The free version of Sling TV now includes access to ABC News Live. The idea is to provide anyone who wants it with free access to news, including election cycle coverage.
Although ABC News Live is populated by ABC News correspondents and headlines, it is a slightly different service to ABC News. ABC News Live launched back in 2018 as a dedicated streaming option for ABC News fans and was primarily an exclusive to The Roku Channel.
Although the service is marketed as a 24/7 news channel, it is made up by a mixture of live news coverage and clips. The company recently announced it plans to stream up to 18 hours of live coverage each day by the end of the year.
Sling TV launched its free service last year and it is totally free. For example, you don’t need to have an active subscription nor do you even need to register for a free account. Users can just head to the website and start streaming any of the free content on offer.
While there are no caveats to the price, there’s one in terms of supported devices – although even that has been slowly lifting over time. At launch, the free version of Sling TV was only accessible via a Roku device. This was then followed by a widening of support to Android and Amazon streaming devices. Even more recently, Sling expanded the support once again, and this time to include web browsers. Anyone accessing from a device not mentioned, won’t be able to access Sling TV for free.
The continued rise of free TV
Besides acting as a gateway product to the other Sling TV services, the use of a free approach to streaming is on the rise. Services that focus solely on the ad-revenue are proving increasingly popular with consumers which is not surprising considering the routine price increases the streaming industry encountered in 2019.
This is not just an approach that’s been utilized by smaller companies and brands looking to make their mark. Instead, some of the biggest names in the industry have looked to appeal to new subscribers by offering a free tier to their packages. The most recent example of this is NBC. The broadcaster is set to launch its new Peacock streaming service soon and while this will blend AVOD and SVOD methods, Peacock will also offer a completely free plan to those who want it.
Source: Sling
