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Sling TV App Briefly Appears in Apple TV App Store, Hinting at Upcoming Launch [Update: Hoax]

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Apr 12, 2001
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Update: The person who submitted the screenshots and information to MacRumors has admitted that it was a hoax.

Sling TV customers who have been hoping for a tvOS app may soon be able to watch the service on their fourth-generation Apple TVs, as it appears a launch could be coming in the near future. This morning, a MacRumors reader came across a Sling TV app in the tvOS App Store, which he says "works great" after he downloaded it.

The app disappeared from the tvOS App Store shortly after he installed it, but screenshots show the app interface, complete with Sling channels to select from, and they depict the Sling TV app on the Home screen.

slingtvappicon-800x483.jpg

For those unfamiliar with Sling TV, it is an Internet-based streaming television service that's designed for cord cutters. Sling TV offers a $20 bundle of channels that can be watched live on a range of devices, from iPhones and iPads to Macs, consoles, and set-top boxes like the Amazon Fire TV and the Roku.

slingtvapp2-800x600.jpg

The third-generation Apple TV did not support Sling TV because Apple exercised strict control over the available content options, but with the fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple has loosened up its guidelines to make a much wider range of content available. With an inability to secure its own deals for a streaming television service, Apple has turned to making the tvOS App Store a way for content providers to offer a varied and rich selection of media options.

slingtvinterface-800x600.jpg

There was some speculation suggesting Apple had banned Sling from creating an Apple TV app, but a Sling representative later clarified that was not true, saying "We'd like to be on as many platforms as possible."

As recently as this morning, Sling said it had no information to divulge when questioned about the release of an Apple TV app, but the screenshots obtained this morning seem to suggest that an app is in the works and that it could be released in the near future.

Article Link: Sling TV App Briefly Appears in Apple TV App Store, Hinting at Upcoming Launch [Update: Hoax]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/03/02/sling-tv-coming-to-apple-tv-app-store/
J

jljue

macrumors 6502
Feb 4, 2011
281
57
Brandon, MS
Ah, this is good news and an excuse for me to get an Apple TV 4 to replace my Apple TV 2 in the AV cabinet and Roku 2 under the TV! My Roku 2 has an issue with my IR repeater, which is why it is not in the AV cabinet.
 
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MareLuce

MareLuce

macrumors 65816
Sep 26, 2010
1,118
479
Can I watch my Amazon and Netflix content on Apple TV ?

Edit: I have a Roku that I use to access both now, but was thinking about adding Apple TV.

The killer feature Amazon enabled: Purchased movies are now downloadable.
That means I will *always* purchase my movies from Amazon.

I can simply open the Amazon Video app on my iPad Pro and watch movies on the plane
Totally disconnected from the net.
 
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R

rweavere

macrumors member
Jan 23, 2014
30
13
Indiana, USA
I tried SlingTV. From my experience, watching Live TV was HORRIBLE, it was super laggy. However, if ESPN is all you care about, you can log into the WatchESPN app with your SlingTV account to get high quality video.

I used the Chromecast 3-month free trial. My 3 months ended, and I canceled. It wasn't a good enough experience to justify the $20/month.

I hope the native app runs much better than using it with AirPlay.
 
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mcdspncr

mcdspncr

macrumors regular
Jul 2, 2011
160
200
Finally - hate switching back and forth between my Apple TV and Roku just to use Sling. Gotta say though, I do love Sling. Works great, and being able to rewind several days worth of episodes really makes it superior
 
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DoctorTech

DoctorTech

macrumors 6502a
Jan 6, 2014
736
1,962
Indianapolis, IN
I love it, one more step toward dismantling the cable company's grip on content. I am really looking forward to the day that I can purchase individual live channels on via Apple TV. I dumped my cable subscription years ago and currently watch the few shows I am interested in seeing (i.e. The Walking Dead) on iTunes the day after they are run live on cable.
 
