Sling TV Is Raising Prices – But What About the DIRECTV-Dish (Sling) Merger?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.
Former editor of Satellite DIRECT magazine. Reported on DIRECTV for 30 years.

TV Answer Man, hey I see Sling TV is raising its prices but what about the DIRECTV-Dish and Sling merger? Is that still on? Can they raise prices with the merger and all? — Peter, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Peter, Sling TV, the live streaming service owned by Dish, announced yesterday that it will raise the price of all packages by $5.99 a month, effective December 20. That means that both Blue and Orange plans will increase from $40 a month to $45.99 a month and the Blue-Orange combo price will rise from $55 a month to $60.99 a month.

“Thank you for being a Sling customer,” Sling says at its web site. “We hope you are enjoying your Sling subscription during this exciting time for TV with top sports, premieres and news coverage. The price we pay to provide you with the programming you enjoy continues to increase well above the pace of inflation. We actively fight every day on your behalf to keep costs as low as possible. However, due to these rising costs, the cost of Sling Orange, Sling Blue and Sling Orange + Blue will increase by $5.99 per month. If you subscribe to any of these base packages, your price will change with your billing date on or after Dec. 20th, 2024.”

This is the first time that Sling will raise prices since December 2022 when it bumped the base plan rate from $35 a month to $40 a month.

But how can Sling TV raise prices when Dish just agreed to sell Sling and the Dish satellite unit to DIRECTV, you ask? How could this affect the deal?

Well, the DIRECTV-Dish merger could actually be terminated in a little more than 24 hours. DIRECTV revealed last week that it would pull its offer for Dish at midnight tomorrow (November 22) unless Dish’s creditors accept the company’s proposal for a debt exchange.

Update: DIRECTV says the Dish deal will be terminated tonight.

(As part of the DIRECTV-Dish deal, DIRECTV agreed to assume Dish’s debt which is around $10 billion. The creditors have rejected a proposal to reduce the debt by $70 million, reports Bloomberg, because they say the satellite merger would cost them $1.6 billion.)

If the creditors and Dish don’t come to an agreement by then, it would appear that there will be no merger between the nation’s two largest satellite TV operators.

But even if the merger is saved, Sling TV would raise prices regardless because it believes it’s necessary to improve the business. And it would continue to operate independently until the merger was consummated.

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

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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.