Downloading content for offline viewing is a key feature for most streaming services. Whether you want to catch up on The Walking Dead: World Beyond on your daily commute or continue watching The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armiesduring your lunch break, downloading titles is essential to saving precious data. But how’s that work with a live TV service?
As an over-the-top (OTT) cable-alternative service, Sling TV delivers live TV through a Wi-Fi connection. And with its cloud DVR feature, you can record and save live content to watch later. Or, you can stream movies and shows on-demand on your own time. But you’re here to find out how to download content from Sling TV! Well, the short answer is that Sling TV doesn’t have offline content at this time. But Sling TV isn’t alone. Most OTT cable-alternative services don’t provide offline capabilities.
Learn more below about Sling TV and its (lack of) offline capabilities.
What is offline content?
To put it simply, offline content is content that you can watch without a Wi-Fi connection. But, more specifically, offline content is a blanket term for the movies and shows that you download directly to your mobile device. Such devices include computers, smartphones, and tablets — the type of devices you’d use outside the home.
There are countless reasons why offline features are useful — the biggest being mobility. Having the ability to download your favorite titles is a lifesaver for those long plane rides or if you reside in rural areas with patchy Wi-Fi.
What do I need to get started with Sling TV offline downloads?
Would you like to know how to download movies and shows on Sling TV? Bad news. Unfortunately, Sling TV doesn’t offer offline content. While some video-on-demand (VOD) streaming services provide an offline download feature, even fewer OTT cable-alternative services like Sling TV actually do. That’s because you can’t download live TV for offline viewing.
The best way to get started with Sling TV is with one of its plans. Sling TV offers two paired-down base plans with Sling Orange and Sling Blue, which both start at $30/mo. Although Sling Orange and Sling Blue differ quite a bit. For instance, Sling Orange carries around 30 live TV channels, but you can only watch on 1 screen at any given time. By contrast, Sling Blue (remember, it’s the same price) has over 45 channels and provides 3 simultaneous screens. But Sling Orange carries more high-valued channels like ESPN, ESPN 2, and the Disney Channel. Fortunately, both Sling Orange and Sling Blue are able to be combined into Sling Orange + Blue for $45/mo. Not only will you receive all the channels from Sling Orange and Sling Blue, but also combined features — i.e., 4 simultaneous screens.
Sling TV is compatible with a wide range of devices, from your smart TV to your smartphone. That’s because Sling TV works by downloading its app and streaming directly from your supported devices. So, you’re able to stream Sling TV from your Android and iOS devices, computer, game console (Xbox One), streaming device (Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, or Roku) — or directly from your web browser. To glean more about Sling TV, it’s a good idea to hop on over to our Sling TV review. Or, learn more about channels, packages, and pricing with our breakdown of Sling TV’s plans.
How to download Sling TV content
Sling TV doesn’t allow offline downloads, so you won’t be able to watch shows and movies when you’re away from a Wi-Fi connection.
Now, if offline capabilities are a must, there’s a solution for you. Hulu Premium (No Ads) + Live TV permits offline downloads for select content, like popular shows and Hulu Originals, for the cost of $70.99/mo. Just note that you’ll need Hulu’s no-ads plan for offline downloads.
What else do I need to know about Sling TV offline downloads?
Sling TV doesn’t offer offline capabilities.
However, if you’re absolutely set on having the ability to watch movies and shows offline, you might consider signing up for a streaming service like Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access, Disney+, or Hulu + Live TV. All of these services permit users to download movies and shows to watch offline. In fact, there are more video-on-demand (VOD) streaming services that provide offline capabilities than OTT cable-alternative services.
Just keep in mind that most services, like CBS All Access and Netflix, require you to purchase a premium plan in order to get offline capabilities.
The final cut
Sling TV, like most of the other cable-alternative services out there, doesn’t provide an offline feature for watching on-demand content without Wi-Fi. So, if you want to watch content on-the-go with Sling TV, downloading isn’t an option. One of the few cable-alternatives that does offer offline downloads is Hulu Premium + Live TV. Outside of cable-alternatives, many VOD streaming services have adopted some form of an offline feature. Some of the most prominent include Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix. Even some premium channels like STARZ provide full downloads for movies.
But even though Sling TV doesn’t have offline downloads, there are still plenty of other useful features. Sling TV starts all of its plans with 10 hours of cloud DVR storage. And known for its add-ons and upgrades, you can punch up your cloud storage to 50 hours for an extra $5/mo. So, while you won’t be able to watch content offline, at least you’ll be able to record and save live TV channels to watch later.
The best way to find out if Sling TV is for you is to try it for yourself. Currently, Sling TV lets new subscribers try its service out for 3-days free. Learn more about Sling TV’s free trial and deals with our coverage, so you can save big on your live TV.