Sling Media Slings Content to the Masses

"With MSRP ranging from $149 for the AV and Tuner versions to $249 for the high-definition Pro version," says Shah, "the product is designed to appeal to the consumer who travels or just can’t be in front of the traditional TV screen at the time when a favorite show comes on."

While the product has been compared to TiVo, Sling actually approaches the market from the opposite end—using real-time delivery to shift the location, rather than time, of playback.

"Sure you can timeshift by recording content," says Shah, "but some content is time critical and requires real-time access to it. We’ve also found a significant number of SlingBoxes—up to 20%—are being used for monitoring or surveillance, giving the consumer peace of mind about their pets, property or other objects of value."

One of the keys to the product’s success and expanded use, according to Shah, is the complexity of the software, which appears intuitive and simple to the end user. For instance, the software not only automatically detects the available bandwidth prior to transcoding from the original content quality to that of the receiving device, but it also continues to monitor the bandwidth to adjust its transcoding rate accordingly. The consumer does not, then, have to become an expert in quality or bit rate settings. The software also provides, in many instances, a software-based version of the TV or cable box remote control, allowing the consumer to use an interface that they have used previously.

"If the Slingbox is just this board," says Shaw, holding up the printed circuit board of the current Slingbox AV to show visiting guests, "anyone could reverse-engineer a duplicate in 4-6 months. That’s not our differentiator. What sets us apart is the complexity—and simplicity—of the code and codecs we add to the TI DSPs on our board. The software creates and defines the consumer experience, creating the total user experience just like the iPod and iTunes combination does in the portable audio player market."

With the SlingBox selling even better this season than it did during its debut 2005 Christmas season, and a second round of funding totaling $46.6 million in early 2005 complementing the Series A funding of $10.5 million from Mobius in late 2004, Sling is positioned for greater growth. It’s especially worthwhile to note that, along with Goldman Sachs and repeat funding from original Series A investors, this most recent round of funding was led by John Malone’s Liberty Media and EchoStar Communications, two established traditional broadcast firms.

"We are delighted with both the unit sales growth and the increasing role that the user community has in defining a service offering that expands viewership of traditional cable and off-air content across the globe," says Shah. "In early 2007 at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, we hope to release several products that will expand Sling’s benefit to the consumer with her home as well."