Sling TV just launched a “Sling Watch Party” feature in beta, meaning you can now connect with friends and family via video or text chat while you watch live TV together. The streaming service is the latest to offer a “watch party” feature — following others like Amazon Prime and Disney+ — and it’s the only service to offer watch parties for live TV.

Sling Watch Party allows customers to invite up to three guests to share a TV viewing experience. In addition to having the ability to chat with other viewers, Sling Watch Party also gives you full control of your video camera and volume. You can use the feature on live TV or any on-demand programming.

Sling TV has introduced a way for you to easily watch Netflix and local news on the same device, even when you’re away from home. The company updated one of its distinct products, AirTV, to allow you to view and record local over-the-air (OTA) channels on your TV or streaming devices. AirTV Anywhere is a WiFi-enabled network hub that is the company’s latest effort encouraging you to “cut the cord” on your cable subscription.

Once you connect your smartphone or tablet to an AirTV Anywhere antenna, you can use the free Sling TV app to watch and record local channels from anywhere in the US, according to a Sling TV statement. This unique setup also eliminates the need to wire multiple rooms with antennas to view OTA channels. A built-in hard drive and Quad tuners allow you to watch or record up to four streams simultaneously, including outside the home on streaming devices.

Sling TV thinks it can do more to keep you entertained during the COVID-19 pandemic than offer extended trials like everyone else. It just launched a promo that offers free Sling Blue access between 5PM and midnight, offering access to channels like AMC, Discovery and FX as well as cloud DVR and on-demand videos. And no, this doesn’t appear to be a way to trick you into a subscription — you won’t be asked to fork over your credit card details.

There are still catches beyond the time restrictions. This isn’t Sling Orange, so you’ll miss out on Disney and ESPN. Sling adds that it might contact you about TV services, so don’t be surprised if you get marketing messages later. And while the provider hasn’t set a firm end date, it’s clear this is a “limited time offer.” You’ll eventually have to subscribe if you want to keep this going in perpetuity.

Arguably justifying the increased price, Sling TV added FOX News, MSNBC and CNN’s HLN (Headline News) channels to its Sling Blue lineup. What will likely be more of a draw for new customers is the introduction of the company’s “Cloud DVR Free” service, which allows users to record up to 10 hours of content with no additional charge.

It’s not surprising that Sling TV is raising its prices — providers are still trying to figure out the right balance between robust options and reasonable prices. Hulu raised its prices twice this year and YouTube TV increased its rates as well. Sony even announced that its PlayStation Vue service would be shutting down on January 31st, 2020. Clearly, lots of viewers aren’t satisfied with exclusively on-demand content; they want the ease and simplicity of live TV without the restrictions and headaches of cable or satellite contracts. But all of these price increases are making that dream harder and harder to come by.

You can add an external hard drive to simultaneously record and view shows, and the Sling app provides access on Android, iOS, Fire TV and Roku devices in addition to whatever Sling services you might have (if any).

The AirTV 2 is available now for $100, although it’s evident that Dish would really like you to buy one alongside one of its services. You’ll get the AirTV 2 and an OTA antenna for $49 if you get a three-month prepaid Sling TV subscription, while spending $99 under similar terms will also net you an AirTV Mini ($149 will get you two). As before, this latest AirTV box is as much a gateway to Sling services as it is a cord cutting tool.

You no longer have to worry that you’ll miss out on a big sports extravaganza just because you’re a Sling TV subscriber. The cord-cutter service has switched on Cloud DVR for key ESPN channels, including the main channel, ESPN2, Desportes, Bases Loaded, Goal Line, ACC Network and SEC Network. There’s a good chance you can catch that big college basketball match game if you know you’ll miss the live match. This doesn’t extend to digital-only channels like ESPN3, ACC Network Extra and SEC Network+, however, so you’ll still need to tune for some programming.

Sling TV users now have another way to stream their content. Beginning today, Sling TV is available on Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max. Users can control Sling with built-in voice controls on those devices, and on Nest Hub Max, they can pause and resume content on Sling using gesture controls — hold up your hand and look at the device to pause.

Once you’ve formed a party with your friends, the host can open Sling in the latest version of the Oculus TV app. You can then opt to watch live TV or pick an on-demand show or movie to enjoy. You’ll be able to see your chums’ avatars sitting next to you on a virtual couch, and you can speak with each other, which might come in handy for trash talk when your respective teams are squaring off.

To use co-watching, you and your buddies will all need to be subscribed to the base Sling package and whichever add-ons you’d like to watch something together on as well as, of course, an Oculus Go headset, However, the feature won’t work for movie rentals, DVR recordings or through the Continue Watching option.