Sling TV wants you to replace your cable company with its over-the-top streaming service for smartphones, the web, and a number of television set-top boxes.
But its subscribers have had to deal with some inconveniences since the service debuted last year including the inability to watch different shows simultaneously on different devices. For example, you couldn’t watch a show on Sling TV in the living room while your son watched cartoons in his bedroom.
It was also impossible to split the cost of Sling TV by sharing a login with a sibling living across the country like Netflix (NFLX) subscribers can. Sling TV limited subscribers to one stream at a time.
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But on Wednesday, Sling TV announced that it would give in to consumer demand and become more flexible. The company said it would give users the ability to stream on up to three devices simultaneously. The new multi-stream plan, which costs $20 per month, includes over 30 channels. Sling TV considers the new plan a test that could be tweaked based on what it learns from customer feedback.
In addition to supporting multiple users, subscribers will also gain access to new channels including National Geographic, TruTV, and FX channel. Additionally, the new plan will include Fox Sports (regional and national sports) and local Fox broadcasts in a limited number of markets.
Those interested in the new plan will have to forfeit access to a handful of channels including ESPN, ESPN2, Disney, Freeform. Three add-on packages—sports, broadcast, and kids—can’t be added to the new multi-stream plan.
For more read Is Sling TV the answer to your cord-cutting needs?
If it sounds confusing, that’s because it is. Thankfully, Sling TV has a chart (viewable here) to help decipher which channels are included in the various packages.
When it first premiered, Sling TV’s main appeal was its simplicity. Users paid $20 a month or a bit more to add a package or two. That was it. There were really no rules or convoluted hurdles you had to figure out to sign up for a package, unlike the complications that cable companies created. Yet as Sling TV adds multi-stream—most requested features to its service—customers are now faced with tough decisions.
For more on Sling TV watch our video.
Hopefully Sling TV, owned by Dish (DISH) will be able to secure the proper streaming rights during its testing and get back to creating simple products. New and existing customers can sign up for the new plan by visiting Sling.com.
