Here is the mail i got the other day [copied and paste]
"sling TELEVISION
SIGN UP
WATCH SLING TV FOR FREE | NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED
Come back & stream The Walking Dead Mid-season premiere & more this weekend"

++++++ i go thu the BLAB,BLAB, BLAB though the Sling process,,,,,,than BAM!

"Enter Your Payment Details"
"You will not be charged until after your 7 day free trial ends on 02/20/2017."
Add Extras anytime.


I guess the idea is after putting in the time and effort of going thu the process,i will forget or wont mind giving Infor they said they dont require.    I Signed up with Sling.   NOT.

They did not require a credit card for the just ended free weekend. Could that be what the email was aimed towards?

That could be true. Going to go re read the email.  

yup, your right.
Just read the fine print:
"Promotional Offers: Free Preview: Available from 2/11 9:00am ET to Monday 2/13 3:00am ET, 2017"

Another DANGER DANGER post all over nothing..

 there was some 'danger'.  
followed a link and it said the preview is over but you can still watch for free....followed the link, there is the credit card needed.
never would subscribe to Sling nor Playvu or DirectNow anyway.  They are cable/satellite programming inundated with ads 

I signed on for the '2 day free' weekend with no problem, same as others noted, but also as another noted...Sling is overloaded with commercials.  A episode of Big Bang Theory (1/2 hr show had 10 ads at beginning another 10 halfway thru...that was enough for me, I shut it off.  In fairness, the ads were 30 seconds each or shorter, but not my idea of fun.  Checked out several other shows, all the same, ads were run 10 at a time 2 to 3 times in a 1/2 hr show.
I am gratified to see many platforms now available with no cable or sat required.  It had to happen in one form or another.  When I see a notice of 'must provide proof of video provider', I skip the service.  I do not mind sensible amount of ads nor do I mind paying for a service like Sling and others who are offering a service of fair priced programs.
I consider  Roku as my TV provider...I know that is not true in the correct  sense...but for me it works as such. 

Desert Dingo wrote:

I signed on for the '2 day free' weekend with no problem, same as others noted, but also as another noted...Sling is overloaded with commercials.  A episode of Big Bang Theory (1/2 hr show had 10 ads at beginning another 10 halfway thru...that was enough for me, I shut it off.  In fairness, the ads were 30 seconds each or shorter, but not my idea of fun.  Checked out several other shows, all the same, ads were run 10 at a time 2 to 3 times in a 1/2 hr show.
I am gratified to see many platforms now available with no cable or sat required.  It had to happen in one form or another.  When I see a notice of 'must provide proof of video provider', I skip the service.  I do not mind sensible amount of ads nor do I mind paying for a service like Sling and others who are offering a service of fair priced programs.
I consider  Roku as my TV provider...I know that is not true in the correct  sense...but for me it works as such. 

Perhaps Sling offers something other than what I was aware of, but aren't the commercials the same as being shown over the air? Or does Sling offer video on demand and inserts their own commercials? I thought they were just a way to get "cable" channels without the cable.

Not really sure how Sling utilizes the commercials.  The ones I watched were legit.  I'm sure various ad companies offer various pkgs.  Maybe they do this sort of thing on 'special offers' and their 7 day free trial.  Since you have asked the question, hopefully a person or two that has Sling will give us the answer.
Sling offers a good channel at decent subs, so I  really can't think they would load up their ads in series of (10). 

atc98092 wrote:

Desert Dingo wrote:

I signed on for the '2 day free' weekend with no problem, same as others noted, but also as another noted...Sling is overloaded with commercials.  A episode of Big Bang Theory (1/2 hr show had 10 ads at beginning another 10 halfway thru...that was enough for me, I shut it off.  In fairness, the ads were 30 seconds each or shorter, but not my idea of fun.  Checked out several other shows, all the same, ads were run 10 at a time 2 to 3 times in a 1/2 hr show.
I am gratified to see many platforms now available with no cable or sat required.  It had to happen in one form or another.  When I see a notice of 'must provide proof of video provider', I skip the service.  I do not mind sensible amount of ads nor do I mind paying for a service like Sling and others who are offering a service of fair priced programs.
I consider  Roku as my TV provider...I know that is not true in the correct  sense...but for me it works as such. 

