Sling TV, a streaming service owned by DISH, saw a significant drop in subscriber numbers in Q4 2022, ending the year with a loss of 77,000 subscribers.
As reported in the Jan. 17 SEC filing, Sling TV now has a total of 2.33 million subscribers, down from 2.41 million in the previous quarter. The company briefly picked up subscribers in Q3 2022, but Sling TV appears to be stuck with its current subscriber base, which had 2.33 million subscribers in 2018. In Q4, there were 2.49 million live TV streamers.
The decline in subscriber numbers is likely due to recent price increases and increased competition. Sling TV raised his plans by $5. Sling Orange and Sling Blue are $40/month each, while the bundle (Sling Orange + Blue) is $55/month. The main reason customers switch to live TV streaming services is because they no longer have to pay so much for cable. But there seems to be no getting away from the high price of live TV.
It’s also possible that some customers canceled their subscriptions when 17 Disney-owned channels temporarily disappeared from Sling TV in October 2022 over a shipping dispute. Channels including ABC, Disney Channel, ESPN, FX, Freeform and National Geographic have been restored. 2 days later. However, some customers may not have resubscribed.
Dish reports in SEC filings that it has a total of 9.75 million pay-TV subscribers, with 7.41 million customers subscribing to its satellite service, Dish TV. Dish TV lost about 200,000 subscribers.
The company has yet to report its financials, which will be revealed in its official fourth-quarter earnings call (no release date given).
However, Sling TV believes 2023 will be a promising year for streamers. In a recent interview with TechCrunch, Sling TV President Gary Schanman hinted at a potential free offer that could help grow its audience.
“Free is part of our thinking about how we think about engaging with our customers. I want a lifelong relationship. [free content is] It’s part of it,” Schanman said.
It’s unclear exactly what Sling TV has in its pipeline, but if the company offers a free streaming option, more customers are sure to flock to the service. It also makes it more competitive with ad-supported free services like Roku, Freevee, Pluto TV, Xumo and Plex. YouTube is the latest company to experiment with a free, ad-supported TV channel service.
Sling TV also released new features such as user profiles and sports score functionality.
