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sling TV was a disruptor launching in
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2015 as the first live TV streaming
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service to replace cable 10 years later
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sling TV is still around just with a
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whole lot more competition in a recent
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video about how I'm changing the way I
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talk about streaming services I did not
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mention sling TV by name and a lot of
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people noticed leaving comments like
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these wanting to know why don't get me
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wrong I like sling TV I've used it many
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times in the past but I do think the
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company needs to evolve in the year
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ahead if they are going to remain
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competitive is it best for you we're
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going to talk about that in this video
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review update now what's made sling TV
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unique for all these years is that it is
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more flexible than its competitors two
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base plans instead of just one sling
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orange and sling blue you can also
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combine the two plans get sling orange
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plus blue and pay a discounted price and
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there are also various add-on Chann
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packages called extras for even more
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content recently because of some
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industrywide changes I've been trying to
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group Live TV streaming services into
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two main categories those are full cable
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2.0 bundles and partial cable 2.0
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bundles the full bundles offer Cable
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sports news and entertainment channels
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plus local stations in most cases and
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the partial bundles offer only some of
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those four components sling TV is
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somewhere between a full and partial
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bundle maybe I'll call it a mostly full
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bundle and you really got to see the
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plans to understand why sling Orange
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includes Cable sports news and
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entertainment channels but no local
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stations this package has more than 30
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live channels and the number one reason
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to subscribe ESPN and its family of
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networks they only in Sling orange the
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other plan is called sling blue with
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more than 40 live channels this is a
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more well-rounded bundle cable sports
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news and entertainment channels again
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but this package also has local ABC Fox
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and NBC stations in select markets the
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way I see it this service has always
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made the most sense for people who can
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get locals with an antenna even more so
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for people who can stick to one of the
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two base plants but a lot of people end
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up combining sling orange and blue to
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get maybe an extra one or two must have
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channels maybe their household primarily
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watches sling blue channels FS1 cable
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news Bravo and TLC but because they also
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want to watch ESPN they've got to get
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the sling orange plan as well this is
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exactly why I say sling TV needs to
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evolve 10 years after it launched other
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services are now offering more flexible
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bundles and those bundles may be a
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better value for you the consumer here's
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just one example example Direct TV
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streams my entertainment plan for $35 a
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month this plan includes a lot of the
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news and entertainment content that's
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available in Sling blue but it leaves
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out the sports and locals with its
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launch Direct TV streams plan is now a
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cheaper way to get the major cable news
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networks and for years I've recommended
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sling blue for those check this out I'm
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testing out the my entertainment plan
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and I thought this was interesting I'm
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here in the on demand section these are
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the top 10 shows look at the networks
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these shows are on HGTV a& Discovery
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Bravo and History Channel and what do
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they all have in common well they are
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all networks that have been core to
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sling blue still there are many
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differences between these two plans but
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if you only care about news and
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entertainment channels sling blue may
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just not be the best value anymore and
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if you follow my monthly news update
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videos you know there's more flexible
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bundles on the way if you get sling
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orange for ESPN there's a new direct
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consumer service from ESPN launching in
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the fall and maybe you watch a lot of
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content from Fox that's currently in
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Sling blue but we now know that fox is
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also planning to launch its own
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streaming service by the end of 2025
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it'll include both news and sports
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content I don't want to speculate too
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much on any changes to slings plans and
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pricing I'm just saying they're needed I
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will be a little bit more specific about
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one thing that's on my radar I'll be
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watching later this year to see whether
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sling TV is able to add more streams to
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the sling orange plan currently with
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that plan you can only stream on one
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device at a time the sling blue plan
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allows for three simultaneous streams so
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this leads me to believe that sling
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orange is more limited because of the
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deal that sling has with some of those
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orange exclusive Ive channels you see
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them here and you'll notice what they
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have in common but this is only my
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assumption these negotiations are all
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very secretive so I'm not stating this
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as a fact it is a fact sling TV has made
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some improvements to its overall service
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in the past year or so improvements like
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an unlimited Cloud DVR option no changes
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to the free DVR but now the $5 a month
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upgrade get you unlimited DVR storage no
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longer just 200 hours and like other
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services recordings are saved for up to
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9 months 4K is available at no extra
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charge there is very limited content to
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stream in 4k but at least there's no
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search charge like with YouTube TV and
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the free version of Sling called sling
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free stream has turned into a pretty
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good service with new channels and
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content added on a regular basis and
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something different about this one you
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do get some DVR storage included with
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the free plan just enough to save a few
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shows or movies at a time so who should
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get sling TV right now well there's a
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few different types of cord cutters that
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come to mind starting with big bundle
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subscribers who have antennas I've heard
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from several people who cancelled
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YouTube TV after its latest price
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increase and switched to sling and they
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were able to do that because they have
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antennas for local stations if you are
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considering this download the Sling app
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and spend a few minutes with it you can
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use the free version to get a sense of
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the look and feel I say that because
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most people I hear from prefer YouTube
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TV's user experience over sling you may
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also want to sign up for sling TV if
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you've been looking into some of the
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partial bundles and they just don't
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offer enough content for you as we
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talked about in this video sling tv
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offers Cable sports news and
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entertainment three of the four
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components of a full bundle and the
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fourth local stations are limited but
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some of the new partial bundles becoming
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available focus on maybe just one or two
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of those categories Sports and news or
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entertainment and news for example so
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after looking into those partial bundles
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you may find that sling TV still offers
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more of what your household likes to
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watch this is also a good service for
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the seasonal switcher anyone who rotates
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their payv service throughout the year
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as their viewing habits change a free
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trial is not usually offered but there
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are discounts for new and returning
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customers like half off your first month
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of Service Plus more deals if you prepay
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for several months and just one more
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thing I've talked in other videos about
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sling TV's compatibility issues with 5G
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home internet services this is something
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T-Mobile home internet mentions on its
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website and sling TV has only provided
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me with this response when I reached out
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for more information not too specific
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specific so here's what I can tell you
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from my experience I am able to open the
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sling TV app and stream live TV even
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when using 5G home internet but the
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issue has been with local channels
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during my last test of Sling with 5G
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home internet my local NBC station just
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disappeared from the channel lineup and
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I couldn't get it back for the rest of
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the billing cycle but again no problem
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streaming the other channels free or
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paid give this video a like if you found
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it helpful and find the latest deals on
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sling TV and more they're on my website
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Michael saves deals.com
