Someone at Sling Media is singing “We’re in the Money” today. Echostar has announced that they plan to purchase the smaller company and its family of streaming media products for a cool $380 million.

Slingbox has really made a name for itself over the past few years, through advertising and frankly, a pretty interesting product line. Each of the Slingbox units provides “place-shifting,” which allows users to watch anything on their local TV lineup or digital video recorders anywhere with a web connection.

Speaking as a DISH customer, when can I expect a Slingbox to be incorporated into my mix? I can wait, but not too long.

Aside from the company’s current offerings, the Slingbox line should soon add the SlingCatcher, which will allow for viewing web video on any connected TV.

Rachel Cericola - Contributing Writer

Over the past 15 years, Rachel Cericola has covered entertainment, web and technology trends. Check her out at www.rachelcericola.com.