The arrival of Sling TV could shake-up the entire pay-TV industry. Many potential cord-cutters remain pay-TV subscribers because they want sports programming. Sling TV is the first offering to include ESPN and TBS and TNT, which also have sports including the NBA.
If consumers flock to Sling TV, which doesn't have live programming from major networks such as ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and PBS, it could weaken broadcasters' position in negotiations of fees for cable, satellite and online carriage of their signals, said Brett Sappington, director of research at consulting firm Parks Associates.
"If Sling TV is successful without broadcast channels, that could be a real wake-up call to the big broadcasters," he said.
Sling TV is designed to appeal especially to Millennials who may not want pay-TV service, CEO Roger Lynch says. While many younger adult consumers (82%) do have pay-TV service, that's lower than the 87% of older consumers who have pay TV, Parks finds.
From the article "Sling TV streaming-video service open for business" by Mike Snider.
