Update: Sling TV has announced that HBO will sync up with its TV-streaming service staring April 9.
If you're a cord cutter that enjoys HBO's Game of Thrones as much as this editor does, then you're probably copping off of your parents' or friends' cable subscription account. But if you want to finally pay up like a goddamn adult, Sling TV is about to provide another option.
Dish Network today announced that HBO will launch on its new live TV-streaming service in time for the GoT premiere this Sunday, April 12. The channel will cost an additional $15 a month on top of Sling TV's base monthly rate of $20.
The news confirms a slight delay that will keep the service under wraps until "before Saturday, April 11." HBO was originally scheduled to launch on Sling TV on April 8.
Unlike HBO Now, the network's standalone service that just launched on Apple TV for the same price, HBO on Sling TV will both appear as a live channel and offer the on demand content found within HBO Go. So, why is Sling TV putting off the launch for another few days?
Getting ready for the onslaught
Basically, Sling is battening down the hatches. In the same announcement of the delay, the company detailed a short list of improvements to the service that will launch alongside HBO.
First and foremost, Sling is working on "various enhancements to reduce overhead and load on our servers," the release reads. In other words, Game of Thrones brings on the traffic, and Sling wants to be ready.
The update will also roll out parental controls across all of its available channels that allows parents to manage TV shows by rating. Given that HBO's programming runs the gamut from the incest-ridden Game of Thrones to rebroadcasts of Pixar movies, it makes sense.
Finally, the Sling TV mini guide will score an update that makes it easier to find shows by subject and genre. This last change will only apply to Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Roku players, Roku TV models and Xbox One.
A delay is never the best news, but hey, if Sling can pull it off before April 12, then all good. Now, let's see how the stream holds up when the clock strikes 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific.
- How about that Apple TV 2?
