Update 10/03: Sling and Disney have reached an agreement which has seen the return of Disney, ESPN, and a number of other channels that were dropped, to Sling TV. This has also resulted in the return of the Sling Orange plan. End of Update.
Original article: Sling TV has stopped offering its Sling Orange plan to new subscribers. Sling, along with Dish, is currently involved in a dispute with The Walt Disney Company which has resulted in a number of channels being dropped. Many of these channels were part of the Sling Orange plan, which is likely the reason why Sling has halted Orange signups.
Sling offers two main base plans for consumers to choose from. Sling Orange is priced at $35 per month and offers access to a little over 30 live TV channels, including ESPN and the Disney channel. The Sling Blue plan is also priced at $35 per month and offers access to more than 40 channels.
Essentially, Sling Blue is more suited to those looking for access to various NBC-related channels while Sling Orange is the better option for those looking for Disney-owned channels. However, with the Disney Channel and all three ESPN channels having now been pulled, the Orange lineup has been greatly affected. This has led to the Sling TV website no longer advertising Sling Orange as an option, and if attempting to sign up, Sling TV automatically initiates a signup to the Sling Blue plan.
The same is also true when attempting to sign up through any of the Sling apps, with only the Blue plan offered as an option. At present, there doesn’t seem to be any way to actually sign up to Sling Orange.
Existing subscribers to Sling Orange have also been affected, with Sling having now switched them all over to the Sling Blue plan instead. While this does technically mean they get access to more channels than before, the switchover is likely to be somewhat confusing for those expecting to see their usual channels.
If Sling and Disney manage to agree a new deal and the dropped channels are restored, then the Sling Orange plan will likely become available again. However, if a deal is not agreed, or anytime soon, Sling may need to reevaluate what the Orange plan offers, or whether it will actually even offer the plan to begin with.
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