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Sling TV launches free tier with live news for people stuck at home

Published Mar 19th, 2020 3:52PM EDT
Coronavirus impact
Image: Sling TV

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  • Maintaining a connection to news and entertainment has never been more important to consumers who are increasingly stuck hunkering down at home as the deadly coronavirus continues to spread. 
  • The live streaming TV service Sling TV has launched a new free offering that combines news and access to TV shows and entertainment to keep people both informed and entertained.
  • Staying at home remains one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus, which as of the time of this writing has infected almost 230,000 people globally and killed almost 9,400.
  • Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

As the country increasingly isolates itself at home and people practice self-quarantining to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus, demand is pretty much exploding right now for digital services to keep consumers both informed and entertained.

Sling TV is a live streaming TV service that offers access to more than 700 channels and which has just launched a new free offering called “Stay in & SLING!” It entails cost-free access to news and entertainment, making informative news content as well as thousands of shows and movies free for the whole family to enjoy without the requirement of a paid Sling TV account.

The free Sling TV experience includes news from ABC News Live, which is a 24/7 streaming video news channel consisting of breaking news coverage as well as live events. Fox News was added on Thursday as well. Sling TV is also offering thousands of movies and TV shows for kids and families. “To stay informed in these uncertain times, Americans need access to news from reputable sources,” said Sling TV group president Warren Schlichting.

“With many Americans finding themselves staying at home, we have an opportunity to use our platform to help them deal with this rapidly evolving situation.”

If you want to access the free tier, all you have to do is download the Sling TV app on a Roku, Amazon, or Android device. Alternatively, you can visit watch.sling.com on a Chrome, Safari or Edge browser.

Current Sling TV subscribers can access free content from Sling TV within the user interface on any Sling TV-supported device, without changing their subscription. For customers who want Sling’s top news offering Sling Blue, Sling TV is offering new customers their first month for $20, a $10 savings off for the first month). In addition to the free content that’s available, Sling TV also offers a variety of popular channels including CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC, all through its base services Sling Orange and Sling Blue, starting at $30 per month.

Officials are still insisting that people need to remain home and avoid crowds as much as possible to combat the spread of the coronavirus, which is why a service like this is valuable right now. The goal of the quarantining is to keep hospitals from being overrun with an influx of patients.

Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.