Sling Media, a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation, launched its Slingbox in India. Slingbox is a video placeshifting device from Sling Media that allows the user to watch and control his home TV from virtually anywhere, using a desktop, laptop, tablet, or mobile phone. The company has unveiled a range of video placeshifting products, namely - Slingbox 120, Slingbox PRO-HD, SlingPlayer, and SlingLink.

“The Slingbox is a pioneer product in placeshifting technology and marks a milestone for television viewing in India,” said Raghu Tarra, Managing Director of Sling Media. “With Slingbox, consumers can now catch their favourite cricket match, show or movie from anywhere in the world. With a huge mobile and TV subscriber base, we see India as an attractive market for us,” Tarra added.

India is the second largest mobile market in the world, forecasting 400 million 3G subscribers by 2015. According to a survey by Nielsen, India ranks as the fourth largest consumer of mobile video in the world. Broadband is becoming more affordable and is getting widely adapted with a growth of 25 percent annually. All these are positive aspects for Sling Media and the company is looking at exponential growth in the country over the next few years.

Now the products are distributed directly to the consumers in 20 countries through over 5,000 retail stores, and to several television service providers in North America, Europe and Asia. Bhupen Shah, Sling Media founder and CTO added, “We are very happy and excited to have brought our breakthrough products to the consumer electronics marketplace in India. Now anyone with a Broadband Internet connection can enjoy viewing their television on a laptop, smartphone or tablet device.”