As prices rise for both cable TV and live TV streaming services, sports fans are wondering every year how much they will have to pay to watch NFL, college football and basketball.
With the slow meltdown of cable regional sports networks (RSNs), the fragmented landscape of sports broadcasting can seem aggravating and costly. YouTube TV has definitely emerged as a winner in the post-cable heyday with more than 8 million subscribers.
The streamer is the 4th largest pay TV provider in the U.S. However, the much smaller underdog Sling TV (with 1.92 million subscribers) has been taking some big swings lately at a time when blackouts of ESPN and Big Ten Network are arriving at the beginning of NFL and NCAA football season.
Sling is now offering 4K on sports networks at no extra charge, and offering a variety of discounts to its already budget-friendly service.
When comparing Sling TV vs YouTube TV for streaming sports networks, here are some major considerations:
Channels
When it comes to sports, it’s always about the channels – cable networks and broadcast networks. YouTube TV offers a complete lineup of local broadcast channels like NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX along with ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, Big Ten Network and NBA TV.
Sling TV has limited coverage with NBC, FOX and ABC, and has no CBS coverage. However, it delivers on sports channels such as ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, NFL Network and Big Ten Network.
You can customize your channel lineup more with Sling TV and pay less, while YouTube TV offers a complete cable-like package at a higher price.
Sports add-ons
Sling TV prices its sports add-on for $11 more per month. It includes NFL RedZone, NBA TV, NHL Network, SEC Network, Big Ten Network, ACC Network, ACC Network Extra, ESPNU, ESPNews, Tennis Channel, MLB Network, beIN Sports, and Outside TV. The exact lineup can vary depending on whether you subscribe to the Orange or Blue plan, but the channels are undeniably valuable for college football, basketball, hockey and golf.
YouTube TV charges an additional $10.99 per month for 16 more channels that includes NFL RedZone, Tennis Channel and beIN Sports. You could argue that the key channels from Sling TV’s Sports add-on are already in YouTube TV’s base plan. However, the YouTube TV Sports add-on has a fairly lame channel lineup: Billiard TV, FanDuel TV, Impact Wrestling, PokerGo+ and similar networks. It largely feels like a remainder bin of old DVDs that nobody wants to watch.
Price
Both YouTube TV and Sling TV have gotten aggressive with discounts and packages to entice customers. YouTube TV is currently slashing its regular rate of $72.99 per month down to $64.99 per month for the first four months of service.
Sling TV is already priced lower at $40 per month if you choose an Orange or Blue plan. The latest discount takes $25 off the first month of service if you subscribe to the Orange or Blue plan. You can also get one month of the Orange and Blue plans together for $30.
Usually, if you combine Orange + Blue it’s $55 per month. But the latest Season Pass offers four months of Sling Orange + Blue with Sports Extra for $199. That comes to $49.75.
4K Streaming
There is an important caveat when it comes to “4K” streaming of live TV streaming services. None of them are native 4K. That’s largely because cable and broadcast networks are sticking to 1080p and upgrading the resolution largely due to costs.
Sling TV debuted its 4K streaming on local FOX stations, and has since shown sporting events from the 2024 Paris Olympics on USA Network and a college football game on ESPN3. There is no extra charge for streaming 4K sporting events on Sling TV.
You can also DVR 4K sporting events on Sling TV as well. Sling says it plans to add 4K streaming for the MLB Postseason including the World Series on FOX. Other 4K broadcasts on Sling will include college football, NFL, NBA, college basketball, and U.S. Open Tennis.
To stream 4K on Sling TV, you need to have a 4K supported Smart TV and use a 4K Roku or 4K Amazon Fire TV device.
YouTube offers the 4K Plus add-on for $9.99 per month. The 4K Plus add-on brings higher resolution to Discovery, ESPN, FOX Sports, FX, Nat Geo, NBC Sports, Tastemade, and NBA TV.
Device support for the 4K add-on is pretty good. Google TV, 4K Roku streaming devices, Amazon Fire TV 4K devices, Apple TV 4K, PS4 Pro and NVIDIA Shield support YouTube TV 4K streaming
In addition to upgraded streaming resolution, the 4K Plus add-on lets you download recordings to mobile devices, and adds unlimited streams at home. According to YouTube TV’s terms and conditions, customers can sometimes get a 30-day free trial of the 4K Plus followed by “offer price” of $4.99 per month for 12 months.
Cloud DVR
Sling TV offers subscribers 50 hours of Cloud DVR with any subscription. Subscribers have the option to expand recording space to 200 hours for an additional $5 per month. Sling does offer 10 hours of free DVR for Sling Freestream, which is similar to tubi or Pluto TV and costs nothing to watch.
YouTube TV includes unlimited Cloud DVR in its base plan, so you never have to worry about running out of space. YouTube DVR recordings are automatically erased after 9 months.
Simultaneous streaming
Sling TV bases the number of streams on your plan. With Sling Orange, you can stream on one screen at a time. Sling Blue subscribers can stream on up to three screens at once. When you get Sling Orange + Blue, you get a total of four streams.
YouTube TV lets subscribers watch three streams at once within their household when subscribing to the base plan.
Final Takeaway on YouTube TV vs Sling TV for Sports
YouTube TV definitely has a full package in terms of its channel lineup, user-friendly menus and local broadcast channels. It’s pretty easy to see why it has essentially become the new cable plan for millions of TV viewers.
But for a certain kind of cord-cutter or cord never, Sling TV offers more in terms of flexibility and newer perks such as 4K streaming. Sling TV’s base plan is significantly cheaper than YouTube TV, costing about 45 percent less per month.
If you are already getting local broadcast channels through a TV antenna, Sling TV might be the best option for streaming cable sports networks.
