|
Sling is adding more options for viewers as
pay-TV competitors like AT&T Inc, which introduced a $15
streaming service last week, threaten to steal away customers
looking for a lower-cost channel package.
The move would help to turn Sling into a place where viewers can
access all their content, rather than switching between apps,
Sling TV President Warren Schlichting said in an interview.
Streaming platforms usually offer add-ons like premium TV
channel HBO on top of an existing subscription in order to
charge a higher price.
Sling, with 2.3 million subscribers in the first quarter, will
immediately raise the price of its lowest-cost streaming
subscription by 25 percent to $25 a month, Schlichting said,
pointing to rising fees to televise sports.
AT&T's DirecTV Now, Sling TV's second-largest rival, had 1.5
million users in the first quarter.
Sling will sell eight standalone subscriptions, including to NBA
League Pass and faith-based TV channels like Up Faith & Family,
said Ankit Bishnoi, vice president of content acquisition and
strategy at Sling TV, in an interview.
The standalone subscriptions, which Schlichting said would move
Sling TV closer to "a la carte" viewing, will be rolled out
first to former Sling subscribers to win them back.
Sling TV and programmers will share revenue for the standalone
subscriptions, said Schlichting, who declined to provide
specifics.
(Reporting by Sheila Dang; Editing by Anna Driver and Richard
Chang)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
