The Complete History of Sling TV Price Hikes
Introduction
Launched in 2015 by Dish Networks, Sling TV has since become a top name in live TV streaming. They offered channels from 12 major networks, including A&E and Disney, at $20/month, a fraction of the price of most cable subscriptions. Subscribers could also include add-ons for $5 more.
However, as Sling TV rose in prominence, so did their prices. Currently, their base plan Sling Orange now costs $46/month, more than twice the original price. They’ve also added another base plan Sling Blue, as well as more extras, deals, and premium channels. What caused this rise in price? And would Sling TV increase prices again? In this article, we investigate their previous price hikes in order to see what’s in store for their subscribers.
Sling TV Price Hikes
June 30, 2016. From $20 to $20 (Sling Orange)
A year after its launch, Sling TV might have kept its base plan at the same price, but it also introduced a new plan in April for select users. This plan was later introduced in June as Sling Blue. While priced the same as Orange in its beta phase, Sling raised its rate to $25 per month upon its official release.
- Sling Orange: $20/month
- Sling Blue: $25/month (+$5 from beta phase in April)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $40/month (New plan)
In comparison to the base plan, now Sling Orange, subscribers could enjoy a different line-up of channels from NBC, USA, Bravo, and more. They could also enjoy streaming on two more devices. Users could also combine plans, Orange and Blue, at a reduced price.
Add-ons remained the same price at $5/month. This included the Kids Extra and the News + Info Extra, as well as the new packs for both plans– World News and Lifestyle Plus extras. This also included packs exclusive to Sling Blue, like the Sports Extra and Best of Spanish TV. Premium channels like HBO and Cinemax set their own prices, at $15/month and $10/month respectively.
June 28, 2018. From $20 to $25 (Sling Orange)
Two years later, Sling TV raised the price of Sling Orange by $5/month. Sling Blue, as well as the expanded Sling Orange + Blue remained the same price.
- Sling Orange: $25/month (+$5)
- Sling Blue: $25/month (No change)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $40/month (No change)
In exchange, they also widened their offerings to include 100 hours of free on-demand content as well as more channels à la carte. This meant more add-ons at the same price, such as the Heartland Extra. Certain extras like their Spanish-language add-on were offered as standalone plans at $10/month.
Sling has also started to mix and match the extras into combination bundles. The first attempt is the 4 Extras deal– the combination of Lifestyle Plus, Kids, Comedy Plus, and News extras– which is offered to solo Orange and solo Blue plans at $10/month, instead of the $20 total if subscribed together.
That said, some viewers found this price hike hard to swallow due to the removal of channels like HBO, Cinemax, and Univision. This removal happened because of AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, which led the conglomerate to transfer it to their own service (and Sling TV competitor) DirecTV.
In response, Sling TV added more premium channels, such as CuriosityStream, Showtime, and Starz. The streamer later added channels from Discovery in November of the same year.
December 23, 2019. From $25 to $30 (Sling Orange)
Over a year later, Sling TV raised prices on all standard plans by $5. The company credited this hike to new features like cloud DVR and adding channels like Fox News, Fox Business Network, and the Big Ten Network to the program line-up. MSNBC also transferred from the News Extra to the Sling Blue base channel list.
- Sling Orange: $30/month (+$5)
- Sling Blue: $30/month (+$5)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $45/month (+$5)
Certain add-ons were also affected, though most of Sling’s Extras still remained at $5/month. Sling also created an add-on for Cloud DVR, adding 50 hours to the 10-hour DVR capacity.
- Comedy Extra, Kids Extra, News Extra, Lifestyle Extra, Hollywood Extra, Heartland Extra: $5/month (No changes)
- Cloud DVR Plus: $5/month (New add-on)
- Sports Extra for solo Sling Orange/Blue plans: $10 (+$5)
- Sports Extra for Sling Orange + Blue combo: $15 (+$10)
This hike also affected the 4 Extras deal. However, Sling continued to make new bundles, this time combining all seven extras and the new DVR Plus. This add-on was introduced earlier in July as the Total TV Deal.
- 4 Extras Deal: $12/month (+$2)
- Total TV Deal: $20 (New add-on)
Earlier in the year, they’ve also expanded their support and rolled out their free tier to Roku, Google Nest Hub, and Nest Hub Max devices. A few months later, they offered a 2-week free trial for Sling Blue to new users in response to the COVID-19 quarantine regulations.
January 27, 2021. From $30 to $35 (Sling Orange)
All Sling TV plans increased by $5 again two years later. Television network costs were cited to be the reason behind the hikes.
- Sling Orange: $35/month (+$5)
- Sling Blue: $35/month (+$5)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $50/month (+$5)
This time, add-ons were also affected by the price hike. Most Extras increased by $1, though the Sports Extra cost remained the same at $15 for Sling Orange + Blue plans.
- Comedy Extra, Kids Extra, News Extra, Lifestyle Extra, Hollywood Extra, Heartland Extra: $6/month (+$1)
- DVR Plus: $5 (No change)
- Sports Extra for solo Sling Orange/Blue plans: $11 (+$1)
- Sports Extra for Sling Orange + Blue combo: $15 (No change)
Of course, since all Extras are affected, so did Sling’s Total TV Deals, which increased depending on the base plan it was added to.
