Sling TV Raises Their Price But Adds New Channels

Today Sling TV raised their prices by $5/month, along with adding Fox News to the Sling Blue lineup and moving MSNBC from the news add-on to the core Sling Blue package for $30 a month. Big Ten Network (BTN) will launch on Sling TV ahead of the 2020-21 college football season.
Sling Orange and Sling Blue now cost $30/month each (up from $25/month) and the price of the combination of Sling Orange + Sling Blue is now $45/month (up from $40/month). The Total TV add-on is also increasing by $5, making it $25/month (up from $20/month). This is the first price increase subscribers have seen for Orange Blue. Sling Orange last saw a price increase in June 2018.
This is the statement Sling TV made following today’s price increase and channel update. “Sling customers have been clear: they want more live news and sports, and they want a cloud DVR included at purchase – and we listened,” said Warren Schlichting, executive vice president and group president, Sling TV. “Over the past five years, we have proven our dedication to making Sling an exceptional value with unmatched flexibility. These announcements today are further proof points that Sling is the premier live streaming service.”
Sling TV has made several updates lately, including making limited DVR space available to all users. The DVR was automatically added to all accounts late last week. Sling has also been adding new channels to add-on packages, including Law & Crime, available in News Extra, and Pursuit and Great American Country, available in Heartland Extra.
“Sling TV delivers unmatched value in streaming, while maintaining the flexibility and choice our customers know and love,” said Schlichting. “We have worked hard to maintain stable pricing, even as we have added more content and more features.”

There are even more current and upcoming changes for Sling TV’s add-on packages:

• FXM will launch into Sling Blue Hollywood Extra, which will also add FXX, including the linear feed.
• Nat Geo Wild is joining Sling Blue Heartland Extra, including the linear feed.
• Sling Orange recently launched Longhorn Network and ACC Network to the service’s Sports Extra.

Some add-on packages will also see price changes:

• Sports Extra is now $15 per month with a subscription to both Sling Orange and Sling Blue. If you’re subscribed to only Sling Orange or Sling Blue alone, the price of the add-on will remain $10.
• The 4 Extras Deal is now $12 per month.
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Earlier this month, the streaming service also added DVR support for ESPN channels and removed DVR restrictions. This means you can now pause, rewind or fast-forward through any recorded programs, and even skip the commercials. Previously, recordings on select channels would automatically redirect viewers to on-demand content, if available.
You can find the full, updated list of channels for both Sling Orange and Sling Blue HERE.


https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/sling-tv-has-added-fox-news/

Pluto TV Now Has 247 Free Channels & Thousands of On-Demand Titles

Recently Pluto TV has been adding new channels bringing it’s total channel count to 247, all of them free. This is up from just over 200 Pluto TV channels back in September 2019. This comes as Viacom has recently been adding a growing amount of Viacom and non-Viacom content to Pluto TV.
So what is Pluto TV? Pluto TV is a free streaming TV service with over 240 channels. With the Pluto app, you’ll get news, sports, movies, TV shows, viral videos, cartoons, and more. The streaming service offers from on-demand content but focuses heavily on live TV.
Here are all the channels Pluto TV currently offers: 
Movies

• Pluto TV 007
• TV Spotlight
• Pluto TV Movies
• Pluto TV Movies 2
• TV Action
• TV Comedy
• TV Romance
• TV Drama
• TV Horror
• TV Terror
• TV Thrillers
• Black Cinema
• TV Documentaries
• TV Indies
• Paramount Movie Channel
• CMT Westerns
• Classic Movies
• 80’s Rewind
• TV Cult Films
• Flicks of Fury
• The Asylum
• Gravitas Movies

Seasons Greetings

• TV Christmas
• TV Mistletoe
• Fireplace
• Holiday Lights
• MTV Mistle YO!
• Vevo Holiday

