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Get a free Amazon or Roku streaming stick when you try Sling TV

Granted, you have to try it for a full three months, but the math is still way in your favor.

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
2 min read

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Admit it: you've been curious about Sling TV . You're wondering if maybe it's the final piece of the cord-cutting puzzle, the chance to get the cable channels you want at a price that's highly digestible.

Here's a little more incentive to give it a try: you can get a free Amazon Fire TV Stick or free Roku Streaming Stick when you prepay for three months of Sling TV.

Sling TV

The service costs $20 per month, so in exchange for your $60, you're getting a device worth $39 or $49.99. (As you'll note on the respective giveaway pages, you also have the option of getting $50 off an Amazon Fire TV or Roku 3. Me, I like free stuff, even when the "free" is in quotation marks.)

To flip the math a different way, it's like buying a streaming media box or stick and getting three months of Sling TV for just $10. But mostly I prefer to see it as three months of Sling TV and a free streaming gadget to deliver the service to your favorite HDMI input.

Ah, but what about that service? I'll admit I have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I love the idea of a small, inexpensive bundle of the really good basic-cable channels. On the other, as noted in CNET's review, there's no DVR or pause capability and very little on-demand programming. Who really watches TV as it's broadcast anymore?

Much as I loathe the high price of cable, there's something to be said for the convenience of easy channel-flipping, DVR and on-demand features, and a mammoth selection of channels for those rare instances when you do venture beyond your regulars. So, yeah, I'm a cord-cutter in spirit, but not yet in practice. For now, there are too many hassles and not enough savings.

Your thoughts? Is this giveaway enough of an incentive for you to at least try Sling TV? The good news is there's no contract, and therefore no obligation to continue beyond the three months.

Bonus deal: Game time! As board games go, there are few I like better than Ticket to Ride. And the app version is fantastic, especially if you play it on a tablet. (It's tough squinting at the board on a smartphone screen.) Normally it runs $6.99, but for a limited time, you can get Ticket to Ride (Android|iOS) for just $2.99. Trust me, this is the best strategy game you've never played, and very family-friendly.