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Sling TV Has A New Look, Allows Easier Access To On-Demand Content

By Val Powell
Published on: 12:37 PST, Jan 6, 2016

Sling TV, an over-the-top Internet television service by Dish, made its debut during the Consumer Electronics Show last year in Las Vegas.

Back then, it showcased some promising features, and its basic $20 monthly subscription fee was definitely attractive considering the amount of online content it can provide.

Dish CEO announces launch of Sling TV at the CES 2015

In the months after its launch, Dish also made sure that the service will be able to run on more devices.

As a result, Sling TV reportedly gained 169,000 subscribers in its first three months in the market.

The streaming service offers 23 channels as part of the base package, and increases it to 65 channels once all add-ons are included.

In addition, Dish’s Internet TV also offers over 300 channels for expats under the Sling International and Sling Latino packages.

Unfortunately, even with all of its benefits, Sling TV had one major problem – its clunky user interface that does not do much by way of user experience.

Well, Dish listened to its fans and subscribers because they have totally revamped the look of its new Sling TV.

During the company’s press event on Tuesday, Dish introduced the improved interface of its Internet TV service.

Showcased at the CES 2016, the new look definitely made the content stand out, and the entire interface is now easier to manage.

In the improved version, Sling TV enables users to pick out their favorite channels so that only these channels show up when they are browsing content to watch.

New Sling TV User Interface is Introduced at the CES 2016

“People don’t realize we have the entire HBO catalog,” said Ben Weinberger, Sling’s chief product officer in an interview with Variety.

According to him, the new interface is “a lot more about the content vs. the channels.”

Another improvement is the ability to pick which shows users want to watch. In the past, users only had options to choose channels to tune into.

The service will also be able to monitor the users’ viewing interests and habits, and suggest related content through the “My TV” menu. At the press event, Dish claimed that this feature even recognizes a person’s viewing habits when using a smartphone as opposed to a tablet or computer.

The menu will also become personalized and provide users with the content they usually watch at a particular time of the day.

Another new feature, called “On Now,” enables users to get a glimpse of everything that is currently airing on Sling TV.

Dish has also added a third ESPN channel where more sporting events can be viewed and watched. The previous version only had ESPN and ESPN2.

In the future, there are plans that Sling TV will offer broadcast channels to provide even more content to its subscribers. Consumers have also been requesting that the company add the ability to stream programs on multiple devices at the same time.

Sling CEO Roger Lynch said that with the new interface, they wanted to veer from traditional TV services.

“We wanted to create something that’s more like Spotify, and less like Comcast,” he added.

The new and improved version of Sling TV will reportedly roll out on compatible devices in the next few weeks or months. The application runs on Android, iOS, Xbox One, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, and PC or Mac.

Similar to what it experienced a year ago, Sling TV benefits from the fact that Apple decided not to continue its Apple TV project.

As a result, there are only Dish, Sony, and other cable providers that make up the Internet TV market in the U.S. at the moment.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images]

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