Comcast and Dish Network team up to offer Sling International on Xfinity X1

By Kris Wouk April 6, 2018

Comcast and Dish Network may be competitors in the pay TV market, but it doesn’t mean that the companies won’t work together when the deal serves each of their interests, and it seems like a major win for their customers as well. On Thursday, April 5, the Dish-owned streaming service Sling TV announced that Sling International has launched on Comcast’s Xfinity X1 platform.

Sling International offers multicultural content in 21 languages from nearly 400 international networks, with packages starting at $10 per month. Languages available via the service include Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Urdu, Bangla, Bengali, Brazilian, French, Italian, German, Polish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Mandarin, and English.

Existing Sling International customers will find getting started on the X1 set-top box easy. Just select the newly added Sling International app from the Featured or Entertainment sections in the Apps menu, then sign in with your Sling credentials. Getting to the app is even easier with the voice remote: all you need to do is say “Sling International” into the remote and you’re there. If you’re a Comcast Xfinity customer but are new to Sling International, signing up is easy, as you can do so through the app.

Though it may seem a bit of a shock to see these two companies cooperating, it has actually been a long time coming. The groundwork was laid in 2016, when the two firms first inked a deal. At the time, the plan was to offer all of Sling TV via the X1 platform, but so far, that has not come to pass. This move does seem to indicate that we will eventually see Sling TV on the X1 platform, but it’s anyone’s guess when this may be.

This also points to why this deal is happening. Comcast wants X1 to be an all-in-one entertainment destination for its customers, even if it means working with companies that it competes with in other areas of its business. Netflix, YouTube, and Pandora are some of the other services available on the X1 platform.

If this news leaves you wanting to know more about Sling TV, be sure to take a look at our guide to everything you need to know about the service.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…

Audio / Video

There’s a rare deal on the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones today

Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones seen in black.

The massively popular Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones rarely appear in headphone deals, so if you've had your eye on them for quite a while, you're in luck because they're currently $51 off on Walmart. From their original price of $400, you'll only have to pay $349, but only if you hurry because we don't expect stocks to last long. You're going to miss out on the offer if you take too long, so don't hesitate -- add the wireless headphones to your cart and check out as fast as you can.

Why you should buy the Sony WH-1000XM5
The best headphones that you can buy right now are the Sony WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones, and it's not even close. At the heart is their outstanding wireless sound, supported by top-quality active noise cancellation that uses two processors and eight microphones to block all unwanted sound, as well as crystal-clear hands-free calling using four beamforming microphones and advanced audio signal processing. The wireless headphones also offer Bluetooth multipoint connection so that you can quickly switch between different devices, touch controls for functions like adjusting volume and calling your digital assistant, and Speak-to-Chat and Quick Attention features to stop your music and let ambient sound in without having to take them off.

Audio / Video

Sony’s premium soundbars will finally get support for VRR, ALLM

Sony HT-A7000 Dolby Atmos soundbar close-up of top panel.

It's been a long time coming, but the wait is almost over. Sony's premium home theater soundbars are set to receive a software update that will add support for variable refresh rate (VRR) and auto low-latency mode (ALLM), two HDMI 2.1 gaming features that have been absent since these products launched.

The soundbars in question are the Sony HT-A5000, HT-A7000, and the multi-wireless speaker HT-A9 system. All three are scheduled to receive the update this fall, but Sony has declined to share specific timing, saying only that there will be more information closer to the rollout date.

Audio / Video

What is Roku? The streaming platform explained

A roku powered TV hanging on a wall running Roku OS 12.

How do you get your Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, or Prime Video fix? Chances are it's through a streaming device or smart TV, and there's a good chance that it's through a Roku device or one running its pioneering streaming operating system. At this point, cord-cutting is old news, and Roku was one of the earliest companies to drive the adoption of web-based streaming with its self-contained, app-driven devices.

Today, watching something "on Roku" is standard parlance and the company's popular platform can be found baked into some of the biggest TV brands in the world as well as in its own lineup of streaming devices sticks, and set-top boxes. Even so, that doesn't mean you totally get what a Roku actually is. What is Roku? How does Roku work? Do you need a subscription to use it? Is it just a device you buy, or is it software?