Replacing your expensive TV package with an antenna just got easier

Here’s the dilemma that antenna users have faced for years: You couldn’t get extra cable channels like ESPN without paying for a big pay TV package that also included expensive local broadcast channels. That defeated the whole purpose of free over-the-air TV.

Sling’s new Essentials package helps solve that problem. For $20 per month, you get all of ESPN’s cable channels, along with Disney Channel and a grab bag of rerun-centric entertainment channels. It’s $10 per month cheaper than ESPN Unlimited, ESPN’s own standalone streaming service, plus you can bundle Essentials with other Sling packages, including one that covers sports and news from Fox.

While Essentials won’t appeal to everyone, it could be especially valuable to antenna users who also need a small number of supplemental cable channels. Compared to bigger bundles like YouTube TV, the savings could be significant.

Sling Essentials vs. ESPN Unlimited

Here’s the full channel list for Sling Essentials: ESPN, ESPN2, Grit, Hallmark Mystery, Freeform, Disney Channel, MeTV, Game Show Network, H&I, LMN, Start TV, Bounce.

The main draw is ESPN’s main two cable channels, which on their own would cost $30 per month via an ESPN Unlimited subscription. Sling is selling them for $20 per month instead.

Granted, you don’t get everything that ESPN Unlimited offers. ABC’s sports programming is the biggest missing piece, and Sling Essentials also lacks ESPN+, which carries out-of-market NHL games and an assortment of less-popular sports programming. Meanwhile, ESPN’s other cable channels—ESPNU, ESPNews, SEC Network, and ACC Network—require an $11 per month “Sports Extra” add-on. (More on that below.)

Even so, having a cheaper way to get ESPN’s main cable channels could be valuable, especially for antenna users during football season. If you can get ABC from an antenna, Sling Essential’s other omissions might be worth the extra savings.

Building a bigger bundle

Sling is also letting customers bundle Essentials with other packages:

• Sling Essentials + News Extra ($26/mo. total): Everything from Essentials, plus BBC World News, CGTN, Fox Business, HLN, NDTV, Newsmax, NewsNation, News18, and SCI.
• Sling Essentials + Sports Extra ($31/mo. total): Everything from Essentials, plus ACC Network, BeIN Sports, ESPNews, ESPNU, MLB Network, MLB Network Strike Zone, NBA TV, NHL Network, SEC Network, and Tennis Channel.
• Sling Essentials + Select ($35 – $45/mo. total): Everything from Essentials, plus FS1, Fox News, FX, National Geographic, NFL Network, and VICE.

Why the price variance with Essentials + Select? In certain major cities, Sling Select includes local ABC, NBC, and/or Fox stations. The price rises by $5 per month in markets with at least one local channel, and by $10 per month in markets with all three.

Unfortunately for antenna users, that means Essentials + Select may end up being pricier than ESPN Unlimited and Fox One, which are available together for $40 per month

Either way, though, the cost is far less than other live sports packages that make local channels mandatory. Fubo’s Sports + News plan costs $56 per month, while YouTube TV’s Sports plan and DirecTV’s MySports plan both cost $65. You can save a lot paying for just the sports channels and picking up locals with an antenna, and Sling provides another option for doing that.

What’s with Sling’s antenna integration?

Given Sling’s embrace of antenna users, it’s too bad the company’s AirTV hardware has become an afterthought.

Sling parent company Dish Network started releasing AirTV networked tuners in 2018, letting users stream local channels from an antenna directly into the Sling app, where they integrate seamlessly with Sling’s TV guide. You can even record local channels to an external hard drive, or with built-in storage on the AirTV Anywhere model, with the recordings showing up in Sling’s DVR menu.

Jared Newman / Foundry

Sadly, Sling hasn’t released any new AirTV hardware since 2020, and the current options seem forgotten. They’re available on Amazon only through third-party sellers, and Sling itself won’t sell you one without prepaying for three months of service.

When I dusted off an old AirTV Anywhere review unit for this story and gave it a factory reset, it refused to connect over Wi-Fi. I could only get it working again through wired ethernet. The unit is noisy, the iPhone app refuses to play my local NBC station, and my attempts to record anything resulted in error messages. After restarting the unit, it just got caught in and endless boot loop.

It’s a shame, because Sling’s Essentials and Select plans pair so nicely with an antenna, and having all your channels in one app would really improve the experience. Sling ought to give its AirTV line a bit more love.

But even if you have to access over-the-air channels on a separate input, Sling’s skinnier packages could save you a lot money. While Sling was the first company to offer streaming cable channels back in 2015, over time it suffered from the same channel bloat as other live TV services. The back-to-basics approach is just what antenna users have needed.

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