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How to watch live sports via Sling: is it the best and cheapest way to catch the action?

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Some cord-cutting services carry more channels, but the balance Sling strikes between price and flexibility makes it one of the best

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Starting at $45.99 per month (although new users get their first month half price), it costs less than like-for-like cable replacement services like YouTube TV, Fubo and Hulu + Live TV, but is Sling the cheapest way to watch live sports?

The infinitely tangled sports broadcasting landscape means the answer isn't cut and dry, but if you're discerning about must-have channels and those you can live without, Sling can give you more bang for your buck than any other cord-cutting service.

Read on for a quick breakdown of what Sling offers, the pros and cons, and how it compares to the competition.

Sports channels on Sling

There are three Sling plans to choose from, each of which can be customized with a range of add-ons and extras.

At $45.99 per month, Sling Orange is the cheapest of these. It carries ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, TBS and TNT, which grant access to live NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, F1, Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open tennis, FA Cup soccer, Masters golf, March Madness and more.

Sling Blue costs $50.99 and carries Fox, NBC, FS1, NFL Network, USA Network, TruTV, TBS and TNT, which grant access to live NBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, Premier League, Nations League and Copa America soccer, F1, French Open tennis, The Open, US Open and PGA Tour golf, AFL, March Madness and more. In select markets, local ABC stations are included on Sling Blue for an additional $5 per month.

The Sling Orange & Blue plan gets you all of the channels above, for $65.99 per month.

50% discount

Sling offers three base plans: Orange, Blue and Orange & Blue. Orange costs $45.99/month and carries ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, TBS and TNT; Blue costs from $50.99 and carries Fox, NBC, FS1, NFL Network, USA Network, TruTV, TBS, TNT and local ABC stations in select markets. Orange & Blue costs $65.99 per month. Whichever you choose, new users get a 50% discount on their first month.

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How Sling compares to the competition

By contrast, YouTube TV starts at $82.99 per month, Hulu + Live TV starts at $82.99 per month, and Fubo starts at $84.99 per month.

It would be cheaper to subscribe to Sling Orange & Blue, and supplement it with the Sports Extra add-on, which costs an additional $15 per month. This would come to $80.99 per month, with the add-on unlocking access to FS2, Tennis Channel, NHL Network, NBA TV, MLB Network, NFL RedZone, Golf Channel, beIN Sports, BIG Network, SEC Network, ACCN, ESPNU, ESPNews and more.

Just note that YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Fubo include unlimited DVR as standard, whereas Sling comes with 50 hours. You can buy unlimited DVR for $5 per month. Furthermore, both YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV carry CBS, which isn't available at all on Sling.

Alternatives to Sling

A new and very compelling alternative to Sling for sports fanatics is DirecTV Stream, which recently introduced the MySports plan, costing $69.99 per month before tax.

Not only does it carry ESPN, ESPN2, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBC, USA Network, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPNews, ESPNU, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, TBS, TNT and TruTV, but it also comes bundled with ESPN Plus, which alone costs $11.99 per month, and includes unlimited DVR.

Furthermore, it can be enhanced with the MySports Extra add-on, which costs a further $12.99 per month before tax and includes cricket broadcaster Willow amongst its offering, or MyHome Team, which is $19.99 per month before tax.

What DirecTV does far better than any other over-the-top streaming service is regional sports networks (RSNs). It includes more than 30 RSNs, which you can browse using DirecTV's RSN lookup tool.

ESPN Plus is another excellent option. Costing just $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year, or $16.99 per month bundled with Disney Plus and Hulu, it's incredibly cheap.

The service holds the rights to live cricket, PGA Tour golf, NHL, F1, FA Cup, La Liga and Bundesliga soccer, Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open tennis, America's Cup sailing and more.

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Aatif Sulleyman
Aatif Sulleyman

Aatif is a freelance journalist and copywriter based in the UK. He’s written about technology, sport and politics for a wide range of publications including TechRadar, What Hi-Fi?, The Independent, Trusted Reviews, and Newsweek. These days, he focuses mainly on streaming at Future, an arrangement that combines two of his greatest passions: live TV and penny-pinching. When he's not attending a top-flight English soccer match, you can find him perfecting his table tennis skills.

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