Echostar’s pay television services Dish Network and Sling TV will soon offer access to streaming bundles through Bango’s Digital Vending Machine, the companies announced this week.
In a statement released late Wednesday evening (early Thursday morning Eastern Time), Bango said Dish Network and Sling TV will utilize the Digital Vending Machine to offer its satellite and streaming TV subscribers with access to apps and streaming bundles, which will include “a popular football streaming service,” though the companies didn’t specify which.
Apps purchased through the Digital Vending Machine are billed to a customer’s Dish Network or Sling TV bill, which the companies say helps simplify the purchase experience.
“The Digital Vending Machine® from Bango gives DISH the speed and flexibility to deliver in-demand content and services to our customers,” said Liz Riemersma, the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Dish Video Services. “Rapidly launching new offers and bundles is key to enhancing our customers’ experience, and Bango makes that seamless.”
Echostar becomes the latest telecommunications service provider to utilize the Digital Vending Machine to offer its customers subscription apps and bundles. Other companies that utilize the technology include Comcast’s Xfinity TV, Verizon Fios and Altice USA’s Optimum.
“Subscription bundling is entering a new phase, one where personalization, variety and flexibility are key to growth,” said Paul Larbey, the CEO at Bango. “t’s exciting to see Dish and Sling moving quickly to meet this shift, using the Digital Vending Machine from Bango to power their subscription bundling and lay the groundwork for broader subscription strategies. We look forward to expanding our work together.”
Sling TV is one of the most-affordable ways to watch live sports over streaming, with its Sling Orange package offering access to ESPN, TNT Sports and entertainment and news networks like CNN, AMC, Comedy Central, the History Channel and A&E for $46 per month. Sling also offers a Day Pass to Sling Orange that unlocks 24 hours of access to ESPN, TNT Sports and other channels for $5.
The Sling Blue package includes Fox Sports, NFL Network, USA Network and other channels for $46 per month, and a cheaper Sling Select package offers access to Fox News and NFL Network for $20 per month.
In the decade since Sling TV launched, the streaming service has sought to differentiate itself from competitors on price, with Sling TV’s packages often being among the most-affordable ways to watch live news, sports and entertainment compared to traditional cable and satellite TV plans.
Over time, the pay TV bundle has fractured, and some of Sling TV’s competitors are now offering their own low-cost channel packages that include some of the same news and sports channels.
Streaming bundles, like the type that Bango’s Digital Vending Machine allows, are seen as a key part of a service’s growth and retention strategy. Last month, a survey from Hub Entertainment Research found nearly half of Americans surveyed said they were likely to keep a streaming service if they could bundle other apps with it, and another survey from Hub said streamers were gravitating toward bundles because it helped eliminate confusion over the sheer number of choices on the market and provided a single, and often lower, price point when purchasing access to several apps.
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Read more:
- Sling TV launches low-cost Sling Select package for $20 per month
- Sling TV tries to court sports pirates with $5 day pass
- Sling TV integrates broadcast channels on Vizio TVs
- Americans drawn to special interest bundles, Bango says
- Hub: Streaming bundles are boosting subscription video adoption
- Hub: Streaming bundles boost customer loyalty
