How to Use Sling TV: America's Most Affordable Live TV Streaming

Sling TV is a live TV streaming service built for people who want cable channels without a cable bill. It is one of the most affordable options on the market, starting at $40 per month with no contracts and no equipment to return.

Sling offers two base packages, and understanding the difference between them is the most important step.

Sling Orange costs $40 per month and focuses on sports and family entertainment. It includes ESPN, ESPN2, Disney Channel, and Freeform, plus news and lifestyle channels like CNN, HGTV, and Food Network. It allows one stream at a time, which means only one person in your household can watch at once.

Sling Blue costs $45 per month and leans toward news and entertainment. It includes Fox News, MSNBC, NBC Sports, Comedy Central, and more. It allows three simultaneous streams, making it better for households where different people want to watch different things. If you want both packages, Sling offers them together for $60 per month.

You can add channel extras to either package for around $6–11 per month each. Sports Extra adds NFL Network and more ESPN channels. Comedy Extra adds more comedy channels. News Extra adds more news networks. HBO, Showtime, and Starz are also available as add-ons.

One important limitation to know before signing up: Sling TV does not include local ABC, CBS, NBC, or Fox affiliates in most markets. If you want to watch local news or network primetime shows, you will need a separate over-the-air antenna (available for $20–40 at most electronics stores) to pick up those channels for free.

Sling includes 50 hours of free cloud DVR storage with all plans. Recordings are available for 30 days.

To get started, go to sling.com and sign up. A free trial is sometimes available. Download the Sling app on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, iPhone, Android, smart TVs, or watch in a browser. The interface shows a live guide, your recorded content, and on-demand shows available in each channel.

For sports fans on a budget who do not need local channels, Sling Orange + Sports Extra at around $51 per month delivers strong sports coverage at a low price compared to other live TV services.