opportunity for me to convince my wife that getting an Xbox one is a good idea…
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I’m listening
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As someone who rarely watches TV, other than sports and a select few series via Roku, I’m the prefect candidate for this offering. However, the problem for me in terms of ‘cutting the cord’ and relying only on an internet plan for streaming is that the overall cost won’t decrease all that much.
I currently have a Comcast bundle, which includes a mid tier tv plan/lineup and 15 mpbs cable internet for $110 a month total (including junk fees). However, if I wanted to drop TV and only keep internet, my current 15 mbps plan will cost me around $65 monthly. Add $25 for the new Dish sling service and taxes/junk fees, and we’re talking a savings of only $15 a month or so.
Given this new competition, I strongly suspect that cable tv/internet providers will bump their stand alone internet plans up even more to almost the same price as having a combo (cable/internet) plan would cost. In the area where we have a second home, our modest at best internet plan (5 mbps) runs us $40 a month, yet we could add a basic cable lineup plan if we desired for only $10 more a month. Such trends will continue as more and more move away from typical cable tv and more towards streaming.
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But what happens when Google Fiber or another company starts offering service in your town? The price of internet will drop and the cable company will have to adjust. (check out Chattanooga’s internet)
The cable companies are struggling to keep their monopoly, and this is one more way for people to go around them.
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The problem with that is…when exactly will it happen? If you live in smaller cities, the ‘burbs, or in smaller/rural locales, you won’t see such offerings for many years to come.
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I have TWC’s internet only package at $50/mo. Their cheapest bundle in my area is $80/mo but it doesn’t include SEC Network. I’d have to get a $120/mo package for that. Sling looks very attractive to me, especially since I’d only use it during college football season. I do wonder how well it’s going to handle the load during big games though.
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Since the title “Sling It” pulled me in this direction, it’s not too far off topic to note the last QBR ratings of the year at ESPN. Guess who comes in as 6th nationally?
Where is you, Scorpio? You gonna love this.
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Maybe that bottle of scotch just got closer.
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This is going to get interesting, competitors will have to respond with competing packages. I only pay the $175 a month for live sports and news. record all other programming for the next day/week, so I can get by with a Hula type option for under $10-15 a month for that. I feel Dish/Direct will need to add options for other networks to complete the CFB needs, and a better news option. I am certain this will can happen before next fall just need to let the chips start falling, certainly a significant shot has been fired.
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Trees, rain and sucky internet…what a great combo. 🙂
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I don’t use the satellite internet, although I hear it is getting better, but the trees/rain, etc., problems you hear about with satellite TV isn’t an issue for even one hour a year for me. I have had Direct TV for almost three years now and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it. My internet is part of a phone package so it is DSL, not as quick as the fiber optics I had before but honestly, the routers today cannot take advantage of the speed offered by the new fiber optics I had available. Since I don’t stream much over the net, the speed loss isn’t that much of an issue to me.
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Agree on the weather issues with satellite. I’ve had DirecTV for 8 months now, and I’ve probably had a total of 15-20 minutes downtime due to weather. Great service at MUCH lower prices (and trust me, I’m no DirecTV shill…I had a HUGE issue with them when I was signing up because every person I talked to at their company gave me a different price that I would be paying. Make sure you know EXACTLY how much you are signing up for…get them to give it to you by month for the length of the contract).
Anyway…I’m overweight, balding Scott….and I have DirecTV.
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I have been pleased with the service, and especially the Customer Service when I have needed something. DISH is going to make them counter though and I anxiously wait to see more/better package options. I need about 3-40 channels to make me happy but I will need some regional sports channels thrown in for some CFB games, ESPN doesn’t carry them all.
They have 7+ months to work on this, something good will get worked out by then. I figure they will panic once the initial rush to DISH results in dropped service subscribers. I will monitor and wait for a few months, I would prefer to stay with Direct TV and not change anything equipment wise. My system is too complex for me so I have to bring 2-3 techies in from Atlanta anytime I change something. But I will begin calling when I get back home next month to see if they are getting any heat.
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I had DirecTV for 20 years and never really had any reception issues. The occasional turd floater might have given me a weird artifact, but I get that on anything. And the picture was significantly better than cable. Not to mention the service.
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For those wondering, yes, this is legitimate. They announced this at the begining of the year. There are two catches: The pricing is per stream. If you want to stream to two devices at the same time, that requires two accounts. Also, there is no DVR functionality.
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Those are two pretty big “catches”. Still, the first shot has been fired. Won’t be long before we’ll get some really good deals.
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3rdandgrantham is right, but it goes even further than that. Comcast won’t even unbundle internet service anymore, they told me you have to have tv to have internet. And the companies that do offer it (ATT) separately have limits on bandwith, which if you were streaming ALL of your tv (not just Netflix), you’d blow through in a week or 2. Google Fiber isn’t a viable option for 99% of the country yet.
All of this is heading in the right direction, but we’re still not close yet.
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Not sure if it varies by location, but I can tell you that I have Comcast internet and Directv for my satellite provider. AT&T internet is atrocious, unless you have u-verse, which wasn’t an option in my neighborhood (and I don’t think I’m exactly “rural”).
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I have Comcast and internet only. Haven’t had cable in about 4 years.
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