How to Start a Sling TV Watch Party

The best case scenario is always to have loved ones and friends next to us on the couch to enjoy watching our favorite shows in person. However, sadly, and for a host of reasons, this isn’t always possible.

Our loved ones can’t always make it home for the holidays and sometimes our friends move away. Ans while our pets may love the resulting empty spot on the couch, we miss those closest to us.

The popular live TV streaming service, Sling TV, has a solution for getting loved ones together, even when they remain in separate towns. The group streaming feature, called Watch Party, allows multiple Sling users to watch the same show at the same time, and communicate via a Zoom style feed while they do it.

We tested the feature with the Streaming Jungle team and came away impressed. Watch Party is an attractive feature for families who live in different cities, it is especially fun for watching a big game.

How does Sling Watch Party work?

The feature is easy to use. We tested it out while streaming Sling TV content on our iMacs using Chrome as our browser.

Except for Sling Rentals, which don’t allow for the Watch Party feature, subscribers can select any piece of content they wish to watch. This will open the detailed preview of the show or game.

From there, users are given three options:

Watch Live
Create Watch Party
Record

How to send Watch Party invites

One you select the “Create Watch Party” option, you will be prompted with the following screen where the host (who is the Sling user who initiates the Watch Party) can send invites via email or with a link.

This is the screen the host will see when they successfully create a Watch Party

Your Watch Party invitees will then receive your invitation so they can join the Watch Party.

Our team members were able to join our Watch Party in under one minute, even without a Sling account.

Do my friends and relatives have to be Sling users to join a Watch party?

No, Sling offers one free Watch Party for non-subscribers, so in a pinch, you can get the family together to watch a movie, or the game, without requiring everyone to join Sling.

This is an ideal feature for holiday viewing.

Below, we have included the screen your invitees will see when they are invited to your Watch Party.

We found the process easy to use.

Sling hosts can send free invites for one Watch Party to friends or family. This is the screen your invitees will see.

Once the free Watch Party invite has been accepted, the invitee is added to the room where they can see the content, as well as the host. The Watch Party has begun!

As with a Zoom call, the Host initiates the Watch Party.

Guest limits are the drawback of a Watch Party

Unfortunately, only 4 guests total, including the host, can join a Watch Party.

The bottom line

Sling has created a winning feature with Watch Party. The feature is easy to use, it’s fun, and most of all, it’s useful in these times of increased social isolation.