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npmacuser5

npmacuser5

macrumors 68000
Apr 10, 2015
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MareLuce said:
Can I watch my Amazon and Netflix content on Apple TV ?
Click to expand...
No Amazon app for any Apple TV. If you want to watch Amazon movies for example you need to AirPlay from an IOS or Mac device to the Apple TV. An extra step but it works well. Or you need a Fire TV (others) and an Apple TV.
 
ArtOfWarfare

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,554
6,053
They need to add E!, South Park, and Jeopardy (don't need the rest of CBS or CC, just Jeopardy and South Park) for me to seriously consider them. Might be able to convince my wife that she can live without E!...
 
M

mcfly88

macrumors 6502
Nov 3, 2012
407
261
I tried Sling TV a few months back.. and ended up not really using it. I've had just Netflix and Hulu (commercial free all the way) for the last 3-4 years and overall have been happy without cable. Also, the streaming app was pretty mediocre. It would constantly freeze and lag. Not to mention, the channels selection really isn't all that great. I'm not really into sports, so ESPN isn't really a big deal to me. Also, Hulu has pretty much all of content of the other live channels (sure its a day later, but that's not a huge deal).
 
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V

vicsara

macrumors newbie
Jun 10, 2015
15
3
This is very good guys ...
I have used sling Tv . It use to call mydish world.com. Which is own by dish network
And through sling TV dish offer cheap international tv package ...

Last year they also started American channel for 20 month and Inhabe used it. It is very good quality. I liked everything except I hate Roku and this app was only on Roku...
Now I can ditch TWC 98 a month package and get everything for $20 and that is the future of TV apple is trying to bring it on .....
 
east85

east85

macrumors 65816
Jun 24, 2010
1,343
495
I just cancelled Sling TV after having it for 4 months. The Mac App is literally the most buggy bloated POS ever created. Same with their Android Apps. I don't have much faith in them to suddenly stop sucking with an Apple TV app.

I've had nothing but a headache with their customer service. It's unreliable and buggy, cuts out randomly even when fine on bandwidth and speed. Maybe I'll try it again in a few years after they've figured out how to do this well.
 
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Dimwhit

Dimwhit

macrumors 68020
Apr 10, 2007
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mcdspncr said:
Finally - hate switching back and forth between my Apple TV and Roku just to use Sling. Gotta say though, I do love Sling. Works great, and being able to rewind several days worth of episodes really makes it superior
Click to expand...

So is that how the on demand part of the service works? You can watch anything that aired the last few days? Any limitations to it? The Live TV option doesn't appeal to me much, so I'm wondering how Sling works outside of that aspect.
 
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B

Bigredhunk

macrumors newbie
Jan 23, 2015
24
6
Thankfully you can watch Amazon content via the app & Airplay. Still waiting for that rumored (from late November) Amazon app on the ATV4 though. I doubt it will ever happen.

I'm about 10 seconds from canceling my $135/month Dish. Any moves in the direction of this OP are great by me.
 
rdlink

rdlink

macrumors 68040
Nov 10, 2007
3,226
2,435
Out of the Reach of the FBI
When Sling can give me my local Root Sports channel so that I can watch in-market baseball games we'll talk. Until then there is absolutely nothing in their package that I find compelling. Those are all of the channels that I ignored when I had satellite. Why on earth would I pay $20 a month to watch them now?
 
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Rocketman

Rocketman

macrumors 603
Dec 2, 2001
6,191
1,186
Claremont, The intellectual capitol of the world.
ryanmcv said:
Here.
Click to expand...
That's phunnie.

Based on the channel list I saw it is a weak offering of news channels including Russian propaganda channel RT! I will stick with Netflix and free offerings. I still have cable so can get the restricted channels authorized. I suspect in the next couple of years enough of those will go either free or ala carte so turning off cable TV will be realistic. AT&T announced today they will be offering DirecTV via a streaming service. That at least opens the possibility it could become an app in the future as well for ATV and others.
 
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