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Sling TV launches Watch Party feature with text and video chat

Customers can tune into live programming with up to three other people.

Abrar Al-Heeti Technology Reporter
Abrar Al-Heeti is a technology reporter for CNET, with an interest in phones, streaming, internet trends, entertainment, pop culture and digital accessibility. She's also worked for CNET's video, culture and news teams. She graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Though Illinois is home, she now loves San Francisco -- steep inclines and all.
Expertise Abrar has spent her career at CNET analyzing tech trends while also writing news, reviews and commentaries across mobile, streaming and online culture. Credentials
  • Named a Tech Media Trailblazer by the Consumer Technology Association in 2019, a winner of SPJ NorCal's Excellence in Journalism Awards in 2022 and has three times been a finalist in the LA Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.
Abrar Al-Heeti
sling-on-a-tv

Sling customers can now co-watch programming. 

Sling

Sling TV on Wednesday launched a co-watching feature in beta that lets customers tune into live programming with up to three other people. Watch Party also allows participants to connect via text and video chat. 

The feature is currently available to existing Sling TV customers via Google Chrome web browsers on laptop and desktop computers . As part of a beta preview, guests can also join a Sling Watch Party by creating a free Sling TV account through Sept. 30.

Customers can choose from live or on-demand content in Sling Orange, Sling Blue, Sling Latino and Sling International services, or any Sling TV Extra, depending on their subscription. Each participant can control their own camera and the volume of streamed content and video chat streams. Sling customers hosting a Watch Party can manage controls including play, pause and rewind for on-demand programming. 

Sling TV joins a handful of streaming platforms, including Netflix and Amazon Prime, that have rolled out features allowing subscribers to watch programming together. These services have become especially popular as people continue to stay socially distant to help curb the spread of COVID-19.  

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