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Sling TV Future of TV Roger Lynch

Sling TV has major head start on cord cutting competition with Apple TV launch and Viacom addition

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By Adam Flomenbaum, Co-Executive Editor

June 13, 2016 | 3 min read

Apple, Amazon, Google, and Hulu are in varying stages of negotiations with TV networks for live streaming rights, but Sling TV has already done the legwork with many of these networks and seems to have a major head start on attracting cord cutters.

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Today, Sling TV announced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) that it is available now via Apple TV.

“Delivering the best TV experience for our viewers means being on the devices people want to use — Apple TV is our most requested platform, and we’re excited to finally bring Sling TV to Apple TV today," said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV. “Incorporating Apple TV innovations like touch with the Siri Remote will enable Sling TV’s new UI to deliver the highly polished experience Apple fans have come to expect.”

The new UI – and making it easier for viewers to find the content they want - is something that Lynch hinted to when we spoke with him last July. One of these new features, “MY TV,” allows customers to select their favorite channels, pause and resume on certain content, and set favorite shows to find more easily.

Also available now are 12 Viacom channels as part of a deal finalized in April. Only Comedy Central (perhaps the most popular Viacom channel among cord cutters) will be available as part of the $20-per-month core single-stream package; the remaining channels are split into $5-per-month “Extra” packages:

· “Kids Extra” includes Nick Jr., NickToons, TeenNick, Disney Jr., Disney XD, Boomerang, Baby TV and Duck TV.

· “Comedy Plus Extra” debuts with MTV, Spike, MTV2, Logo, CMT, TV Land and truTV.

· “Lifestyle Plus Extra” (formerly Lifestyle Extra) includes VH1, BET, Cooking Channel, DIY, FYI, WE TV and Lifetime Movie Network.

The “Extra” packages have been the main compromise between Sling TV and networks, enabling Sling TV to keep its core package at $20-per-month and networks to include their extended channel lineups in some form.

Also finalized in April, Sling announced that FXX, Nat Geo WILD, and FS2 are available to subscribers of the beta multi-stream service. On the Viacom front, in addition to Comedy Central, Nick Jr. and BET are also available as part of the core multi-stream package.

Sling TV Future of TV Roger Lynch

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