Dish Network's (NASDAQ: DISH) new over-the-top service, Sling TV, has expanded its basic service to 20 channels, with A+E Networks outlets A&E, History, H2 and Lifetime joining the base "Best of Live TV" tier on Thursday.
One of Sling's $5 expansion tiers, the "Lifestyle Extra" package, has also been expanded to include FYI and LMN.
Sling users, who pay only $20 a month for the service's base package, also have video-on-demand access to a limited amount of A&E content.
But although Sling TV has been largely praised by technology critics--especially in comparison to Sony's newly launched PlayStation Vue OTT service--the lack of on-demand programming and DVR functionality has drawn negative scrutiny.
In a Tuesday afternoon post declaring Vue "DOA," for example, Diffusion Group analyst Joel Espelien said the cloud DVR feature is "sorely lacking" from Sling TV.
Remarking on Sling's $20 price point in a comparison with Vue and its $50-a-month base price, CNET remarked, "In a lot of ways, you get what you pay for."
For more:
- read this Sling TV press release
- read this post from The Diffusion Group
- read this CNET story
Related links:
Sony's poorly targeted PlayStation Vue service 'DOA,' analyst says
Pay-TV's revolutionary OTT services are coming up short on revolution
Sling TV bulks up with Xbox One app, A+E Networks channels, new add-on packages