Dish Network (DISH, Financial) just launched the next phase of the streaming revolution. From the New York Times:
Dish Network Unveils Web TV Service to Rival Cable (and It Has ESPN)
Dish Network, the satellite provider, is trying to lure younger viewers back to paying for television with the start of a web-based offering that includes [Disney’s (DIS)] ESPN and a number of other popular networks for $20 a month, about a fifth the cost of the average household bill for cable and satellite service.
Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, the new service is called Sling TV, and provides live and on-demand television delivered via an Internet connection to television sets, computers and mobile devices…
Dish executives said the new service would not cannibalize the company’s current business because its current offerings do not appeal to Sling TV’s target audience of 18- to 35-year-olds…
The service also requires no long-term contract, no equipment, no credit check and no scheduled installation.
I’ve complained for a long time that cost–while a factor–was not my biggest reason for cutting the cord. It was the clunkiness of the cable box. It is absurd that Roku can deliver content via a box the size of a hockey puck–and do so elegantly–why most cable and satellite boxes are the size of a large hardback novel and require a maddeningly complicated remote control, not to mention a time-consuming installation appointment. And if anything goes wrong, you grow old and die waiting for someone to answer to phone.
The one thing I missed was sports programming. And now even this is available, for $20 per month, whenever I want it.
Kudos to Dish. Netflix (NFLX, Financial) started the streaming revolution, and the major broadcast networks furthered it with Hulu. Now Dish is taking the revolution to the next stage.
¡Viva la revolucion!
