Sling TV sports channels: Is Sling TV the best streaming service for sports?

Sling TV for sports highlights

• Starting at $30/mo.
• Carries regional and national sports networks
• Start a free 3-day free trial

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Start a 7-day free trial

Sign up for the Orange or Blue Sling TV packages, or get them both to access 50+ channels. Use the add-ons to customize your streaming experience!

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Sling TV for streaming sports

Sling TV is a streaming service that aims to provide affordable alternatives to cable. It enables viewers to stream live channels covering popular entertainment, lifestyle, news and sports. 

The service offers three separate plans, Sling TV Blue, Sling TV Orange and the combined Sling TV Blue & Orange. The three plans provide between 30 and 50+ live channels, which include several Sling TV sports networks. For more information about the service, read our Sling TV review. 

Compare Sling TV plans and channels

Sling TV sports channels

Sling TV is home to various types of sports content, including regional sports networks and national networks. For more information about how to watch the service and the content it provides access to, read our guide to the Sling TV channels list.

Sports channels that Sling TV does not have

Some channels that aren’t available through the basic plans are available through Sling sports add-ons. But major sports channels that are unavailable from Sling TV include CBS Sports Network, Golf Channel, MLB Network and NFL Network.

Local channels on Sling TV

Regional sports networks typically carry most local sporting events and are largely shared between FOX and NBC. Sling TV’s Blue plan carries FOX regional networks, while Sling TV’s Orange plan is home to NBC regional networks. This means viewers should be able to catch most of their local teams’ live games, but they may need to sign up for the Blue & Orange to watch all the games in their region.

• FOX local networks
• NBC local networks

Sling TV add-ons

Sports fans can purchase several add-ons to increase the number of Sling sports channels available to them and improve their viewing experience.

Sling TV Blue Sports Extra ($10/mo.)

The Sling TV Blue Sports Extra adds nine further sports channels on top of subscribers’ $30/mo. base package. Major channels within this add-on include NBA TV, NFL RedZone and NHL Network. It also includes BeIN Sports, NBC Golf, Pac-12 Network, Olympic Channel, Outside TV and Tennis Channel. 

Sling TV Orange Sports Extra ($10/mo.)

Sling TV Orange subscribers can add eight further channels to their plan with this Sling Sports Extra add-on. Major channels included within the Orange plan add-on are BeIN Sports, NBA TV and NHL Network, plus Outside TV and Tennis Channel. The Sling TV Blue Sports Extra plan is a strong add-on option for college sports fans as it adds ESPN Bases Loaded, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN SEC, ESPN SEC+ and ESPNU, as well as ACC Network, Longhorn Network and Pac-12 Network.

Sling TV Best of Spanish Extra ($10/mo.)

While not specifically a sports add-on, the Sling TV Spanish Extra package includes two additional sports options. BeIN Sports and its Spanish language alternative BeIN Sports Ñ are both available with the add-on.

Willow Cricket Mini ($5.mo.)

Cricket fans have an option to add two channels to their Sling TV plan. The Willow Cricket Mini add-on provides viewers with access to Willow Cricket and Willow Extra.

Cloud DVR Plus ($5/mo.)

Cloud digital video recorder (DVR) features are really useful for sports fans as they enable viewers to record a live game and watch it at a later date. And the more cloud DVR space that a user has, the more live games and sports analysis and highlights they are able to store.

Sling TV’s Cloud DVR Plus enables viewers to record up to 50 hours of live content. This offers five-times more storage space than a standard Sling TV plan. That’s not a huge amount compared to other streaming services, such as YouTube’s unlimited cloud DVR. But Sling TV automatically makes space by deleting the oldest recordings that have already been watched. It also enables users to create folders to organize their saved content and schedule recordings from the TV guide, which could be helpful for Sling TV NFL viewers to DVR their favorite teams.

Extras for sports fans

In addition to having different sports content, Sling TV’s plans are also distinct in the user experience features they offer.

Sling TV devices

Sling TV viewers can watch their favorite sports team from the comfort of their sofa, at work or on the go. The service is available through web browsers on laptops and PCs. It can also be watched through apps for Amazon Fire, Android and Apple mobile phones and tablets. Sling TV has apps for Android TV, Apple TV, LG and Samsung smart TVs. It’s also available on Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast and Roku streaming devices, as well as Xbox One gaming consoles.

Simultaneous streams

Sling TV Blue provides three simultaneous streams, compared to the one available on Sling TV Orange. Combining the two in Sling TV Blue & Orange enables users to watch the service on four different devices.

Cloud DVR

All of the Sling TV packages come with 10 hours of cloud DVR storage, which can be upgraded using the add-on outlined above.

Game Finder

Sling TV also has a useful Game Finder feature, which helps subscribers find upcoming regular-season games across popular sports leagues like the NBA, NFL and NHL. The tool is available on the Game Finder homepage and within the Sports tab in the Sling TV mobile app.

Out hot take: Is Sling TV good for watching sports?

Sling TV is a solid option for sports fans who want to watch their local teams in action and stream nationally broadcasted events. Its plans cover local games that are aired on FOX and NBC regional sports networks, as well as channels like ESPN, FOX Sports, NBC Sports Network and TNT. People looking for even more live sports can add further channels to their subscription with Sling TV’s Sports Extras add-ons. Sling TV is available to try before users buy with a three-day free trial on all of its plans.

Sign up for Sling TV

Start a 7-day free trial

Sign up for the Orange or Blue Sling TV packages, or get them both to access 50+ channels. Use the add-ons to customize your streaming experience!

Start your free trial