Slingbox launched in UK

Sling Media’s sometimes controversial Sling Box is now available for purchase across the United Kingdom.

The Slingbox is offered both in store and online from DSG International Plc, initially sold exclusively through its computer superstore chain PC World and at www.pcworld.co.uk. The Slingbox will also be available in Currys and the new Currys.digital stores in the next four to six weeks. The Slingbox is available in the UK for GBP 179.99 including VAT.
Separately, Sling Media announced it hired Stuart Collingwood as the company’s Vice President of Europe. For the last three years Mr. Collingwood advised pay TV providers, digital media companies and technology start-ups on the launch of new digital platforms and technology. He also served as Vice President EMEA for Liberate and spent eight years at Fujitsu-ICL. Mr. Collingwood is based in London and will oversee all aspects of Sling Media’s European operations.

“The launch of the Slingbox into the UK market and ultimately to the European consumer is a significant milestone for Sling Media as we continue to build a worldwide footprint and deliver the same customer experience internationally that we do today for customers in the United States and Canada,” said Blake Krikorian, co-founder and CEO of Sling Media, Inc. “We are also excited about the timing of the launch with the World Cup set to start just over a week from today. When the game is on, England fans with a Slingbox can watch the home team from no matter where they are: halfway around the world, stuck at work or simply around the home.”

The European version of the Slingbox is tailored for the UK market and features an integrated PAL analog/digital tuner with DVB-T support, giving customers access to Freeview programming from their aerial streamed to a laptop or desktop computer. In addition, Slingbox controls a wide range of Freeview, digital cable and satellite set top boxes that are available in the UK market including those offered by Sky, Homechoice, NTL and Telewest.

Concurrently, Sling Media is releasing a new version of the SlingPlayer PC software in conjunction with the Slingbox hardware. SlingPlayer PC version 1.1 is now available to UK customers and supports 16:9 widescreen video, enhanced favourite channels organization features and the ability to customize the look and feel of the software with a range of pre-installed or user-created skins.

Heralded as one of the hottest consumer electronics products for 2005 by top U.S industry and national publications alike, the Slingbox is a breakthrough consumer electronics device that enables consumers to watch their living room TV programming from wherever they are by turning virtually any Internet-connected Windows-based computer into a personal TV. The Slingbox redirects, or “placeshifts,” a single live TV stream from a basic aerial connection, cable box, satellite receiver or personal video recorder (PVR) to the viewer’s PC – located anywhere in the home, the office, or on the go via the Internet.