Short answer: you can't buy a Sling Day Pass any more. Sling withdrew all of its passes (1-day $4.99, 3-day $9.99 and 7-day $14.99) in early October 2026, and its homepage now says simply: "Sling Passes are no longer available." The closest replacement is Sling Essentials at $19.99 for a month, cancelled straight away, which costs about four old day passes and covers ESPN for 30 days instead of one.
At a glance
Sling Day Pass, October 2026
| Status | Discontinued, early October 2026 |
| Last price | $4.99 for 24 hours (Orange channels) |
| Why it ended | Lawsuits from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery |
| Cheapest replacement | Sling Essentials, $19.99/month |
| Free option | Antenna for CBS, FOX, NBC, ABC games |
| Watch out for | Auto-renewal on monthly plans |
What the Day Pass was
Sling launched passes on 12 August 2025, pitching them as live TV "without having to sign a long-term, binding contract". For about 14 months they were the only way to buy a mainstream cable bundle by the day in the US.
| Pass | Price | Length | Sports Extra add-on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day Pass | $4.99 | 24 hours | +$1 |
| Weekend Pass (later the 3-Day Pass) | $9.99 | Fri to Sun, then 72 hours | +$2 |
| Week Pass | $14.99 | 7 days | +$3 |
What you got was Sling Orange's channel lineup: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, TNT, TBS, CNN, Disney Channel, A&E, History, Comedy Central, HGTV, Food Network and the rest. Each of Sling's themed Extras could be added for $1 to $3 depending on pass length.
The limits were tighter than a monthly plan, and they explain a lot of the complaints:
- One stream at a time, the same as Orange.
- No local channels, so no CBS, FOX, NBC or ABC games.
- No cloud DVR, and it couldn't be added.
- No pausing or refunds once bought. The clock started at purchase, not at kick-off.
- No auto-renewal. This was the selling point: the pass simply expired.
Sling ran a $1 Day Pass promotion through 30 November 2025 to celebrate an early win in court, and the passes remained on sale at $4.99, $9.99 and $14.99 into September 2026.
Why Sling ended it
The programmers whose channels made the passes worth buying never liked them. Disney, which owns ESPN, sued Sling, arguing that selling its channels by the day broke their carriage agreement. In November 2025 a federal court refused Disney's request for a preliminary injunction, so the passes stayed on sale while the case continued. Warner Bros. Discovery, owner of TNT, TBS and CNN, also took legal action.
Sling hasn't said directly that the lawsuits forced its hand. Its statement on the change says: "Sling Passes are no longer available, we look forward to continuing to innovate and showing our customers new ways to experience the content they love." Trade coverage in early October 2026 (The Desk, Streaming Better) links the withdrawal to the litigation. The passes had worked commercially; Sling credited them with helping it add 159,000 customers in the third quarter of 2025.
If you bought a pass shortly before the change, Sling hasn't published what happens to it. Check the subscription page in your Sling account; a pass that's already active should show its expiry time there.
Was it ever cheaper than a month?
Only for occasional viewers. The break-even points against the plans still on sale are worth knowing, because they tell you whether you lost much when the passes went:
| If you watched… | Cost in day passes | Cost on a monthly plan | Cheaper option |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day a month | $4.99 | Essentials $19.99 / Orange $45.99 | Pass |
| 4 days a month | $19.96 | Essentials $19.99 | About equal |
| Every Saturday plus Monday nights (~9 days) | $44.91 | Orange $45.99 | About equal |
| A full week of a tournament | $14.99 (Week Pass) | Essentials $19.99 | Pass, narrowly |
| Every weekend all season (~13 x 3-day) | $129.87 a quarter | Orange 3-month prepay ~$114.99 | Monthly |
So the people who really lost out are the once-a-month viewers: someone who wanted one bowl game, one Monday night, or one CNN election night. Everyone else can get close to the old price with a monthly plan they cancel on time.
There was also a hidden cost in the passes that the table doesn't show. Because the clock started at purchase, buying a Day Pass on Saturday morning for an 8pm kick-off wasted half of it, and a game that went to overtime near the 24-hour mark could cut off. A monthly plan has none of that timing risk, and it includes the DVR the passes lacked, so you can record a game and watch it the next day.
