• by Wayne Friedman , January 5, 2015

For $20 a month, consumers can access, via broadband, on-demand programming — as well as live programming though an add-on option. The company says Sling TV will be available in a couple of weeks. News of a cloud-based TV service from Dish surfaced a few months ago.

Dish executives believe the product is timely, due to stalling growth in traditional pay TV services and increased streaming usage — especially with young pay TV users where there has been a 6% decline in subscriptions for customers under the age of 35.

Dish executives aren’t worried that Sling TV will cannibalize the business of traditional pay TV customers, since it's targeting a different and narrower consumer segment.

In that regard, Sling TV will be operated separately from Dish Network — and from Dish’s Slingbox, which allows viewers to watch the same programming they have at home wherever they have an Internet connection.

The low-cost Sling TV will have just under two dozen channels — including ESPN and other Disney channels (except ABC Television Network); Turner Broadcasting’s TNT, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim; Scripps Networks Interactive’s Food Network, HGTV and Travel Channel; and A+E Networks.

It will run on Internet-connected devices, including Xbox One, Roku, PCs, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.

A marketing campaign will accompany the launch for Sling TV, with the theme “Take Back TV.”

CBS, HBO, and Sony are also planning cloud-based streaming TV services.