Google Fiber adds Sling TV to its streaming lineup

Dish Network’s Sling TV is the latest virtual MVPD to join the roster of preferred streaming TV options for Google Fiber customers.

Google Fiber earlier this year pulled the plug on its own video service and instead began featuring streaming TV options including fuboTV and YouTube TV, which is owned and operated by its parent company. Over the summer it added Philo to the list, and now Sling TV.

“Frankly, it’s been clear for a while now that the best TV is already online. 27% of households have cut the cord completely opting for streaming only, and 78% have a streaming service of some type,” Liz Hsu, director of product strategy at Google Fiber, wrote in a blog post.

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Back in 2017, Google Fiber was already phasing out linear TV. When the company announced imminent launches in San Antonio and Louisville, it said it would not be offering the TV service add-on in those markets.

“For our existing markets with TV as a part of their product offerings, nothing is changing – although more and more of you are choosing Internet-only options from Google Fiber. We’ve seen this over and over again in our Fiber cities,” she wrote in a blog post.

When Google Fiber TV was shut down in February, the company said that consumers no longer need “pricey bundles” with channels they won’t watch.

“As we return our focus to where we started — as a gigabit Internet company — we’re also ready to challenge the status quo, to finally come right out and say it: customers today just don’t need traditional TV,” the company wrote.

Other ISPs including Verizon and WOW have taken on similar strategies. Verizon highlights YouTube TV as an option within its Fios Mix and Match plans, and WOW directs its broadband subscribers to options including YouTube TV, fuboTV, Sling TV and Philo.