Entertainment

• MTV Pluto TV
• MTV Dating
• MTV Teen
• ET LIVE
• VH1 I Love Reality
• VH1 Hip Hop Family
• BET Pluto TV
• BET Her Pluto TV
• BET Homecoming
• Spike Pluto TV
• Spike Outdoors
• American Gladiators
• Baywatch
• TVLAND Drama
• TV Animals
• Crime Network
• DocuTV
• CMT Pluto TV
• TV Celebrity
• TV Reality
• TV Lives
• Nosey
• Fuse
• Complex
• Awesomeness TV
• Degrassi
• British TV
• Classic TV
• Buzzr
• Shout! TV
• Classic Toons

NEWS

• TV Election 2020
• Today’s Top Story
• TV News
• NBC News
• CBSN
• CBSN New York
• CBSN Los Angeles
• CNN
• The First
• Today
• WeatherNation
• Bloomberg Television
• Cheddar News
• Top Stories By Newsy
• Newsmaxtv
• TYT Network
• Sky News
• RT America
• Court TV

Binge Watch

• The Addams Family
• MTV Guy Code
• MTV The Hills
• Love and Hip Hop VH1
• The Challenge MTV
• Black Ink Crew VH1
• Rupauls Drag Race VH1
• Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders CMT
• Unsolved Mysteries
• Forensic Files
• The New Detectives
• Cold Case Files
• Fear Factor
• Leverage
• Criss Angel Mindfreak
• Dog The Bounty Hunter
• Gordon Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen Uncensored
• Wahlburgers
• WPT
• This Old House
• Antiques Roadshow UK
• Doctor Who Classic
• Midsomer Murders
• Wipeout
• MST3K
• Rifftrax

Comedy

• Comedy Central Pluto TV
• Comedy Central Stand-Up
• Wild N Out MTV
• Crank Yankers Comedy Central
• TVLAND Sitcoms
• Funny AF
• Stand UP TV
• Cats 24/7
• Dogs 24/7
• The Pet Collective
• Internet Gold
• Fail Army
• The ONION

Sports

• Pluto TV Sports
• Fox Sports
• NFL Channel
• Major League Soccer
• Stadium
• TV Surf
• TV Winter Sports
• RedBull TV
• Pursuit UP
• Fight
• Glory Kickboxing
• IMPACT! Wrestling
• Sportsgrid
• Eleven Sports
• Big Sky Conference
• UM

Explore

• TV Cars
• TV History
• TV Biography
• TV Military
• TV Conspiracy
• TV Travel
• Adventure TV
• Voyager Documentaries
• Naturevision TV
• Chassy
• THC
• Eye Candy
• SLOW TV

Life + Style

• Food TV
• Lively Place
• Frontdoor
• Cribs MTV
• TV Her
• TV Her Dramas
• Logo Pluto TV
• Are you The One MTV
• TV Weddings
• Faith TV
• TBN
• Hillsong Channel
• People TV
• Revry

Tech + Geek

• TV Scifi
• TV Science
• TV Tech
• TV Gamer
• 4K TV
• Naruto
• Anime All Day
• Cnet
• IGN
• Geek Sundry
• NASA TV
• Minecraftv
• Gameplay Roblox

Kids

• TV Family
• TV Kids Animation
• Nick Pluto TV
• Nick Jr. Pluto Tv
• Nick Movies
• Nick Games
• Totally Turtles Nick
• Dora TV Nick
• TV Tween
• Tv Kids
• After School Cartoons
• Anime All ages
• Pocket.watch

Latino

• Pluto TV 007 En espanol
• TV Cine Estelar
• TV Peliculas
• TV Cine
• TV Cine Accion
• TV Cine Terror
• TV Investiga
• Spike Aventura
• Dog El cazarrecompensas
• TV Realities En Espanol
• TV Cocina
• TV Mundo
• TV Naturaleza
• TV Novelas
• Telenovelas Clasicas
• Nick Latino
• Nick Jr. Latino
• MTV Latino
• Comedy Central Latino
• TV Brasil
• Combate World
• Lucha Libra AAA