- 4 Extras Deal: $12 (No change)
- Total TV Deal for solo Sling Orange/Blue plans: $21 (+$1)
- Total TV Deal for Sling Orange + Blue combo: $27 (+$2)
To make up for the hikes, Sling promised to honor their 1-Year Price Guarantee for existing subscribers, which was offered in July the previous year. A free preview for the 4 Extras deal was offered for two weeks, a watch party function was created, and the DVR storage limit for all users was increased to 50 hours, five times the original time limit. And if that wasn’t enough, users can select the DVR Plus add-on for 200 hours instead.
November 3, 2022. From $35 to $40 (Sling Orange)
A year later, prices for the base plans rose by another $5, as a result of the rising costs for programming. Depending on the time of sign-up, existing users continued to have their rates until their next payment after December 3, due to the 1-year price guarantee.
- Sling Orange: $40/month (+$5)
- Sling Blue: $40/month (+$5)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $55/month (+$5)
In return, Sling shared their plans for adding user profiles, which they have pushed through with. The extra add-ons, and the combination bundles, have also stayed the same price.
December 24, 2024. From $40 to $46 (Sling Orange)
Prices again rose, though this time two years later and by six, instead of five, dollars.
- Sling Orange: $46/month (+$6)
- Sling Blue: $46/month (+$6)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $61/month (+$6)
Starting from 2023, some Sling Blue subscribers also have an additional charge of $5, depending on their location. That’s because for subscribers in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco, retransmission costs for their local ABC, Fox, and NBC stations have risen. This charge only applied to those with all three networks– Those who only chose one or two of these local networks did not receive any additional cost.
Extras, on the other hand, have mostly escaped the price hikes, continuing to be priced at $6. The same cannot be said about the 4 Extras Deal.
- 4 Extras Deal: $13/month (+$1)
- Total TV Deal for solo Sling Orange/Blue plans: $21 (No change)
- Total TV Deal for Sling Orange + Blue combo: $27 (No change)
Sling continued to add premium channels, such MGM+, AcornTV, and Discovery+. Though, a surprise addition was made just before the hike. After a six year absence from the streamer, HBO returns, but this time through their Max without ads plan.
Sling also released their video game platform called Sling Arcade, and a relaunch of their free tier, now called Sling Freestream.
August 20, 2025. From $46 to $46 (Sling Orange)
Rather than raise prices again, Sling instead decided to add a new, slimmer plan called Sling Select. This plan seems to echo the first ever Sling Orange plan in terms of price and more compact channel listings. As such, the following base plans are available:
- Sling Orange: $46/month (No change)
- Sling Blue: $46/month (No change)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $61/month (No change)
- Sling Select: $20/month (New plan)
Unfortunately, the ABC, NBC, and Fox additional charge still applies for Sling Blue subscribers in the aforementioned locations. Extras continued to remain at the same price.
Now, for everyday television watchers, these price hikes might be expected. However, for those only watching for the football season, or for certain events like awards night, the price might still be too high. Because of this, Sling has unveiled its Day Passes, breaking the mold of traditional live TV streaming.
- Sling Day Pass: $5/day (New pass)
- Sling Weekend Pass: $10/Friday-Sunday (New pass)
- Sling Week Pass: $14.99/week (New pass)
Viewers with day passes can also add Extras for $1, $2, and $3 each, respectively.
January 26, 2026. From $46 to $46 (Sling Orange)
While Sling Orange remains the same price, Sling Blue unfortunately raised prices once again. Like what was mentioned five months earlier, the ABC, NBC, and Fox local programming has pushed up that cost. That means those with only one or two of these networks would have to pay $4, while having all three would mean a $9 rise. This also applies to the new Sling Select bundle.
- Sling Orange: $46/month (No change)
- Sling Orange + Blue: $65/month (+$5)
- Sling Blue (with ABC, NBC, or Fox, or two of said local programs): $50/month (+$4)
- Sling Blue (with all 3 local programs): $55/month (+$9)
- Sling Select (no local programs): $20/month (No change)
- Sling Select (with 1 or 2 local programs): $25/month (+$5)
- Sling Select (with all 3 local programs): $30/month (+$10)
As of writing, it’s unclear as to whether or not this applies to Sling Blue subscribers all over the United States, or just in the previously named cities. Currently, the prices vary across different zip codes.
Sling TV Future Price Hikes
Given the recent price hike, it’s hard to tell when Sling TV will raise their prices again. Before January, these increases occurred between one to two years, usually around $5.
But the recent five month turnaround changes things. Obviously, the time and the amount is different, but so is the reason and location. It’s not exactly clear why Sling made this deal with ABC, NBC, and Fox, though it is concerning to see that local news networks are now more expensive in only the busiest cities in the US. The retransmission fees make the prices feel rather unpredictable.
Sling TV also has another potential reason for price hikes– The lawsuits towards their day passes. With Disney’s ownership of sports channels like ESPN, the passes would likely affect how much they earn from Sling, which they say violates their license. Warner Bros Discovery has also pressed their claim as well. So far, these passes still exist, though it will depend on the outcome of the lawsuit.
So what are the possibilities? Well, Sling Orange hasn’t increased their prices since 2024, so it’s possible that the price for Sling Orange will rise later this year. Sling Blue might also increase prices, though this time across the nation, as the special retransmission fees currently only apply to select locations.
However, the passes, the new Select plan, and their Extras seem to hint at Sling TV’s upcoming strategies. Given the way they’ve mixed and matched plans over the years, Sling has proven that they value flexibility and customization for their viewers, and at times, this has allowed some to save up on streaming. How flexible can Sling go? It’ll be interesting to see if they’ll offer even more new plans, or if they break from overextending.
In any case, we’ll make sure to keep our eyes open for any new price hikes at Sling, as well as on other streamers, live TV or on-demand.
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