If you’re paying Dish to stream live TV channels over the internet, prepare for a higher bill yet again: the company’s Sling TV streaming service is raising prices by $5 a month for the fourth time in five years. Sling Orange and Sling Blue pay TV packages will now cost $40 a month each — up from $35 previously — and you’ll pay $55 for the package with both Orange and Blue.
Sling TV now costs $40 a month, the fourth price hike in five years
Like Netflix, Dish’s TV streaming service has doubled in price since day one.
Like Netflix, Dish’s TV streaming service has doubled in price since day one.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget.
Existing subscribers should see the price increases on the first bill they get after December 3rd; new customers will have to pay the higher rate starting today.
In an official blog post, Sling TV president Gary Schanman blamed the rising cost of programming for the latest price hike, without offering further explanation. We’d probably put money on Disney having something to do with it, though: Sling TV abruptly lost The Disney Channel, ESPN, ABC, and other Disney channels for two days in October during renewal negotiations, with Dish claiming Disney wanted “nearly a billion dollar increase.”
Below, find a quick chart I whipped up with the history of Sling TV’s price hikes; notably, the company promised not to raise prices in 2020 during the early days of the pandemic, and it kept that promise. But monthly prices have gone up $5 per year practically every other year since its debut, and you’ll have to decide if its increasing list of channels and features is worth the ever-increasing cost. (I pay for my father-in-law’s Sling subscription, so we’ll be having a chat this month.)
Sling TV price hikes
Price | Nov 2022 | Jan 2021 (new subs) / July 2021 (existing) | Dec 2019 | June 2018 | Jan 2016 | Feb 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sling TV / Sling Orange | $40 | $35 | $30 | $25 | $20 | $20 |
| Sling Blue | $40 | $35 | $30 | $25 | $25 | N/A |
| Sling Orange and Blue | $55 | $50 | $45 | $40 | $40 | N/A |
Sling TV is far from alone in raising prices to such a degree, of course. Most streaming services have done something similar. As one example, Netflix’s prices have also nearly doubled since day one — more than doubled if you stream in 4K. Though you do now have the option of an ad-supported Netflix tier that, at $6.99 per month, costs less than the 2011 original.
Netflix price hikes
Price | Oct 2023 | Jan 2022 | Oct 2020 | Jan 2019 | Oct 2017 | Oct 2015 | Apr 2014 | Apr 2013 | July 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium (4K, 4 screens) | $22.99 | $19.99 | $17.99 | $15.99 | $13.99 | $11.99 | $11.99 | $11.99 | N/A |
| Standard (HD, 2 screens) | $15.49 | $15.49 | $13.99 | $12.99 | $10.99 | $9.99 | $8.99 | $7.99 | $7.99 |
| Basic (No HD, 1 screen) | $11.99 | $9.99 | $8.99 | $8.99 | $7.99 | $7.99 | $7.99 | N/A | N/A |
| Standard with ads (HD, 2 screens) | $6.99 |
YouTube TV currently costs $65 a month, up from its original $35 per month after its last price increase in June 2020. Hulu with Live TV currently costs $70 per month after a November 2021 price increase that also added Disney Plus and ESPN Plus.
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