Sling TV continues to drop subscribers, loses 55K subscribers in second quarter

Dish reported today that its streaming service Sling TV declined in subscribers during the second quarter of 2022, with a net loss of 55,000. This significantly differs from the first quarter of 2022, when it lost 234,000 subscribers. However, this is the third straight quarter that it has seen a drop.

The figure was also less of a loss than Q2 2021, when Sling TV lost 65,000 subs. Now, Sling has a total of 2.197 million subscribers, a decrease of 242,000 from the 2.439 million in the second quarter last year. During the first quarter of 2022, Sling TV had a total of 2.252 million, for comparison.

The company wrote in a regulatory filing, “The decrease in net Sling TV subscribers was primarily related to higher subscriber disconnects following seasonal sports activity. We continue to experience increased competition, including competition from other subscription video-on-demand and live-linear OTT service providers.”

While Sling TV is considered one of the first live TV streaming services, launching in 2015, it still has yet to beat Google in the streaming wars. YouTube TV continues to be a live TV streaming service to watch after revealing that it topped the 5 million subscriber mark, which included those on trials. Disney reported during its Q1 2022 report that Hulu Live TV had 4.3 million subscribers -- but it only includes paid subscribers in its numbers.

Sling TV still beats FuboTV, which has 1.05 million subscribers. Philo has around 800,000 subs.

The company has been focusing on retaining customers with new content, such as the free Elvis Presley Channel, which launched in June. Also, in July, Sling TV provided customers free previews to premium streaming services via its “Freeview Weekends,” which include AMC+, EPIX, Sundance Now, Hallmark Movies Now and more.