US cable network Dish slung a surprise at the Consumer Electronics Expo in Las Vegas overnight, with an over-the-top service with one hell of a carrot – live sport.
While Dish has traditionally been a cable player, it too has been searching for a way to get into the subscription video on demand (SVOD) game, unveiling SlingTV overnight.
For $20 per month, subscribers will be able to watch live TV content from the likes of TNT, TBS, Food Network, HGTV, Cartoon Network and Disney Channel on an SVOD platform, but the kicker is the addition of live sport from ESPN and ESPN2.
Sling TV will also offer additional content for $5 per month too, including an extra sports package.
While it's thought to be the first time an SVOD offering has included live sport through a third-party vendor, the announcement is also notable for the way a cable company is building a mass market offering in live TV content.
In the US, the live TV SVOD market has been extremely fragmented with the services being spun out of the networks themselves.
For example, HBO will offer its own live TV SVOD service with HBO content and, CBS offering its own service with CBS content.
However, Sling appears to be making a mass-market play in a medium which has been dominated by specific offerings
“Sling TV provides a viable alternative for live television to the millennial audience,” Dish CEO Joseph Clayton said.
“This service gives millions of consumers a new consideration for pay TV; Sling fills a void for an undeserved audience.”
The SVOD offering will be available through app download on Android or IOS, while it will also be available on a host of other platforms such as Amazon's Fire TV Stick and select smart TVs.
Despite being across the pond, it's an interesting move that no doubt many in this space will be keeping an eye on.
Meanwhile, the SVOD market in Australia also shows no sign of slowing down, with US giant Netflix, a Nine-Fairfax joint venture named Stan, and Foxtel-Seven joint venture in Presto challenging incumbents in the space.
For more news:
TV still draws eyeballs, but connected devices growing
Presto and Stan add to offerings
Slew of Aussie drama hits Presto
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