Sling TV, Dish Network’s OTT TV service, will soon broaden its bundle with the launch of NBC Regional Sports Networks in select markets later this month.
In time for MLB’s opening day on April 2, eligible Sling Blue customers will get access to CSN California, CSN Bay Area, CSN Chicago and CSN Mid-Atlantic at no additional cost. The regional nets will also give those subs access to certain, additional NBA and NHL games.
That complements MLB games Sling TV gets on national feeds from TBS, ESPN, Fox and FS1, and select access to regional sports nets from Fox and via Yes Network.
YouTube TV, the OTT TV service that will launch later this year, will also have access to certain regional sports nets from its initial slate of programming partners.
Sling TV, meanwhile, continues to broaden the appeal, lineup and bundling options for what started as a skinny bundle service when it debuted in February 2015.
Of recent note, Sling TV introduced discounted access to four of its “Extra” programing packages -- Kids Extra, Lifestyle Plus Extra, Comedy Plus Extra and News Extra.
Offering access to larger, more diverse OTT TV programming options is allowing Sling TV “to attract a much broader audience than we were able to in the beginning,” Roger Lynch, Sling TV’s CEO said on Dish’s recent earnings call. “Plus, we're starting to get past at least the early phase of early adopters and able to attract people who are more comfortable switching to something like this now…We're seeing a broadening in our demographic.”
Dish no longer breaks out Sling TV subscribers, but MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett estimates that the OTT service has about 1.18 million subs.
