How To Create A Sling Tv Account

Sling TV - subscriptions, how to sign up, live TV streaming and more explained

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Since its launch in 2015, Sling TV has become one of the most popular cord cutting alternatives in the US. The OTT streaming service lets you watch live TV on numerous channels, TV shows and movies for a cheaper price than a cable package.

Saving you money on cable, Sling TV provides you with over 80,000+ TV shows and movies available to watch on demand. You'll also have access to over 50+ TV channels that you can watch live.

While Sling TV is not the only OTT service around, you'll find Hulu charges a premium rate for its live TV package and other streaming services are the on-demand alternatives offered by broadcasters, such as Peacock TV with NBC and Paramount Plus for CBS content.

Sling TV - today's best deal

Available in the US and Puerto Rico, Sling TV includes channels like CNN, BBC America, Comedy Central, NBC, E!, as well as ESPN, all in one place. What's more, it offers the ability to record live TV, too, and watch back later.

Proving popular, Sling TV has amassed more than 2.59 million subscribers since its launch just over six years ago. With a multitude of news, entertainment, and sports channels available to stream, there's plenty of entertainment for everyone.

Claiming to save you over $954 dollars a year versus the average cable provider, you can choose between its Sling TV Blue or Sling TV Orange plan, and watch award winning movies like The Revenant and Selma, or TV series like American Horror Story.

Read more: our guide to the best TV streaming services

Sling TV explained - what is Sling TV and what packages can you get?

While streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are fantastic, there's an element missing in streaming services that is different to your more traditional cable package. With a Sling TV subscription, you get the best of both, all in an affordable monthly package. With over 50+ channels in its holster, you can watch both on-demand TV shows and movies, with either or both of Sling TV packages offering live broadcasting from a number of TV channels.

The Sling TV channels you can get are split into two packages: Sling TV Blue or Sling TV Orange.

While Sling TV Blue predominantly offers news and entertainment content, with a Sling Orange subscription you'll benefit from more sports and family orientated content.

No matter which plan you opt for, you'll get 50 hours free of DVR storage, allowing you to record live TV that you may have otherwise had to miss when it's on. Better still, you can pay from $5 a month in addition for up to 200 hours worth of storage.

All the flexibility of any other streaming service, Sling TV allows you to cancel anytime, with the ability to set it up on just about any device through its app - no equipment needed.

Sling TV shows and movies: what can you watch

It all comes down to which of Sling TV's plans you choose, with Sling TV Orange offering sporting content and channels for the kids with ESPN, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, and Nick Jnr. This includes NFL coverage, NBA games, as well as College Basketball and College Football.

Alternatively, Sling TV Blue bags you plenty of drama and documentaries with the likes of BBC America when you can watch plenty of David Attenborough documentaries, as well as Doctor Who, Orphan Black, and Killing Eve.

With FX, you can catch American Horror Story, as well as Sons of Anarchy. Love a Rom-Com? The Hallmark Channel has you covered with all the romantic cheese you could wish for.

VH1 will bring you all the joys of RuPaul's Drag Race, while the Paramount Network gets you great TV and movies, like The Hunger Games and The Office.

And with multiple add-ons and extras, you can shape your Sling TV subscription to fit your own personal binge-watching preferences.

How much does Sling TV cost?

In comparison to US cable providers, Sling TV is uber cheap. Whether you opt for the Blue or Orange plan, the Sling TV price remains the same, though of course what you get from each will be different.

With Sling TV Blue you can have up to three simultaneous streams, with a bunch of news and entertainment channels, all for $35 a month. These channels include CNN, Fox News, FX, NBC, TLC, NFL Network and more.

Sling TV Orange also costs $35 a month, while only allowing you to stream on one device at a time, with predominantly sports and family channels, including ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPN 3, and the Disney Channel.

If you want Sling TV Blue and Orange, you can save 25% when signing up to both, with plenty of other Sling TV deals available, too.

Sling TV - American Horror Story — (Image credit: FX)

Sling TV: is there a free trial?

Much like other streaming services, at one time or another Sling TV has and does offer a free trial. The Sling TV free trial, in the past, gave you 7 days to enjoy either of its plans before handing over your cash, allowing you to see if the service and its library of content was for you. Currently, however, the free trial is nowhere to be seen, though we expect it to crop up again in the future.

