By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.

TV Answer Man, Sling TV seems to have the best price of all the streamers. But how do you know which local channels you get with their service? — Jennifer, Seattle.

Jennifer, Sling TV’s base plan does cost just $40 a month, and you can get anywhere from $10 to $20 off the first month with various promotions. But there are two base plans and, depending upon which one you pick, you might not be able to get local channels with your package.

A live streaming service owned by Dish, Sling offers both ‘Blue’ and ‘Orange’ plans for $40 a month each. You can purchase both of them for $60 a month combined.

The Blue plan provides more than 40 channels including the three major cable news networks, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, as well as leading ‘basic cable’ networks as FS1, Bravo, The Cartoon Network, AMC, TNT, TBS, and your local Fox and NBC affiliates in select markets. In some markets, you can also get ABC, but more about that below.

The Orange package only offers more than 30 channels so you might think Blue is better. But hold on. Orange includes ESPN, ESPN 2 and ESPN 3, which are must-haves for many sports fans. In addition, the Orange plan has CNN, Comedy Central, TBS, TNT and AMC. But Orange does not any local channels.

Sling says its Blue plan offers the Fox affiliate in the following areas:

Los Angeles
New York
Philadelphia
Chicago
Detroit
Washington, DC
Atlanta
Houston
Orlando/Daytona
Tampa
Gainesville
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Dallas
Austin
Phoenix
San Francisco
Seattle
San Jose
Tacoma

As for NBC, Sling says the following markets will get their local affiliates with Blue:

New York
Philadelphia
Chicago
Boston
Washington D.C.
Miami
Hartford
Dallas
Los Angeles
San Francisco
San Diego
Oakland
San Jose

Finally, ABC is offered with Blue in the following cities: (Note that Blue costs $5 a month extra in the ABC markets.)

Chicago
Fresno
Houston
Los Angeles
New York
Philadelphia
Raleigh
San Francisco

Jennifer, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.