Although services like Netflix and Hulu are great alternatives to cable or satellite television, the fact that they don’t offer sports and news has dissuaded many people from cutting the cord and switching over to online streaming, but that could change thanks to Dish. The company has announced a internet television service known as Sling TV that will finally bring ESPN online.
Lots of people say they want to ditch cable TV for the Web, but can’t because they want to watch sports — specifically the stuff on ESPN, which has a hammerlock on much of the sports world. Now they will finally get a chance: Dish’s new Web-TV service, which the company is formally announcing today, lets you stream ESPN, over the Web, for $20 a month. Dish’s “Sling TV”* offering, which the company says will launch “soon,” also comes with 10 other non-ESPN channels, including the Food Network, CNN and the Travel Channel, and the ability to add more networks for additional fees. But it’s very unlikely that you’re going to sign up for Sling TV because you want to stream Wolf Blitzer or “Chopped” to your iPad. If you get it, it’s because you want to see stuff like the College Football Championship, which is going to air next week exclusively on ESPN.