Sling Blue: Price, Channels, And Everything Else Worth Knowing

Sling Blue is a base plan offered by Sling TV and it could be the right live TV package for many homes. For some homes, however, Sling Blue isn’t going to be the best option. To help figure out whether it is the right plan or not, here’s a closer look at everything you get (and don’t get) with Blue.

Sling TV offers two main plans to choose from. Sling Orange and Sling Blue. There is also the option to combine these two plans together through the Sling Orange & Blue plan. Even though the combined package is a quick and easy way to increase the selection of available live TV channels, it also increases the cost as well.

When Sling TV first launched in the US, there was only the option to sign up to what is now the Sling Orange plan. It wasn’t until 2016 when Sling revamped its service by introducing the Sling Blue and Sling Orange & Blue plans. Since then, Sling Orange and Sling Blue have coexisted, offering homes a choice between two similar, but different enough, packages. One area where there is no difference is the price.

How much Sling Blue costs each month

A Sling Blue subscription currently costs $40 per month. When Sling Blue first became available, it was priced at just $25 per month. However, Sling Blue has seen a number of increases over the years, taking the cost up to its current $40 per month rate. The most recent price increase arrived in November 2022, suggesting it may be some time before another one is implemented.

The first thing to note about the price of Sling Blue is that it is not any more expensive than Sling Orange. With both plans priced at $40 per month, the cost alone is not a reason to choose Blue over Orange. If opting to bundle Orange and Blue together, the combined plan increases the cost to $55 per month.

In return for the $40 per month, Sling Blue subscribers get access to 41 channels, 50 hours of cloud DVR, TV Everywhere support, and the ability to stream on up to three devices at the same time. Subscribers also get access to a library of on-demand movies and TV shows that are available to watch at any time.

---

$40-55/mo

• 30+ channels
• 1-3 streams
• 50-Hour DVR

Deal: First month starting at $20.

SIGN UP

---

Channels included with Sling Blue

Compared to Sling Orange, Sling Blue is the better value plan overall. This is due to Sling Blue unlocking access to more than 40 live TV channels. In comparison, Sling Orange unlocks access to more than 30 live TV channels. Another notable difference is that Sling Blue is often thought of as the NBC plan, making it ideal for those that want access to the NBC family of live TV channels.

Sling Blue channel list:

• A&E
• AMC
• AXS TV
• BBC America
• BET
• Bloomberg Television
• Bravo
• Cartoon Network
• Charge
• CNN
• Comedy Central
• Comet
• Discovery Channel
• E!
• EPIX Drive-In
• Food Network
• FOX (select markets)
• FOX News
• FOX Sports 1
• Fuse
• FX
• HGTV
• History Channel
• HLN
• IFC
• Investigation Discovery
• Lifetime
• Local Now
• MSNBC
• National Geographic
• NBC (select markets)
• NFL Network
• Nick Jr.
• SYFY
• TBS
• TLC
• TNT
• Travel Channel
• truTV
• USA
• Vice

While Sling Blue is the better option in terms of the number of channels, and certainly for those that want access to NBC, USA, and other related channels, it is missing some channels which might be important to some homes. Specifically, Sling Blue does not provide access to any of the ESPN channels. If ESPN is important then Sling Orange is going to be the better option. Even in terms of NBC, Sling Blue doesn’t currently provide access to local NBC stations in every area. As a result, it is important to check whether access to the local NBC channel is available before signing up.

The same is also true of Fox. Similar to NBC, Sling Blue is the only Sling plan that offers access to the Fox family of channels. Just like NBC, however, local Fox stations are only available in select markets, so consumers will want to check if they do get access to their local Fox channel before signing up to Sling Blue.

Sling Blue add-ons and premium channels

If the standard Sling Blue plan is close, but not quite close enough to a home’s live TV needs, it is possible to bundle add-ons to increase the channel lineup. There are seven of these Extra add-ons available with Sling Blue. While Sports Extra costs $11 per month, the other six cost an additional $6 per month each.

The exact number and selection of channels that are added to Sling Blue will depend on the add-on chosen. Each add-on is themed and adds a group of similar channels. For example, Comedy Extra adds comedy-related channels, including Paramount Network, while News Extra adds a variety of news-related channels, such as CNBC and NewsMax.

Below is an overview of all the add-ons available with Sling Blue, including the channels bundled with each one.

In addition to the themed Extra add-ons, there is also a DVR Plus add-on available. While the base Sling Blue package comes with a 50-hour cloud DVR, the DVR Plus add-on increases the number of recording hours to 200 and costs an additional $5 each month.

For those that want to save by bundling multiple add-ons together, Sling offers two main options. The 4 Extras Deal add-on costs $13 per month and brings together Kids Extra, News Extra, Lifestyle Extra, and Comedy Extra. The Total TV Deal add-on costs $21 per month and not only unlocks access to all seven Extra add-ons, but the DVR Plus recording add-on as well.

Sling Blue summary

Sling Blue is one of the base live TV plans offered by Sling TV and unlocks access to 41 channels for $40 per month. One of the main reasons to consider signing up to Sling Blue is the access to NBC and Fox channels. However, local NBC and Fox stations are not available everywhere. One of the main reasons to consider avoiding Sling Blue is the absence of the three ESPN channels, which are only available through Sling Orange.

Another reason to consider Sling Blue is when a live TV subscription is going to be shared with other people and there’s an increased likelihood of more than one person using the service at the same time. While Sling Orange only allows live TV to be streamed on one device at a time, Sling Blue can be streamed on up to three devices at the same time, making it a much better option for busier households.