Sling TV is now debuting a new “Trending Live” feature which should help to make the process of deciding what to watch a little easier.
Trending Live does exactly what it sounds like as the feature is purpose-designed to highlight what is showing right now and what is trending.
The feature is based on the wider Sling TV community so this is not the same as the standard “popular” feature found on most interfaces. Instead, Trending Live will directly highlight what live TV content other Slingers are currently tuning into right now.
This is also an all-inclusive category so you can expect to not only find TV shows and movies, but also sports, news programs, live events, and so on.
At present, the new Trending Live ribbon is only rolling out to users of select Roku devices although Sling has confirmed the feature will make its way to “other Sling TV compatible devices” in due course. There was no specific mention of which platforms will get it or when and so it remains to be seen if this becomes available for both Android mobile and Android TV – but it should do.
In the meantime, owners of a compatible device will find the Trending Live ribbon populated under the “My TV” section of the interface.
Overall, the Trending Live features seems like an interesting addition as too often the experience is reliant on the user’s individual viewing habits to generate suggestions the user is likely to want to watch.
In contrast, this feature will tap into the wider Sling TV community and provide a way for users to be exposed to content they might not necessarily have known about, or been suggested based on their own viewing habits, and yet might still enjoy.
In other words, there’s no more FOMO with live TV here as any shows or events that are likely to be discussed the next day at work, or even on social media at the time will now be populated in the user’s feed as they happen.
Sling TV has seemingly been working hard to improve the functionality of its apps and this has resulted in some novel features coming through, such as this one.
In spite of continually looking to offer a richer user experience, Sling TV remains one of the most affordable options for those looking to move away from cable packages in favor of live TV streaming.
Sling TV’s plans start out at $25 per month which is well below what DIRECTV NOW, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV and PlayStation Vue currently charge, although by the same token the Sling TV plans are not typically as channel-heavy as those other options.
The company has also been extremely aggressive when it comes to promotions as Sling TV is nearly always giving away a free device to those who opt to pay for the service in advance, as well as running various price-specific specials in general.
For example, right now new subscribers can save an additional 40% off the first month, bringing the price of both the Sling “Orange” and “Blue” plans down to $15 per month, or $25 per month if opting for the more robust “Orange & Blue” plan.