A few weeks ago, we reported that Sling TV had hinted in an app update that it was soon going to be getting Locast support in its iOS and iPadOS apps.
Well, that day has finally come, meaning that users who have a Locast account can sign into their Locast account and link it to their Sling TV account, making it so both worlds are merged in the Sling TV app.
Locast is a nonprofit that enables users to stream their local ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW and PBS stations live at no extra cost to the user.
Those who use Locast from Sling TV for free will be able to stream the local station of their choice in their TV market. After watching for 15 consecutive minutes, the user will get an ad from Locast telling them that if they donate as little as $5 a month, they can get all of Locast, which basically makes it so that not only will the user not get the ad from the streaming nonprofit every 15 minutes, but they will not get the ad when they change the channel to another local station as well.
Locast is available in the following TV markets:
- Atlanta
- Baltimore
- Boston
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Denver
- Detroit
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Los Angeles
- Madison
- Miami
- Minneapolis
- New York
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Portland
- Puerto Rico
- Raleigh
- Rapid City
- Sacramento
- San Francisco
- Scranton
- Seattle
- Sioux City
- Sioux Falls
- Tampa Bay
- Tri-Cities
- Washington DC
- West Palm Beach
What makes this especially great for Sling TV users is it helps the live TV streaming service combat a problem that has been an issue with it for a while, which is it does not have as many live local TV stations as some of its competitors like YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV and fuboTV.
Another way that this will be important for Sling TV users is the upcoming college football and NFL seasons, as well as the MLB playoffs and World Series, as a lot of those games are broadcast on the major networks.
However, with the live Locast local channels being available through Sling TV, at this time, there is no option to view those channels’ on-demand content and there is no support for Sling TV’s DVR.
Sling TV starts at $34.99 a month and is available to stream on the iPhone,, iPod Touch, iPad, Apple TV and Mac. It is a free app in the App Store.
What are your thoughts on the Sling TV-Locast integration being available on the iOS and iPadOS apps now? Comment below or let us know on Twitter at @appleosophy.
