If you’re looking for a new free streaming service in 2023, Sling Freestream may be just what the doctor ordered.
Sling TV, which is known for its popular subscription live TV streaming service, recently announced that it was entering the free advertising-supported streaming television (FAST) market with the new “Freestream” product.
Sling Freestream is poised to compete with established FAST apps like Tubi and Pluto TV by offering a mix of livestream channels and on-demand TV and movies at no charge to users.
In exchange, streamers will be exposed to commercials inserted within the content.
Here are five things you should know about the new service as you decide whether it’s a fit for your household.
1. There Are More Than 200 Livestream TV Channels
Sling Freestream isn’t going to provide you access to popular “cable channels” like ESPN, TBS or HBO, but it is going to give you a menu of more than 200 freebie channels that span a range of interests.
The channel menu may be lacking in live sports and popular network shows, but it does include content from some recognizable brands in popular genres such as news, sports and entertainment.
Here’s a sampling of what you can expect to find:
News and Opinion Channels
- ABC News Live
- CBS News
- Cheddar News
- Newsy
- USA Today
Entertainment Channels
- AMC Thrillers
- Comedy Central PlutoTV
- ET Live
- MTV PlutoTV
- Tastemade
Sports and Outdoors Channels
- Barstool Sports
- beIN Sports Extra
- PokerGo
- Outside TV
- USA Today Sports
2. There Is A Large On-Demand Library of Movies and TV Shows
If livestream channels aren’t your speed, Sling Freestream also offers its share of on-demand movies and TV shows at no charge.
As of February 2023, Sling was touting more than 41,000 on-demand titles available for free on the service.
Some recognizable titles available at the time of this writing included:
Television Shows
- Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares
- Jimmy Kimmel Live!
- Unsolved Mysteries
- Property Brothers: Brother vs. Brother
- Forensic Files
Movies
- Monster
- My Friend Dahmer
- Serving Sara
- Man of the Year
- Season of the Witch
Kids Content
- Maya The Bee
- The Wiggles
- Blinky Bill
- Speed Racer: The Next Generation
- Chopped Junior
The content offerings on free streaming services tend to change often, so if you notice something you like available for free you may want to make watching it a priority. It could disappear at any time.
3. It Is Available To Stream with These Devices
Sling Freestream is not yet available on every streaming device, but it’s getting there.
Upon launch, Sling announced that Freestream is either available now or will soon be available on the following:
- Roku devices
- Comcast/Xfinity devices
- LG televisions
- Samsung televisions
- Vizio televisions
- Xbox devices
Sling says that it will be available on “all Sling-compatible devices throughout the coming months.” The list of those devices, which includes Apple TV, can be found here.
If Freestream is not yet available on your preferred player, you can access it via the web here.
4. You’ll Need An Account to Maximize Content Access
While Sling Freestream is available free of cost, there is a minor hoop you’ll need to jump through in order to access the full menu of content.
Sling only makes a portion of its on-demand library available to people who sign up for a Sling.com account. This is likely done as an incentive to move you closer to being a paying customer for one of their subscription services.
You can stream without a Sling account, but you may not have access to the full library of content.
In either case, you’ll be happy to know that there is no credit card required on file to gain this access.
5. There Are Add-ons Available for a More Immersive Experience
Though Sling is making the Freestream product available free of charge, it’s also using the platform as a gateway to subscription sales.
In addition to Sling’s live TV streaming subscriptions, Sling Freestream users also have the ability to subscribe to more than 50 standalone streaming services. These include things like AMC+, discovery+, MGM+ and SHOWTIME.
Sling’s live TV streaming subscriptions start at $40 per month. You can choose between the Orange and Blue packages at that price, or you can pay $55 per month to receive Sling Orange + Blue.
Team Clark has reviewed Sling TV’s subscription service as part of our live TV streaming coverage.
Though money expert Clark Howard is a YouTube TV subscriber, he considers it one of the better values in that space and has praised it for its flexible channel packages.
Final Thoughts
The free streaming TV space has become a popular growth area in recent years, so it makes sense that Sling wants a strong presence in that market.
At first glance, Sling Freestream appears to be a worthy competitor for some of the top services like Amazon Freevee, Fox’s Tubi, Paramount’s Pluto TV and The Roku Channel.
Sling says that content additions and interface improvements for Freestream will be a priority in the coming months, so there’s a chance it could be here to stay.
Ultimately, this is good news for people who are trying to cut the cord and shed their cable bill permanently. The more free options available, the easier it will be to walk away from those monthly payments.
Are you going to give Sling Freestream a try? If you have, what did you think of it? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.
