Sling TV Adds Four EPIX Channels And EPIX VOD ...

Sling TV Adds Four EPIX Channels And EPIX VOD To Sweeten Cord-Cutting Deal

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Just last week, DISH Network launched Sling TV, an alternative to cable TV that offers a handful of channels and content for one low monthly price. Then, the company introduced a promotion that saw free Amazon Fire TV and Roku Streaming Sticks and $50 knocked off the price of Amazon Fire TV and Roku 3 set-top boxes. Now, Sling TV has made another announcement that should be of interest to potential cord cutters.

The company signed a deal with EPIX to bring movies and on-demand content to the streaming service. The agreement will see EPIX, EPIX 2, EPIX 3 and EPIX Drive-In packaged as an optional offering. The video on-demand aspect will provide more than 2,000 movies and "entertainment titles."

"Our customers crave the newest movies like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Transformers: Age of Extinction, but they also have a growing appetite for the classics and EPIX delivers both," said Roger Lynch, CEO of Sling TV. "Sling TV will feature EPIX's linear channels and movies on-demand in an add-on package that is accessible and affordable."

So when does EPIX arrive on Sling TV? Pricing and availability will be revealed soon, the company said. However, in the meantime, customers can get the base Sling TV package for a mere $20 per month. This includes live TV spanning ESPN, TBS, TNT, HGTV, the Disney Channel, ABC Family, CNN, AMC (Walking Dead!) and several more. Sling TV also provides three additional packages for $5 per month each: Sports Extra, News Extra and Kids Extra.

Is Sling TV worth the $35 a month? That depends on what the consumer likes to watch. There's no access to the major networks, so customers will have to rely on over-the-air digital TV access. Sling TV also requires that users have a device that's compatible with the Sling TV app, such as a smartphone, tablet, desktop PC, one of Amazon's Fire TV devices or the Roku set-top-boxes. And of course, a broadband or mobile connection is required.

The Sling TV app is rather slick. For example, the iPhone version provides a main menu that not only directs users to the TV lineup, but to a section of movies that customers can rent. These movies are broken down into categories such as "Action & Adventure," "Comedy," "New Releases," "Most Popular" and so on. To access TV on-demand content, simply hit the down arrow tucked away at the bottom of the screen to pull up the current schedule and the on-demand listings.

That all said, is it time to cut the cord? Not yet, but we're getting there. Adding EPIX to the Sling TV menu certainly helps the cord-cutting process. What will be revealed next week?