Sling TV, a fairly affordable streaming option for cord-cutters, has become the latest streaming service to support a Watch Party function that’ll allow anyone with a Sling login to watch programming together.
Sling Watch Party launched today as a beta feature, but a Sling spokesperson said that anyone—including free accounts—can join a co-watching party right now. The feature is available for Google Chrome and supports both live audio and video features during group watch sessions with up to four people. The catch, however, is that the beta feature will only be available for Sling’s free users through the end of the month, at which time only paid subscribers will be able to continue using it. (The feature also isn’t supported on local channels, pay-per-view events, or premium or standalone channels.)
“Even if your friends don’t subscribe to that channel, they’ll still be able to watch it for the duration of your hosted party,” the service says on its website. “Friends and family can join a Sling Watch Party through 9/30 simply by creating a Sling TV account.”
Group watch support has rolled out widely on many services both through native features as well as through third-party extensions. Prime Video, for example, recently introduced a watch party feature that allows up to 100 Prime members to join in on a stream. Hulu also rolled out a native Watch Party tool earlier this year. After code appeared on its site that indicated such a feature was forthcoming, Disney+ has also started testing a Group Watch feature for its immensely popular service.
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To start a Sling watch party, sign in to Chrome from a desktop or a laptop, select your title (you can do this up to an hour before it actually starts), hit Create Watch Party, share the custom link for your group, invite up to three other users, and hit Start Watching.
