Kodi’s support for DRM in version 18 and beyond opened the doors to streaming services like Sling TV. It’s simple enough to get it running within Kodi and start watching live TV legally.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- How to Install the Inputstream Packages
- How to Install the Inputstream Helper Add-on
- How to Install Sling TV in Kodi
- How to Sign in and Use Sling
Software Requirements and Conventions Used
| Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
|---|---|
| System | Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and Arch Linux |
| Software | Kodi |
| Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
| Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
How to Watch Sling TV in Kodi step by step
- Install the Inputstream Packages
-
Install the Inputstream Helper Add-on
Before you can get the Sling add-on working, you’ll need the Inputstream Helper add-on from the official Kodi repositories. Open up Kodi, and select the Add-ons tab from the main list.
Kodi Add-on Downloads.Next, choose Download from the bottom. The main body of the window will shift to show the available add-on categories. Pick Program add-ons.
Kodi Program Add-ons.Scroll through the list, and install InputStream Helper.
-
Install Sling TV in Kodi
Back out to the list of available add-on categories. This time, choose Video.
Kodi Video Add-ons.Scroll through the list of video add-ons, and locate Sling TV. Install the add-on.
-
Sign in and Use Sling
Once the add-on is installed, click it to bring up the add-on page. Then, choose Configure from the list at the bottom.
Sling TV Configuration on Kodi.
A new window will pop up. Enter your Sling email and password. Then press Ok.
Now, go ahead and launch the add-on. It will take some time to load everything up. When it does, you’ll see a choice of ways to navigate. The best option is by channel, since the guide feature isn’t fully functional just yet.
Before you can watch Sling on Kodi, you’re going to need at least Kodi 18 and the Kodi Inputstream package. Installing these is different for each distribution, but they’ll be available in trusted repositories.
Ubuntu
On Ubuntu, follow our guide to install the latest Kodi release on Ubuntu. When you’re done installing Kodi, get the Inputstream package too.
$ sudo apt install kodi-inputstream-adaptive
Debian
The latest releases of Kodi and the Inputstream package are available in the deb-multimedia repository. Follow our Debian multimedia guide to get Kodi set up on Debian. Then, install the Inputstream package.
$ sudo apt install kodi-inputstream-adaptive
Fedora
To install both the latest release of Kodi and the Inputstream package, you’re going to need the RPMFusion repository. Begin by enabling it on your system.
$ sudo dnf install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm https://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm
Then, install both packages.
$ sudo dnf install kodi kodi-inputstream-adaptive
Arch Linux
Both Kodi and the Inputstream package are available in the default Arch repositories.
# pacman -S kodi kodi-addon-imputstream-adaptive
Conclusion
The Sling add-on is usually reliable. It does need regular updates, and there will be Widevine DRM updates needed to keep Sling functional. They’er not too common, so be patient when they arise.
