Sling TV closed the second quarter of 2021 with 2.44 million subscribers resulting in an increase of around 65,000 subscribers in Q2 compared to the previous quarter. The latest subscriber number follows a similar pattern over the past year where the number of people using the service has changed, but not to any meaningful degree.
The live TV streaming service first launched back in 2015 and since then, Sling has enjoyed a healthy subscriber base. One of the likely reasons for this is the price. While the selection of live TV services has also increased over the years, Sling TV has been able to maintain a lower price than the competition, resulting in a more affordable service overall.
Dish Network released its Q2 2021 earnings report today confirming 2.44 million Sling TV subscribers as of June 30, 2021. In total, Dish reported 10.99 million pay-TV subscribers with Dish TV’s 8.55 million accounting for the difference. Dish noted the overall figure resulted in a decline of 67,000 subscribers compared to the quarter before.
In terms of Sling TV, the 2.44 million marks an increase compared to the 2.37 million subscribers Sling had at the close of the first quarter of this year. It also represents an even healthier increase when compared to the 2.25 million people subscribed to the service at the end of the second quarter of 2020.
While Sling TV saw a quarter-over-quarter increase, it is difficult to draw any firm conclusions due to the pattern that has emerged over the last year and longer. For example, although up on the previous quarter, the first three months of the year were down compared to the last quarter of 2020. Considering Sling closed the fourth quarter of last year with 2.47 million subscribers, the latest quarterly results still show the service with fewer subscribers than it had at the start of the year.
Of course, the first half of the year is also when Sling TV encountered its latest price increase, taking the cost of a subscription up from $30 to $35 per month. While this may have had an impact on the number of subscribers leaving the service in 2021, existing subscribers were given an additional grace period before the price hike took effect. With that extended price guarantee having ended on August 1, 2021, any effects of the delayed price increase on existing Sling TV subscribers won’t likely be seen until the next quarterly results are released.
Source: Dish
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