What to use instead, by situation
None of these is a perfect substitute, but between them they cover most of what people used passes for. Prices are October 2026 list prices.
| You want… | Best option now | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| One NFL Sunday on CBS, FOX or NBC | An indoor antenna | $20 to $40 once, then free |
| Monday Night Football or a college game on ESPN | Sling Essentials, cancel after | $19.99 for a month |
| ESPN plus SEC Network or ACC Network | ESPN Unlimited direct, monthly | $31.99 |
| A single big weekend of everything | A live TV service with a free trial | $0 if cancelled in time |
| TNT or TBS sports (NHL, college, MLB postseason) | Sling Orange first month, often discounted | ~$23 to $45.99 |
| CNN for one news night | CNN's own streaming subscription or a free trial | Varies |
| Background channels, no sports | Sling Freestream | Free |
Two notes. First, free trials are thinner than they used to be. Sling itself has none, but Fubo, YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream have offered them in 2026; see our guides to the Fubo free trial and which live TV services offer one. Second, if the game is on a broadcast network, the antenna beats every paid option. Thanksgiving NFL games, for instance, are usually split between CBS, FOX and NBC.
For the full lineup and price of each Sling plan that's still on sale, see our Sling TV packages guide.
Turning a monthly plan into a "pass"
The one thing a pass did that a monthly plan doesn't is stop by itself. You can get most of the way there by cancelling immediately after you subscribe. Sling lets the service run to the end of the period you've paid for, so you keep the full month.
- Sign up on sling.com in a web browser, not through a TV app's in-app purchase. Sling subscriptions are managed on the website, and app-store billing has to be cancelled in that store instead.
- Note the billing date shown at checkout.
- Once you're streaming, go back to sling.com, open your account settings and choose the option to change or cancel your subscription. Confirm the cancellation and keep the confirmation email.
- Your account should now show the date service ends. Watch as much as you like until then.
- Don't prepay. Three-month deals can't be refunded part-way through.
Sling doesn't refund partial months, so cancelling early never costs you viewing time. It just removes the risk of a surprise $45.99 charge four weeks later. Our full breakdown of what each plan adds up to is in Sling TV cost.
Our take
The Day Pass was a genuinely good idea for casual fans and a small threat to how the TV business works, which is exactly why it didn't last. Its loss matters most to people who watched a handful of events a year. For them, the honest replacement is an antenna for broadcast games plus one well-timed month of Essentials or Orange when the ESPN or TNT event they care about comes round.
If you see a site still advertising a "Sling day pass" or "24-hour Sling code" after October 2026, treat it with suspicion. The only legitimate place to buy Sling is sling.com or an official app store, and neither sells passes now.
Quick answers
Does Sling still have a Day Pass?
No. Sling discontinued its 1-day, 3-day and 7-day passes in early October 2026. Its website now says Sling Passes are no longer available.
How much was the Sling Day Pass?
$4.99 for 24 hours of Sling Orange channels. The 3-day pass was $9.99 and the 7-day pass $14.99, with Extras for $1 to $3.
Why did Sling get rid of Day Passes?
Sling hasn't given a reason beyond a short statement, but the change followed lawsuits from Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery, which argued the passes broke their carriage agreements.
What is the cheapest replacement for a Sling Day Pass?
Sling Essentials at $19.99 for a month gets you ESPN, ESPN2 and Disney Channel. Cancel immediately after subscribing and you keep access until the month ends.
Did the Sling Day Pass include local channels?
No. Passes used the Sling Orange lineup, which has no local stations, and they didn't include DVR.
Can I still use a Day Pass I already bought?
Sling hasn't published details. Check the subscription section of your Sling account, which shows when an active pass expires.
Does Sling have a free trial instead?
No. Sling has no free trial in 2026; its free option is Sling Freestream, which doesn't include ESPN, TNT or local channels.
Sling hasn't ruled out bringing short-term passes back in another form, and the Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery cases may still change what is allowed. Prices for the replacement options move often. Checked October 2026.