Signs Of Life For Sling's Video Portal, Other Services; Sling.com Starts Limited Beta
This story was written by Staci D. Kramer.
Nearly two years after Sling Media announced it had a video portal and the Clip+Sling video sharing in development, the services are finally nearing release. First up, a private beta of the Sling.com video portal started today, although not private enough since TechCrunch has the invite. At the core, a web-based SlingPlayer for Slingbox customers built into the site along with content from over 60 partners. It's not part of the beta yet, according to Sling's Brian Jaquet, but Clip+Sling is coming, too. Clip+Sling allows users to record and share video via the portal. Next up: SlingCatcher, announced last year, ships later this month; it allows TV to be shown room-to-room and brings online contentincluding the premium content from Sling.comto TV.
It's all part of the continued integration of software and hardware for Sling Media, which was acquired by EchoStar (NSDQ: DISH) this time last year. So far it's been more successful producing new hardware than getting new software and services beyond upgrades to its player to market. Jaquet says access to Sling.com and integration of the new services will ramp up during the fall.
By Staci D. Kramer