Sling TV: A La Carte TV. Watch Live Shows & Sports for iOS

Sling TV is a live TV streaming service that, unlike traditional cable, enables you to save money by selecting an a-la-carte-style package, concentrating on the channels that you're most interested in. Start by setting up your service online at Sling.com. Cough up your email and password, choose your service plan and fill in your credit card information. Before charging you, Sling TV gives you seven days to try out the service.

Pros

Cheaper than cable: With plans starting as low as $20 per month, Sling is a far cheaper service than traditional cable, which typically costs in the hundreds.

Three plans to choose from: Get Sling Orange Service (30 Channels for $20), Sling Blue Service (45 Channels for $25), or Orange + Blue (50+ Channels for $40). All subscriptions run month to month, so you can cancel at any time.

Cloud DVR: You can also add 50 Hours of Cloud DVR for only $5 per month.

Extras: Tack on a handful of comedy channels, news channels, kids channels, and more for between $5 to $10 per month. Add premium movie channels like HBO or Showtime for between $5 to $15 per month.

Sports and foreign language add-ons: You can also add the NBA League Pass, which enables you to watch out-of-market regular season games ($29 per month) or the NBA Team Pass, which lets you follow only your favorite team's games ($18 per month). Finally, you can also view foreign programming for between $5 to $15 per month.

Intuitive interface: The app defaults to the MY TV list, which shows you your top channels, what you were last watching, so you can seamlessly resume, and your favorite TV shows. Tap the + button to add your favorite channels or the heart button to start adding your favorite programming. Tap the hamburger menu on the top left to find programming by On Now, Guide, Channels, Sports, or Search. Under Search, you can conveniently search by title, channel, actor, and more.

Casting: You can tap the casting button on the top right to broadcast your programming onto your TV screen, using your preferred device, such as Google Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, and Apple TV.

Cons

Set up and cancellation are online only: It would be more convenient if you could set up and-or cancel your Sling TV service in the app, instead of having to go online to do it.

Bottom Line

If cable's become too expensive for you and you're considering cutting the cord, then the more affordable Sling TV, which keeps you connected to all of your favorite programming for cheaper, is a viable alternative.