Is screentime being reinvented, again?

Dish Network is finally unveiling Sling TV, its long-awaited Internet pay-television service that initially will offer a couple of a dozen channels — including top-rated cablers ESPN, TBS and TNT — priced at $20 per month.

Sling TV, Slated to launch sometime in the first quarter of 2015, will feature networks from Disney/ESPN, Turner Broadcasting and Scripps Networks Interactive. The satcaster, which announced the service at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday, is aiming the stripped-down bundle at price-sensitive and Internet-savvy millennials who don’t currently subscribe to a pay-TV service.

The satcaster insists that Sling TV will not negatively impact Dish’s existing pay-TV services, which have about 14 million customers, and that it isn’t intended to win over the 100 million U.S. households that pay for cable, satellite or telco TV today.

The company estimates there are another 20 million American households without traditional pay-TV, comprising largely urban-dwelling consumers between 18 and 35.

“We see an opportunity with this group,” said Dish president and CEO Joe Clayton during the company’s press event on Monday. “We do not believe (the launch of Sling TV) will lead to cannibalization of our core TV business because we do not reach this millennial consumer segment today.”

The always boisterous Clayton was certainly ready to kick off CES to tout Dish’s newest products, coming out on stage with a marching band and a group of costumed characters dressed as kangaroos.

However, as much as Dish is positioning Sling TV as friendly to a younger audience, the over-the-top service will not include broadcast TV networks, a shortcoming that will certainly limit its appeal. As previously reported by Variety, Dish at some point anticipates being able to offer broadcast programming in a separate, premium tier.

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Source:
http://www.rtohq.org/news/722/15/Is-screentime-being-reinvented-again/