Sling TV, Dish Network’s Internet TV service designed for cord cutters, is now available on the Android TV platform, the company is announcing this morning, including Google’s Nexus Player. This addition expands the service’s already fairly extensive lineup of devices it supports, which today includes Roku and Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Xbox One, as well as iOS and Android phones and tablets, and Mac and PC desktops.
Sling TV and Google are also teaming up to kick off the new integration with a deal that will offer new customers a deeply discounted (50 percent off) Nexus Player device when they pre-pay for three months of Sling’s service. For those who already own a Nexus Player, they can now try Sling for seven days for free.
Though owned by a traditional pay TV operator, Sling TV offers an alternative to the larger cable TV bundles on the market with a basic package that starts at $20 per month for a range of cable channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, AMC, A&E, TNT, HISTORY, H2, TBS, Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, IFC, El Rey, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, ABC Family, Disney Channel, CNN, Bloomberg TV, Lifetime and Galavisión.
Of course, its crowning jewel is that it provides access to ESPN’s SportsCenter without the need for a pay TV subscription – arguably one of the reasons people hold onto their cable TV subscriptions in the first place. Sling is also one of the few over-the-top services to offer HBO, through an add-on package that’s an additional $15 per month.
The company has continued to expand its channel offerings since its debut, having brought on a number of new networks beyond HBO in recent months, including A&E Networks, AMC, EPIX, Spanish-language channels, and more.
Today the company is also announcing that ESPN Deportes will join Sling TV’s “Deportes Extra” add-on pack, which is available for an extra $5 per month to subscribers who already pay for the core package. This addition will bring content for soccer fans in particular, and includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Europa League, La Liga’s Copa del Rey Final and Supercopa, select European FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, and the 2016 UEFA European Championship.