Sling TV, the streaming television service, is going on the attack against cable companies, and it’s bringing Machete with it. OK, it’s Danny Trejo, but he looks like he’s out for blood in the company’s new campaign called “Who’s Bad?!”
According to a company press release, Sling TV’s campaign to convince people to drop cable and sign up for the service speaks to “pay-TV subscribers’ simmering resentment of cable’s high prices and strong arm tactics.” Hence, one seriously badass Trejo speaking right into the camera, putting cable on notice:
Sling TV (a subsidiary of DISH Network Corp.) offers packages comparable to those you’re used to from cable companies, but cheaper. (Packages start at $20 a month.) It’s not quite apples to apples, however. The only networks they have deals with are Fox, ABC and NBC. You have to pay an extra $5 for ABC and the three networks are only available in “select markets.” And if you want to watch Sling TV on your TV, you’ll need a device like Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku or Amazon’s Fire TV.
Of course, you’ll need a good internet connection, and chances are you’re already paying your cable company for that as part of a package you have. And, make no mistake, if you like having all your existing cable channels, you can ring up a hefty monthly bill with Sling TV, too. Start with the $40 package, add HBO for $15 a month, Cinemax for $10 and $35+ for other channel packs, and you’re right at that $100 a month that Trejo complains about in the ad. So you could find yourself trying to cut the cord, but paying $100 a month for content and still paying the cable company $40 a month or so for broadband.
Still, for cord-cutters, Sling TV offers an attractive pay-as-you-go approach. The pricing is transparent—if you want extras, you just pay for those extras. You can watch on all your digital devices—something the cable companies make very difficult, if not impossible. And if you don’t like it, you can quit. That’s something at which cable companies truly are bad.