Music

• Pluto TV
• Live Music Replay
• Monstercat
• MTV Biggest POP
• YO! MTV
• MTV Spankin New
• MTV Block Party
• Vevo Pop
• MainStage
• The City
• Redcup
• The Cross
• Fuego
• 70’s
• 80’s
• 90’s
• Y2k
• Dash1
• Loud
• Indie
• Doggystyle
• Electrocity
• Discover
• Alternative
• Monstercat Family
• Subdustrial
• Euphoria
• The Strip
• 11
• The Oldies
• Ratpack
• What The Funk
• The Bridge
• Moonlight
• Pure Soul
• Love
• La Isla
• Reggae King
• Cool

*Subject to change without notice.
Now look for this list of channels to grow as CBS and Viacom the parent company behind Pluto TV will be merging next week. This will likely result in more CBS content coming to Pluto TV in the months to come.


https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/pluto-tv-now-has-247-free-channels-thousands-of-on-demand-titles/

Sling TV adds a free DVR for all customers.

Today Sling TV added a free DVR to all customers. This DVR is limited to just 10 hours but is free for all Sling TV subscribers. You can still pay $5 a month for 50 hours of DVR storage if you want extra storage.
You don’t have to do anything to get this DVR it should now be added to your account. Have you noticed the new DVR? Leave us a comment and let us know.
This helps Sling TV standout from a growing field of competition as more and more live TV services launch.

How to Add Cloud DVR Free

Sling TV says the Cloud DVR Free will automatically appear starting today for new Sling customers, and will roll out to existing customers in the coming weeks, if they are not already subscribed to “Cloud DVR Plus” add-on.
If you don’t want to wait, here is how to add Cloud DVR Free yourself:

1. Sign in to sling.com/account
2. Click “Add Free Cloud DVR”
3. Review order/submit

This all comes as Sling TV recently added the ability to DVR ESPN and removed DVR limitations.

Record ESPN Channels

Sling TV subscribers are now able to record programming from ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, SEC Network, ESPN Bases Loaded, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Goal Line, ESPNEWS and ESPNU. So if they want to watch their favorite team winning an epic bowl game over and over, now they can!
Digital networks, including ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network+ are not eligible for recording via Cloud DVR on Sling.
New DVR Controls on Sling TV

Sling TV has also added full DVR controls to all DVR subscribers. This means you can now pause, rewind or fast-forward through any recorded programs, and even skip the commercials. Previously, recordings on select channels would automatically redirect viewers to on-demand content, if available. This means you will now be able to fast forward through commercials on all channels that support DVR with Sling TV.


https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/sling-tv-adds-a-free-dvr/

Comcast is Cracking Down on Customers Looking For Discounts & Shaking Up its Channel Packages

Are you a Comcast customer who always calls to get a new deal when your Comcast bill goes up? Sadly, the days of threatening to cancel as a tactic to get a better rate may be coming to an end.
Cord Cutters News has talked with Comcast employees and has learned that Comcast is removing the ability for call center agents to give discounts to current customers whose promotional rates have ended. Comcast is training employees about new limitations coming in 2020 to their ability to give discounts to existing customers.
This new plan called Comcast Vision 2020 severely limits what deals phone agents and store representatives can offer for TV packages. Customers who want to get a discount will now need to sign up for a Comcast wireless phone plan or home security if they want to get a discount on TV.
Comcast will also be shaking up some of their packages with two new TV packages launching. These packages will drop some channels but still cost about the same as the current packages. From the sounds of it, at some point in 2020 as part of the Comcast Vision 2020, Comcast will make their TV packages less attractive to new subscribers by offering less but charging the same amount.

Look for these changes to start to roll out sometime after the new year. The first thing you will likely notice is phone agents will be limited in what they can do. From there it’s likely new customers will find updated packages that are not nearly as attractive as the old packages.

