Sling TV closed out the first quarter of 2021 with 2.37 million subscribers, resulting in a decline of around 100,000 from the quarter before. When looking at Sling TV’s subscriber change over a longer period, it is difficult to really draw any firm conclusions, other than not much has changed over the last year.
Sling TV is one of the cheaper options for live TV streaming. While there are even cheaper options, they tend to come with fewer channels, and especially considering Sling TV offers the option to add more channels through the addition of add-ons and channel packs. The level of customization and relatively cheap entry price can make Sling TV a good option for those switching to live TV streaming for the first time, or for those just looking to cut down on the cost.
Dish Network released its Q1 2021 results today, confirming the number of Sling TV subscribers stood at 2.37 million, as of March 31, 2021. In total, Dish finished the quarter with 11.06 million pay-TV subscribers, with Dish TV accounting for the additional 8.69 million. Overall, this total number of Dish subscribers represented a decrease both at the quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year levels.
For Sling specifically, the number of subscribers is down at the quarter level when compared to the 2.47 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, but up at the annual level when compared to the 2.31 million the service had at the end of the first quarter of last year.
Sling TV remains relatively the same
While the number of Sling TV subscribers were down compared to the previous quarter, the service appears to be relatively stable overall. Which, in itself, is interesting. Hulu Live TV, fuboTV and YouTube TV continue to increase in the number of subscribers, resulting in constant growth. In contrast, AT&T TV, formerly AT&T TV Now and DirecTV Now, continues to decline in subscribers numbers. Sling TV, on the other hand, just seems to continually exist within the same general subscriber range.
Arguably, the last time there was any meaningful change one way or the other was back at the close of 2019. In the third quarter of 2019 there were as many as 2.69 million Sling TV subscribers and this dropped down to 2.59 million at the close of 2019 before dropping down again to the 2.31 million in the first quarter of 2020. Since then, the service has increased and decreased in subscribers, but not really moving in either direction.
Source: Dish
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