Sling TV — the third-largest of the live-streaming services in the U.S. — announced today in a blog post that it will stream some live sports in 4K resolution. It joins the likes of YouTube TV and Fubo with that feature, though it has limitations that the other services do not.
All of the services are limited in what they can stream in 4K — it’s ultimately up to the source material. But Sling TV has an added limitation in that the higher resolution is only available in certain locations.
They include:
- Atlanta
- Austin/Houston
- Chicago
- Dallas
- Detroit
- Los Angeles
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- New York City
- Oakland/San Jose
- Orlando/Gainesville/Tampa
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- San Francisco
- Seattle/Tacoma
- Washington, D.C.
That includes a number of the top 20 metropolitan statistical areas in the country, though it’s hardly all-inclusive. And there’s an additional limitation in that only the Sling TV app on Roku and Amazon Fire TV will support the 4K streams. While those are the two biggest platforms in the U.S. (Roku is No. 1, and Fire TV is No. 2), it still leaves out anyone using other hardware. (Sling does say that more hardware will be supported “in the coming months.”)
You’re also required to subscribe to both the Sling Orange and Sling Blue plans, though the 4K resolution doesn’t come with any additional costs beyond that. YouTube TV’s 4K option costs an extra $10 a month.
First up for Sling TV in the 4K arena is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 16. Following that will be comprehensive coverage of the Paris Olympics on USA Network, and college and pro football games later this fall. Also on tap, Sling says, are NBA games, the MLB postseason, and U.S. Open Tennis.
Sling TV had 1.92 million subscribers as of April 2024, about four times less than YouTube TV, and just 400,000 more than Fubo. It remains the more affordable choice, however, with Sling Orange and Sling Blue available for $40 a month if you get one, or $55 a month if you opt for both.