All is not lost, though. Sling TV offers its Sling Free service, which gives you access to a selection of both free on-demand and live TV to watch through your device.

What's more, while there isn't currently a free trial available, Sling TV is giving new customers a discounted rate for their first month right now. Pay just $10 for your first month, saving a grand total of $25.

Follow our step-by-step guide to sign up for Sling TV.

Visit the Sling TV website
Click on the orange 'Watch Now' button to be taken to the sign up page
Enter your email address and a secure password
You will then choose between 30+, 40+ or 50+ channels i.e Sling Orange, Sling Blue, or both
Scroll down and you can select any add-ons called 'Extras', including the full works with Total TV Deal
You may also add 'Premiums', including Starz, Acorn, etc. as well as any NBA passes you might want
The final step is to enter your payment details - you can sign up with a credit card or PayPal
Click 'Finish & Submit' and you're ready to start watching Sling TV

Head to Sling TV's website to sign up now!

Sling TV app: what devices can you watch on?

As well as watching Sling TV on your Windows and Mac desktop, and on the Chrome browser, you can also get the Sling TV app on iOS and Android. Sling TV is also available on Apple TV and Chromecast, as well as Sling TV on Roku and Sling TV on Fire Stick media streaming devices. Want to watch on your gaming console? You can access your Sling TV account on Xbox Series X and S.

How to watch Sling TV from outside the US

As Sling TV is only available for those in the US and Puerto Rico, this means all of its content is geo-locked and you'll be unable to load the website or the app when outside of the country.

If you happen to be abroad and want to watch something on Sling TV, though, all is not lost. With a VPN, you can bypass geo-restrictions. Simply hop onto a server within the US, which will then change your device's IP address and unblock Sling TV and other streaming service platforms to use as if you were right at home.

Our top recommended provider is ExpressVPN. It's fast, secure and ridiculously easy to install and use. Plus, you can use it for 30 days risk-free to give it a try, and get your money back in full if you decide you no longer want it.

Sling TV vs Hulu vs Netflix vs Amazon Prime Video vs HBO Max

With over 50 channels - not including the variety of add-ons - Sling TV offers live coverage across each of these, as well as thousands of TV shows and movies on demand. In terms of its offering, it is perhaps fair to compare it to Hulu, which offers live broadcasting, too. For $35 a month, Sling TV's baseline Blue and Orange packages are far more affordable than the Hulu + Live TV core package, which will set you back $64.99. While Sling TV is more affordable with a potential choice of 200+ channels, Hulu certainly wins out in quality and its number of networks, offering quality TV and movies, as well as its very own Hulu Originals.

YouTube TV bags you 90 channels and a ton of coverage for sporting events, with unlimited DVR storage, allowing you to record live programming to watch back later, whereas for Sling TV you'll have to pay $5 extra a month for the privilege of 200 more hours of storage.

FuboTV starts from double the cost with its entry-level package, though it does triple the channel line-up available, also exceeding the likes of Hulu and YouTube TV, as well as Sling TV. While Sling TV Blue and Orange separate interests between news and entertainment, and sports and family content, FuboTV's Starter plan engulfs a little bit of everything, including Logo, MTV, Fox, BBC World News, as a part of its 110 channel package. Pay $79.99 a month for Elite and you'll get 170 channels. Still, depending on what you want, there's far more tailoring to be had with a Sling TV package, allowing you to have both plans, as well as its Total TV deal for an additional $21 a month, coming to $56 in total for 114 channels.

In terms of live TV, the comparisons stop there. Still, when we look at top dogs in the streaming wars like Netflix, it is thought by Sling TV that these can work in tandem. Sling TV gives you that live broadcast fix without the hefty cable package price, with additional on-demand content, throwing in your favorite streaming service to a monthly outgoing that still falls way below the average cable cost.

More on this:

You can find more information about how to sign up to Sling here. If you're still unsure whether it's the ideal choice for you, we've also compared the best TV streaming services currently available in more detail.

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Alice is the resident eCommerce Staff Writer at Future with a focus on VPN and streaming services. She predominantly writes buying and streaming service guides, how to watch articles, with the odd phone deal thrown in there for good measure. Previously a Commercial Content Writer at Trusted Reviews.