Dish Network Corp. unveiled a new version of its Sling TV online service that includes 21st Century Fox channels — including regional sports networks — but omits networks like ESPN and ABC.
The offer marks the latest move in the pay-TV industry's game of musical chairs, as developers seek a place in leaner packages that don't include everyone.
New Sling TV it costs $20 a month and features the FX cable channel, Fox's broadcast stations in 17 markets and Fox's regional sports networks, including Fox Sports Midwest. The St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues broadcast on Fox Sports Midwest.
Sling's website says that regional sports networks “may occasionally blackout certain games. Blackout rules are controlled by the leagues, sports associations and the networks that buy the broadcast rights.”
The package will also include the YES Network, which is currently unavailable to New York Yankees fans in Comcast markets due to a distribution battle.
The version also allows subscribers to watch the entire library of Simpsons episodes and popular shows like Fox's “Empire” on demand. It does not include Fox News, which negotiates its distribution separately.
And unlike the first version of Sling TV, the new one lets multiple people stream the service at the same time.
“We have to cut channels; it's the hardest part of our negotiations,” Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch said in an interview. “All programmers want all their networks in the basic package. But that's not what we're aiming for. We don't want to replicate the big pay-TV package. We want to do something more a la carte.”
Dish's “skinny bundle” is one of many Internet TV deals on the market. Media executives say Amazon.com is exploring selling smaller packages of TV networks over the Internet. Verizon Communications is selling discounted bundles, discounted bundles, and AT&T plans to introduce three Web-based TV bundles by the end of the year.
“As media consumption patterns continue to evolve in today's multi-channel, multi-platform universe, we believe our core brands are more relevant than ever and we welcome the introduction of a new TV service that reflects this vision,” said Peter Rice, CEO Fox Networks Group consultant, wrote Wednesday in an email to staff.
Consumers can still subscribe to the previous version of Sling TV, which costs the same and includes many of the same channels, including AMC Networks and Time Warner's CNN, TNT and TBS.
The new Sling TV, however, does not include Disney channels such as ESPN, which are still present in the previous version. Neither version carries networks owned by CBS Corp. and on Comcast's NBCUniversal.
Lynch, in the statement, said Sling subscribers have been asking for more channels and the ability to watch on multiple devices at once.
Englewood, Colorado-based Dish introduced Sling TV in early 2015, touting it as a more affordable option for millennials who might not subscribe to cable or satellite service. The service now has more than 600,000 subscribers, according to analysts, although Lynch declined to provide an official number.
“We are very pleased with our subscriber growth,” he said.
When Disney agreed to put ESPN on Sling TV in 2014, it asked for terms that would have allowed it to exit if the online service grew too quickly or if many regular cable customers left the popular sports network, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
