When the trend of cutting the cord began, it meant staying with the on-demand options, where cable and satellite TV were still the only options for live TV entertainment. The rise of live TV broadcasting services has changed that and created a gold rush in the market that was non-existent a few years ago.
The latest streaming giant in this business space is “Philo.” But how does it add up to the list of the best live TV streaming services? Here is our full Philo Review with everything you need to know about Philo offers and channels included, the features and price that is set apart, and the payment made later after subscribing to it.
In this Philo Review, we will also advise you whether or not you should buy their services, but before that, let us dive into the deep insights of Philo TV and its history. So keep reading the article.
Philo is surprisingly an outstanding live TV streaming service, given the price. Granted, its channel list may or may not suit everyone's needs, but if one finds the channel selection that meets their requirements, then there is no reason to look any further as it is most likely that Philo could be your primary Live TV entertainment service.
Philo has become an original innovator in the field of TV streaming by making something simple, which is getting rid of the expensive channels. This approach of Philo has removed certain networks and has become the cheapest and leanest option in the live TV streaming market. It just cost around $25 per month. Therefore, in this Philo Review, we will dive deep into the skinniest of this live TV streaming business market.
Philo Review 2021 | Watch Live TV Without Cable
Philo is a streaming service that was introduced during desperate times. The main network backers of this service- Viacom, Discovery, and AMC -are some varying degrees that have been cast out of the rest of the streaming bundles in the wide-area as they don't have sports networks in their packages.
So, rather than sitting idle, they have collaborated together to introduce their own set of bundles, with no sports programming and low-cost subscriptions. At just $20 per month, Philo is among the cheapest bundle providers of cable channels that you can get on the internet. This service is a bang for the buck if you are tired of spending an unnecessary amount on channels that you don't even watch and save tons of money by cutting the cord and getting subscribed to Philo.
If you are a reality TV show fan which is the main focus of Philo's channel lineups, then this could be your one-stopper shop, and it also gets paired with the other streaming services nicely, or antenna broadcasts over the air. Philo is every bargain seeker's dream as you get to watch content from over 60 live channels at just $25 a month. This also includes some of the most popular channels like Food Network, Discovery, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and many more.
One of the reasons why people cut their cords is simply because they want to save a few bucks. Philo service fully understands this matter and puts together a streaming bundle with over 65 TV channels like AMC, HGTV, and many others for a price of just $25 per month. The thrifty streamers will highly appreciate the fact that this service costs less than half of Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV subscriptions. However, there are few drawbacks, too, as Philo doesn't include sports and news channels that many binge-watchers like.
Therefore, to deal with this issue, Philo recently added movies and other programming channel add-ons that you can add by paying $3 extra per month. Not only will we cover everything that you need to know in this article, but we will also give you certain information that you can experiment with and take advantage of it. In the upcoming part of the article, we will walk you through everything you must know about Philo's bundle's service.
What Is Philo?
Philo was first introduced to the public in the year 2017, which has become one of the most reliable and affordable live TV bundle services worldwide. With just a $20 price mark every month, it had earned a top service for the cord-cutters on a low budget. Besides letting the users get access to around 65 channels and thousands of VOD movies & TV shows, Philo's primary focus is the entertainment and lifestyle section.
Generally, Philo doesn't have an option for Sports or local channels. Documentaries, fans, food programs, and reality TV shows are well delivered. Although it is not yet confirmed how popular Philo TV is as the service hasn't disclosed the right figures for subscribed users yet, it did grow rapidly in the year 2019.
This is most likely due to the offers that Philo added to their bundle packages, which are unlimited cloud DVR storage, low-cost, and multi-streaming features. Priced at just $20 per month, Philo is that live streaming application that boasts to have it all under one roof for most of the part.
It is a budget-oriented service meant for the people who don't mind subscribing to Amazon Prime or Netflix or mess up with a cable TV connection. It is meant for the cord-cutters who have ditched cable or satellite TV connection service years ago. We are speaking about the people who like to watch live reality shows, news, and a few older movies occasionally on channel VH1.
Philo TV is a Discovery-owned OTT (over-the-top) service which means that it is accessible only through the internet and not through cable or satellite lines over the air. This leaves Philo under the same category as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. But Philo is successful in the live TV department, so it shows the broadcasted programs. It also gives you access to on-demand movies and TV shows.
Philo is not the only over-the-top service for the cord-cutters. Although Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, FuboTV, and YouTube TV all offer live TV streaming services, their bundles features and prices are very expensive. To stream Philo Tv, you either have to go to their Web Browser page or download their application on any streaming device. In addition, they offer a 7-Day trial for free to all their new subscribers. You just require your phone number during the signup process.
