Sling TV has announced the launch of its Android TV app for the Nexus Player of Google. The app is now already available to be downloaded from the Google Play Store.
The partnership between Sling TV and Google is launching along with a special offer that will allow customers to purchase the Nexus Player at half of its stated price. To avail of the 50 percent discount, customers will only have to pre-pay three months of Sling TV.
Customers will also be given the option to try out the service of Sling TV for free on their Nexus Player devices for a period of seven days.
The release of Sling TV's app to the Google Play Store, which can be installed not only on the Nexus Player but also on other Android TV-based devices, expands the device portfolio of the Internet TV service. Sling TV can be installed and operated on Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Android and iOS devices, Macs and PCs, Roku, Roku TV and the Xbox One gaming console. The wide list of compatible devices for Sling TV makes it available on more platforms compared to any of its competitors.
"We're committed to making Sling TV available on the most popular devices consumers use to stream live and on-demand entertainment," said Sling TV CEO Roger Lynch, adding that the company expects the partnership with Android TV and the Nexus Player to provide more convenience for existing and new customers to watch content on Sling TV.
The Best of Live TV package of Sling TV features over 20 channels with a monthly fee of $20. Among the channels included in the package are ESPN, the Food Network, Adult Swim, the Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, Bloomberg TV and CNN. The package also allows users to access WatchESPN, along with ESPN3 and a massive collection of video-on-demand content.
Customers also have the option of paying an extra $15 monthly to add HBO to their packages, and an extra $5 monthly for add-ons such as Hollywood Extra, Sports Extra, Lifestyle Extra, Kids Extra and World News Extra, including recently launched Latino-focused add-ons Películas & Novelas Extra and Deportes Extras.
While CNET does not cite the Nexus Player and Android TV as one of its favorite streaming devices and platforms due to the lack of native apps and a Google content-favored interface, the addition of Sling TV will go a long way in strengthening Android TV's native app support. However, Android TV will need to do much more to be able to catch up to its competitors such as Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku.
