Sports fans know how crucial access to ESPN can be for live sports. Many of the biggest games are broadcast exclusively there.
Sports fans also know that access to the ESPN family of channels can be expensive. Sling TV is looking to fix this with a new cost-effective subscription option.
For just $19.99 per month, the new Sling Essentials package offers access to ESPN, ESPN2 and a small variety of other entertainment channels aimed at satisfying the whole household.
This is $10 per month cheaper than ESPN Unlimited, ESPN’s standalone streaming service that offers access to its entire sports catalog.
And it’s also significantly cheaper than another live TV streaming service package that offers ESPN as part of its subscription. For context, YouTube TV is now $83 per month.
Let’s take a look at the full details to see if this package could be right for your household.
Sling Essentials: Channel and Pricing Details
Sling Essentials launched in April 2026 as a low-cost streaming option for consumers who want a skinny bundle of channels that includes ESPN.
This is not a complete replacement for more extensive streaming services like YouTube TV, DIRECTV or Hulu + Live TV, but could save you hundreds per year if you’re comfortable dropping to this package.
“Sling Essentials is the ultimate live streaming solution for viewers who want premium content without a bloated bundle,” said Seth Van Sickel, Senior Vice President, Sling TV.
Here’s what Sling Essentials offers:
Sling Essentials Channel List
Sports: ESPN and ESPN2
Family & Kids: Disney Channel, Freeform, and Game Show Network (GSN)
Movies & Drama: Lifetime Movies (LMN), Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Bounce
Classic & Nostalgia: MeTV, startTV, GRIT, and Heroes & Icons (H&I)
This is available for $19.99 per month, and 50 hours of DVR is included at no additional cost. You can cancel at any time with no penalty.
Unfortunately, this package does not include other ESPN channels like ESPNU, ESPNews, SEC Network or ACC Network. Nor does it offer Fox Sports channels or any live news content.
Sling says Essentials subscribers can also add on Sports Extra, News Extra, Kids Extra, Entertainment Extra, or Latino Extra for additional monthly fees if the Essentials channel lineup isn’t quite enough for your household.
You’d also need to get your local channels like NBC, CBS, FOX and ABC via digital antenna, as they are not included.
Final Thoughts: Sling Is Problem Solving for the Average Streamer
Sling may be on to something with this new subscription option.
In a world of ever-rising subscription fees, Essentials is a reasonably priced solution for the household that simply wants ESPN and a few interesting channels in the entertainment and movie genres.
It’s not perfect, but this offering can be summed up as a simple “problem-solving” measure for the average streamer.
The problem Sling TV identified:
Programming rights fees and broadcasting exclusivity create a frustrating world where you need access to ESPN to see many of the big games, but your streaming TV provider has to pay substantial fees to provide the channel.
The end result is a higher subscription fee for streaming services that include the ESPN family of channels.
How Sling TV is trying to solve it:
There are “skinny bundle” services like Philo and Frndly TV already on the market at affordable prices, but these do not include any live sports or news channels.
That creates a hole in the streaming marketplace.
Sling basically said: “What if we build as low-cost an option as possible that includes ESPN and a small assortment of worthwhile channels to go along with it?”
For many people, this is exactly the right amount of “pay TV” in 2026.
Will you be trying this new Sling subscription? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the Clark.com community.
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