This all comes as next week Comcast will be raising its pricing for both TV packages and the fees that go with them.


https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/comcast-is-cracking-down-on-customers-looking-for-discounts-shaking-up-its-channel-packages/

 

Comcast December Price Increase

Comcast Prices 12_2019

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/comcast-confirms-a-december-price-increase-on-cable-tv-internet-customers/

Watch Your Local Broadcast TV For Free!

Locast is a free streaming service offering live streaming locals in a handful of markets. Locast does this by taking the signal from an antenna and streaming the channels online. Since the service launched Locast has only offered a handful of channels in each market. Typically this was the big five like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and The CW. This weekend though, Locast started to add additional sub-channels like Comet, MeTV, Antenna TV, PBS Kids, and more to the lineup.
So far, we have confirmed the addition of new channels in New York City but other markets may have also added channels. This comes a few weeks after Washinton DC added additional channels. If your local Locast market has added new channels, please leave a comment and let us know what channel was added and in what market.
Back in July ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC sued to shutdown Locast, saying it did not have the rights to stream local OTA TV. Locast sent Cord Cutters News the following statement about the lawsuit. “Locast is an independent, non-profit organization that provides a public service retransmitting free over-the-air broadcasts.  Its activities are expressly permitted under the Copyright Act.  The fact that no broadcasters have previously filed suit for more than a year and a half suggests that they recognize this.  We look forward to defending the claims—and the public’s right to receive transmissions broadcast over the airwaves—in the litigation.”

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/the-free-streaming-service-locast-is-adding-more-subchannels/

https://www.locast.org/

Comcast Once Again Raising Prices on Cable TV & Internet

If you are a Comcast customer, be prepared for a price hike. Comcast is rolling out price hikes across the nation, and according to a new Comcast price sheet, the hikes will go into effect on December 18, 2019.
With this new price hike, you will see the price on Broadcast TV go up from $10 a month to $14.95 a month. The Basic TV package will be increasing from $30 a month to $35 a month, and internet will be increasing on most plans $3 a month. (The one exception is Gigabit Pro, which will remain $299.95 a month.)
Comcast is also raising the cost of its modem and voice equipment by $1 a month to $14 a month. The good news is you can buy your own modem and not pay Comcast $14 a month or $168 a year for the privilege of renting their equipment.
Other fees are also going up. The Returned Payment Fee will be increasing by $10 a month to $30.
The good news for cord cutters is that you will save more now than you did before this price hike. Yes, the price of most internet plans is going up $3 a month, but that is less than the $4.95 a month price hike on broadcast TV alone.

The bad news for cable TV subscribers is your TV and internet bill is going up by as much as $13.99 a month. This will add up to $167.88 a year in extra costs for your Comcast TV plus internet package.

https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/comcast-is-once-again-raising-prices-on-cable-tv-internet/

A New TV!

May 3rd we upgraded our main living room TV to a smart 55" Samsung  8 series NU800D.
Such a big improvement over our 10 year old 42" JVC.
The picture is crystal clear and much larger.
Dozens of internet streaming channels now available via the Samsung too. I've really been enjoying the Pluto TV streaming channels.

I moved the 42" JVC to the man cave in the basement, moved the 32" Vizio up to bedroom #3 and the 18" LCD down to the basement office. That meant adding a 5th TV to the attic antenna system. I was concerned about the signal degrading too much by adding another TV but there is no detectable signal loss. Works just fine even with the Channel Master DVR in the living room which actually makes it six/seven TV tuners.

Between the new Samsung and the Channel Master DVR there are now too many channels to even list. Lets just say there are well over 100+ channels available via the antenna and/or streaming. All free but of course not commercial free. We also have Sling Blue ($25/month) and Netflix (free through our T-Mobile account) and MLB (also free through our T-Mobile account) to choose from. If we can't find something to watch, we're not trying.

Why in the world anyone would still be subscribing to expensive cable TV is beyond me. An ex-coworker of mine said her cable TV bill was around $300/month! ($3,600 year!)
"You've got to be joking", as James Bond once said.