Sling Media’s fabled Slingbox may be on its last leg as the company will reportedly cease production of the device.
Satellite Business News reports that Sling Media will continue to sell its existing stock, but once that runs out consumers will have to go through third parties to buy the device.
Sling Media told Multichannel News that it will continue to sell and support the device and declined to make any formal announcement regarding manufacture of the Slingbox.
Currently, Sling Media is selling the Slingbox M2 for $100 ($100 less than its $200 launch price) and the Slingbox 500 for $300.
RELATED: New Slingbox M2 offers unlimited free mobile apps, introduces ad-based model
When the M2 was released in 2015, the major update was that users would no longer have to pay to download the mobile app for each device. But in return, users had to put up with ads, Sling Media’s solution for making up the difference.
"Our customers have been asking us to eliminate the cost of downloading the app for every mobile device that they own," said Michael Hawkey, senior VP and GM of Sling Media, in a statement. "The Slingbox M2 bundle addresses this request by providing a no-compromise entertainment experience across a variety of touch points, allowing users to view what they're paying for at home from anywhere in the world—and on their own terms."
As the Slingbox nears a rumored demise, Dish Network’s Sling is prepping another streaming box named AirTV. As Zatz Not Funny earlier pointed out, the first iteration of the AirTV looks much like a Slingbox and was reportedly set to retail for $150.
RELATED: Dish’s AirTV launches with premium price for OTA channel integration
The official, soon-to-be-launched version of AirTV forgoes Slingbox’s black utilitarian design and opts for a smaller white housing. But it’s likely that the device is still repurposing the OTA technology from the Slingbox.