Dish/Sling TV is raising the monthly price for its base live streaming services by $5 to cover rising programming costs, the company said.
Sling Orange and Sling Blue will each now cost $40, Gary Schanman, group vice president for Sling TV, wrote in a blog post Thursday. A bundle that includes both will rise to $55.
“Raising prices for our customers is not something we take lightly,” Schanman wrote in the post. “We recognize that historically high inflation is impacting our customers every day and our goal is not to be another burden to your wallet.”
He noted that with Sling, customers have access to CNN, ESPN, Fox News and more top channels.
“However, Sling doesn’t own the networks you watch — we pay programmers for their channels, and the price of programming continues to rise,” he wrote. “We’re deeply committed to keeping costs low and continually work with programmers to provide service you can rely on, which is why we haven’t raised prices in nearly two years, maintaining a generous cost advantage compared to our competitors.”
ESPN, ABC and 18 other Disney-owned channels were briefly pulled from Sling in October after the carriage deal between the Walk Disney Company and parent Dish Network reached a new pact.
The announcement came on the heels of a mixed quarter for Dish, which saw subscribers rise in the three months ending Sept. 30 but nevertheless saw revenue profit fall.
Dish Network on Wednesday said subscribers to Sling TV rose by 214,000 to 2.4 million in the three months ending Sept. 30, reversing a decline from the previous quarter but still down from the 2.6 million reported a year ago. Subscribers to the satellite service Dish TV dropped by 184,000 to 7.6 million.
The company said its revenue during the period fell 8% to $4.1 billion in the quarter. Net income slid to $412 million, from $557 million last year.
Dish CEO W. Erik Carlson credited some of Sling’s subscriber gains to seasonality, as viewers were drawn by the college football season. “You’ve seen that kind of year-over-year,” he said during the quarterly conference call. “And I think that we showed up in the right place to take advantage, in a disciplined manner, of customers that we think not only will be profitable there, but also longer term.”
“Obviously, churn can be spiky and engagement can be spiky,” he continued, noting that the company is concentrating on “a rural profile, whole home type solution and an older demographic.” He added that Sling is a “very good compliment” for other streaming services.
Sling plans to add 150 new channels through 2023, Schanman said in his post.
