HBO will arrive on Sling TV just in time for the 'Game of Thrones' premiere
Sling TV recently announced that HBO would be added to its streaming TV service lineup in time for the “Game of Thrones” season five premiere on Sunday, April 12. Now we know when that will occur. The Dish Network subsidiary has revealed that the new HBO offering will come to Sling TV no later than Saturday, April 11. The launch with coincide with the introduction of some service updates.
The updates will do a number of things to improve the overall Sling TV experience. Specifically, various enhancements will help to reduce overhead and load on Sling’s servers, allowing them to provide a more seamless experience to all customers during periods of heavy viewership. Parental controls will also be added, giving customers the ability to manage shows by rating.
This delay in adding HBO is both understandable and perplexing at the same time. HBO Now has already launched on Apple devices, so I would have thought Sling TV would want to get in on the game sooner, not later.
On the other hand, Sling was heavily criticized last weekend when technical problems brought the service down temporarily during the Final Four of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. If Sling’s servers get bogged down again, it could cause customers flocking to the streaming service for HBO to not stick around. In other words, this might turn out to be a smart move on Sling’s part.
If you are already a Sling TV subscriber, you can add HBO for $15 per month. New subscribers need to sign up for Sling’s “Best of Live TV” for $20 per month, plus the HBO offering for an additional $14.99.
For more information on Sling, check out our review of the service as well as our recent interview with Sling TV CEO and executive vice president Roger Lynch.
