Pages

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Sling Media Derides Cable's Current TV Everywhere Platform

Sling Media doesn't mind slinging a little mud in its latest advertising campaign against cable TV.  As I've argued, cable needs to embrace a true TV everywhere approach to enable its authenticated customer to watch all its programming, both on and off the cable box.  Unfortunately, programming agreements and content rights management currently hampers the ability to push such a strategy.  But Sling Media has built the elegant work-around with a box that talks to the cable box and then streams it to other mobile devices. 

Sling's owner, Dish Network, integrates Sling into its box making it a more ideal approach, but cable operators have been reticent to bring Sling technology into their own cable box.  So to attract non-Dish customers to Sling, according to Deadline, "launched an ad and social-media campaign that ridicules TV Everywhere – the cable and satellite initiatives that stream programming to subscribers. The messages urge consumers not to get “C.W.A.P”, a Sling acronym for 'Can’t Watch Anywhere Pain.'” 

As I mentioned, buying Slingbox has its advantages but it also requires that you have a cable set top box that can be used specifically for streaming.  Those in the home can't use the cable box while it is being used by the Slingbox.  And only one channel can be streamed at a time so that different members of the household can't all "sling" at the same time.  Despite all this though, it does provide the opportunity to watch every linear and on demand show that comes off the cable box, through the Slingbox, and streamed to any mobile device around the world.  It is a true TV Everywhere approach. 

Will this ad campaign move sales of the Slingbox?  Most households tend to be technologically challenged.  Heck, we even need help from our cable company to set up our cable box, modem, and wifi.  For those in the know, the Slingbox can be an exceptional value.