Cord-Cutters, Rejoice: Cinemax Comes To Dish’s Sling TV, So You Can Catch Up On ‘The Knick’

For fans of Clive Owen performing cocaine-fueled surgery in the 19th century, today is a bit like Christmas: Cinemax is now on Sling TV.

For $10 a month (on top of the $20 you pay for Sling’s basic package), you can now subscribe to Cinemax and watch all the live and on-demand “The Knick” you wish. Or, if Cinemax movies like “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” are more your style, those will be available as well.

Cinemax, which, like HBO, is owned by media giant Time Warner (not to be confused with Time Warner Cable), has long had its own on-demand app in MaxGo, but that was available only to customers who signed up for the channel through their pay-TV provider. This is the first time the channel will be available to those without a cable subscription.

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes hinted during the company’s latest earnings call on Wednesday that such an unshackling might be in the offing. “It’s becoming crystal clear everyone wants to watch the shows they want to watch on-demand,” he told investors. “We want to make sure our networks have the flexibility to meet that demand.”

Time Warner networks already have a big presence on Sling. Turner networks like TNT and CNN are in the basic $20 package, and HBO is available as an add-on for $15.

Analysts estimate there are about 400,000 Sling TV customers. Sling comes to you from satellite company Dish Network, which is trying to stanch the bleeding of its traditional subscriber base. Sling still doesn’t carry broadcast networks, but it’s amassing an impressive array of add-ons. Basic Sling comes with networks like AMC, ESPN, and History; add-on packages include more sports or kids’ channels.

Of course, when you do the math, you’re probably paying not much less than you would for a regular cable package, but life is full of trade-offs.