Sling TV Announces Price Increase for Orange and Blue Subscriptions – Technologist

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: A live TV streaming service is raising its subscription price.

This time it’s one of Team Clark’s favorite “value” services: Sling TV.

Sling delivered the bad news to customers in an official announcement. Let’s take a look at the details.

Sling To Raise Prices In December 2024

The price of Sling Orange, Sling Blue and Sling Orange + Blue packages is going to be more expensive soon.

Effective December 20, 2024, the price of all three packages will increase by $5.99 per month. Existing customers will see the change on their first billing date on or after that date.

That means the pricing for 2025 will be as follows:

Why Is This Happening?

Sling did offer an explanation for its actions in a letter to current subscribers.

And, somewhat predictably, it pointed to inflation and rising costs of programming as key contributors to this decision.

“The price we pay to provide you with the programming you enjoy continues to increase well above the pace of inflation. We actively fight every day on your behalf to keep costs as low as possible,” Sling told customers in an announcement.

This is the first price increase Sling has instituted since March 2023, when it raised its prices $5 per package.

“These increases are industry wide — other leading streaming providers have had increases throughout 2024,” Sling explained. “Despite this, Sling continues to be the most affordable option with offerings more than twenty dollars less per month versus other providers.”

The streaming service is not lying about that. The 2024 calendar year has been full of price increases for its competitors. Hulu + Live TV, Fubo, Philo and DIRECTV STREAM have all upped prices on their live TV services this year.

Even after these price increases, Sling still ranks as the third most affordable live service behind Frndly ($6.99 per month on an annual plan) and Philo ($28 per month).

Many people are opting to drop live streaming services altogether as a result of the increases, but video streaming services like Peacock, Disney+ and Paramount+ have also announced price increases.

For those who are looking to trim their entertainment bill, money expert Clark Howard recommends checking out free streaming services like Pluto TV or Tubi TV. We have a roundup of 20 free ad-supported TV (FAST) options available here.

Sling has a FAST service of its own called Freestream that may be worth checking out if you’re considering canceling their pay service.

Will you continue to subscribe to Sling? What do you think about these price increases? We’d love to have you join the conversation in the Clark.com community.

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