Dish Network’s virtual MVPD platform Sling TV continues to amass sports networks, with NBA TV being the latest channel to be included in the “Sports Extra” add-on tier.
Subscribers to both the single-stream “Orange” and multi-stream “Blue” platforms will now have NBA TV added to their bundle when they subscribe to the $5-a-month “Sports Extra” package. This will give them access to 95 out-of-market regular-season games, as well as studio shows like the NBA TV version of NBA Tonight.
Since launching with ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPNU, Sling has added national sports channels including Fox Sports 1 and FS2, as well as NBC Sports, to its portfolio. There are now copious regional sports networks available (such as the Pac-12 Network and the SEC Network). And league-owned channels such as NFL Network, NFL RedZone and NHL Network arrived just before NBA TV did.
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With ESPN and TNT in the fold, Sling Orange users already had access to all nationally televised regular-season NBA games.
Despite national advertising campaigns that indicate that Sling TV is aiming to poach marketshare from traditional cable, Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch continues to bill the service as somewhat complimentary, aiming to capture the 20 million-plus market of cord cutters and cord nevers with a supply of infinite add-on choices.
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“Our strategy was never to recreate that big bundle,” Lynch told media and investors during Dish Network’s third quarter earnings call last week. “It was to try to create a lot more consumer choice, and that's what we do with something like Sling Orange, which starts at $20 and then you can just add channels that you want.”