Skip to main content

Sling TV will give you a free Google Nest Hub if you prepay for 3 months

We love a good freebie, especially right around the holidays, when every penny counts. If you’ve been thinking of buying a Google Nest Hub, Sling TV has a pretty sweet offer for you: Sign up and pay for three months of service — even at the lowest cost of $25 per month for the Sling Orange channel lineup — and you’ll get a free Google Nest Hub.

Why the generosity on Sling’s part? On the one hand, there’s nothing like a freebie to drive up your subscriber numbers. We’ve seen AT&T’s DirecTV do it in the past with Apple TV giveaways, and there’s no doubt it works — at least in the short term. If Sling is looking to show an increase in their fourth-quarter subscriber numbers, this is a good way to do it.

Recommended Videos

However, the freebie serves another purpose. In November, Sling announced that you can watch its service on Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max, making it one of the few live TV streaming services that are compatible with these devices. So it follows that (much like with the AT&T promotion) if Sling gives you a device that lets you stream their service, you might be more inclined to stay subscribed even after the mandatory three-month period.

Still, regardless of Sling’s motivations for the offer, it’s a great deal. Not only do you get a Google Nest Hub, but you also gain the ability to control Sling TV with your voice via the Google Assistant. Voice commands such as “Hey, Google, watch HGTV on Sling” or “play,” “pause,” “skip forward 10 seconds,” or “stop.” If you have a Chromecast-enabled TV or streaming device such as a Google Chromecast Ultra or Nvidia Shield TV, you can cast Sling TV to these devices with your voice from the Nest Hub.

The Google Nest Hub giveaway is only for new subscribers and the deal isn’t compatible with Sling’s free-trial periods, so you won’t be getting 30 days free. Still, if you’ve been thinking of cutting the cord, or switching your live TV streaming provider, this is an excellent opportunity to get more for your money.

Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
Sling TV slips below 2 million subscribers, and it seems OK with that
Sling TV logo on Apple TV.

There’s a fallacy in the term “Streaming Wars” — a phrase I’ve never liked — in that it’s all about growth at all costs. That the only way to “win” said “war” is to be the biggest streaming service. That’s the game we’ve been taught by the likes of the Googles and Facebooks of the world, and it’s undoubtedly a big part of why Google’s YouTube TV sits atop the heap of live-streaming services with more than 8 million subscribers.

Then there’s Sling TV. The legacy service has been slowly, but consistently losing subscribers over the years, while always hovering at just above 2 million. That’s changed, though, according to its first-quarter 2024 earnings, which were announced by new parent company EchoStar. Sling TV finished with 1.92 million subs, down from 2.06 million at the end of 2023, and down about 8.5% from the first quarter of 2023. It hasn't been below 2 million since I started tracking it in 2018.

Read more
You can finally order Walmart’s $50 Chromecast with Google TV killer
Onn 4K Pro Streaming Device box.

The Onn 4K Pro Streaming Device has an unassuming name and very tempting price. Walmart

Google I/O is just around the corner. But for all the new Googley goodness we expect -- and a ton of that's going to include the letters A and I -- one thing we're not planning on seeing is a successor to the venerable-but-aging Chromecast with Google TV. That's why this $50 box from Walmart's in-house Onn brand has had folks excited. Because in addition to just being ... not new -- the current Chromecast basically is four years old -- it's always been pretty underpowered for what it does.

Read more
What is Google TV? Here’s everything you need to know
The Google TV home screen on a Hisense UX.

Google TV is one of the best streaming platforms, and it’s available on a wide range of devices. From smart TVs to plug-and-play HDMI gadgets like the Chromecast with Google TV 4K and HD models, you can do all kinds of cool things with Google TV. Of course, streaming movies and shows from the likes of Netflix, Hulu, and Prime Video is the most basic thing this web-connected OS can do. 

You can also use Google TV to cast content from a mobile device to your TV, and can even call upon Google Assistant to control some of your smart home devices. We love that Google TV keeps tabs on your viewing history, too, in order to curate suggested movies and shows right on the home page. 

Read more