Perhaps Sling offers something other than what I was aware of, but aren't the commercials the same as being shown over the air? Or does Sling offer video on demand and inserts their own commercials? I thought they were just a way to get "cable" channels without the cable.

During the live feeds -- some channels on Sling to offer VOD and/or 3-day catch-up, and some don't -- it's what you're going to see on cable/satellite. The show mentioned, Big Bang Theory, would have to be the reruns that air on one of the cable channels. The report reads like a catch-up or VOD watching, not a live watching. And, the number of commercials seems consistent with what most network catch-up services offer. For example, on the NBC standalone app, you'll get a ton of commercials before, during, and after shows. That's NBC inserting them. I suspect that's the same thing happening. Sure, Sling may play commercials, but I don't think they actually add commercials, if you follow the difference. Just like on cable, local systems can play commercials instead of the network commercial fed during certain breaks. They don't actually add commercials, but play their own instead of the network feed. That's standard for any kind of broadcast feed. Sling may utilize that. I suspect they aren't extending the program time by inserting commercials. The user would see that meany commercials, regardless of the platform on which the show is watched.

Basil wrote:

atc98092 wrote:

Desert Dingo wrote:

I signed on for the '2 day free' weekend with no problem, same as others noted, but also as another noted...Sling is overloaded with commercials.  A episode of Big Bang Theory (1/2 hr show had 10 ads at beginning another 10 halfway thru...that was enough for me, I shut it off.  In fairness, the ads were 30 seconds each or shorter, but not my idea of fun.  Checked out several other shows, all the same, ads were run 10 at a time 2 to 3 times in a 1/2 hr show.
I am gratified to see many platforms now available with no cable or sat required.  It had to happen in one form or another.  When I see a notice of 'must provide proof of video provider', I skip the service.  I do not mind sensible amount of ads nor do I mind paying for a service like Sling and others who are offering a service of fair priced programs.
I consider  Roku as my TV provider...I know that is not true in the correct  sense...but for me it works as such. 

Perhaps Sling offers something other than what I was aware of, but aren't the commercials the same as being shown over the air? Or does Sling offer video on demand and inserts their own commercials? I thought they were just a way to get "cable" channels without the cable.

During the live feeds -- some channels on Sling to offer VOD and/or 3-day catch-up, and some don't -- it's what you're going to see on cable/satellite. The show mentioned, Big Bang Theory, would have to be the reruns that air on one of the cable channels. The report reads like a catch-up or VOD watching, not a live watching. And, the number of commercials seems consistent with what most network catch-up services offer. For example, on the NBC standalone app, you'll get a ton of commercials before, during, and after shows. That's NBC inserting them. I suspect that's the same thing happening. Sure, Sling may play commercials, but I don't think they actually add commercials, if you follow the difference. Just like on cable, local systems can play commercials instead of the network commercial fed during certain breaks. They don't actually add commercials, but play their own instead of the network feed. That's standard for any kind of broadcast feed. Sling may utilize that. I suspect they aren't extending the program time by inserting commercials. The user would see that meany commercials, regardless of the platform on which the show is watched.

Cool, Basil. I wasn't aware of any VOD offerings. My son-in-law used Sling to watch some sports, and I knew it was the live feed. Come to think of it, I believe it was the MLB channel, and I think the screen just displayed a logo during a commerical, and didn't actually show the commercial via Sling. Perhaps that was something specific to MLB. 

atc98092 wrote:

Cool, Basil. I wasn't aware of any VOD offerings. My son-in-law used Sling to watch some sports, and I knew it was the live feed. Come to think of it, I believe it was the MLB channel, and I think the screen just displayed a logo during a commerical, and didn't actually show the commercial via Sling. Perhaps that was something specific to MLB. 

ESPN works that way, too. That's not the standard broadcast feed, but a streaming-specific feed. Sometimes there are some commercials, but usually not enough to fill the whole break. Then just the logo displays with a musical loop. Not sure the specifics, but I suspect they either sell separate ads for the streaming feed, or perhaps sell streaming ads as an add-on to an advertiser. Regardless, that's not actually the same feed as goes to the cable companies.