Philo Pricing & Channels
A lot of media broadcasting services cost similar to the standard cable TV subscription, which beats the main reason for cutting the cord primarily. In that context, entertainment and Lifestyle focused service Philo is an affordable service and lets you get access to over 63 channels of on-demand live content.
Unlike Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, Philo is not into the creation of original content. However, it does not ditch cable TV entirely as Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV. It still has few channels with zero sports content. But still, Philo is a good-performing live TV service across various platforms and could make more sense if you enjoy its channel bundles.
One of the biggest takeaways of Philo TV is its affordability, as you get 63+ channels with unlimited cloud DVR storage at just $20 per month. It is an exceptional price tag as compared to the other live TV services like Sling TV that costs $30, and Hulu costs $65 per month, which is a huge amount.
Let's check the Pricing and Channels Categories individually:
Pricing:
For $25 a month, Philo offers over 65 live TV channels, on-demand movies, and TV shows with cloud DVR storage to record everything. Even if it's a significant increase in service, it's still one of the best performing live TV services at a low price that has high tier TV channels.
Philo TV has kept its prices low by not including the expensive sports and news channels. Philo also provides a 7-day free trial. Therefore, having Philo combined with a standalone internet plan will help you cut down the monthly expenses as compared to cable TV service.
Another benefit of Philo TV is its simplicity. The current plans include 54 channels at $20 a month. With this bundle, you can watch movies and TV shows whilst record them to view later, or just simply use the on-demand feature for accessing the content. Philo TV likes to keep things simple and budget-friendly as they are supposed to be. Overall the goodies, you can use the free 7-day trial if you think Philo live streaming service is a smart choice for your needs.
Product: Philo TV
Monthly Price: $20 per month
First 7-Days: Free
Product: EPIX Add-On
Monthly Price: $6 per month
Product: STARZ Add-On
Monthly Price: $9 per month
Philo TV is meant for cable or satellite TV connection cutters. You won't require any fancy set-top box or DVR. There won't be any optical cable running in through your home or no electric-technician visit either. These are some benefits that you get with Philo TV if you don't want to deal with any sort of hardware equipment.
Now, for the money-saving part, that's another part of the story. If you are living in a region where Cox TV is available, then the starter plans would cost you just $25 per month with 75 channels. Most of them are the same as Philo TV.
We have already mentioned ‘No Technician Visit' as with Philo TV, you can stream on Apple devices like iPhones and iPads. The application is compatible with almost all the devices that you can think of. You can even add STARZ and EPIX that are under the premium channel add-on section in Philo TV, but then the price for every month is much higher as compared to the standard cable TV connection.
Channels:
The Philo TV channel bundle is unlike any other live TV streaming option in the market, thanks to the alternate programming strategy. Philo offers premium channels like SPIX and STARZ. The service recently added “Crackle,” which is a free channel that brings thousands of on-de3mand movies and TV programs along with Revry and Boomerang TV.
Boomerang TV gives you live access to the latest markets, business, and technology-related news. Revry, on the other hand, is the world's first streaming network that is focused on the LGBTQ community.
Instead of including expensive channel fees for the popular channels, Philo focuses on bringing you documentaries, reality TV shows, movies, drama and comedy, and kid's entertainment instead. You will be able to get access to channels like Comedy Central, AMC, Hallmark, Food Network, and Nickelodeon with Philo TV subscription.
Its time to check the total channels that you get under Philo TV services:
- AMC
- Aspire TV
- BBC World News
- BBC America
- A&E
- American Heroes Channel
- AXS TV
- BET
- BET Her
- Cleo TV
- Crackle
- Bloomberg TV
- CMT
- Cheddar
- Crime + Investigation
- Cooking Channel
- Comedy Central
- Animal Planet
- Discovery Channel
- Discovery Life
- Discovery Family
- FYI
- Great American Country
- Destination America
- Food network
- DIY Network
- getTV
- HGTV
- Hallmark Drama
- Hallmark Central
- Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
- Gusto TV
- INSP
- History
- IFC
- Game Show Network
- Lifetime
- Lifetime Movies
- Motor Trend
- Law & Crime
- Investigation Discovery
- Logo TV
- MTV
- MTV2
- MTV Live
- MTV Classic
- Nicktoons
- Nick Jr.
- Nickelodeon
- Players TV
- PeopleTV
- Pocket Watch
- Paramount Network
- OWN (Ophrah Winfrey network)
- Tastemade
- Sundance TV
- TLC
- REVOLT
- Science Channel
- Travel Channel
- UP tv
- WE tv
- VH1
- Vice
- Ryan and Friends
- TV One
- TV Land
- Revry
- Teen Nick
Pros & Cons
If you are streaming under a strict budget, then there is nothing better than Philo with its price and product combination in the market. You will receive over 63 live channels, including up to 3 streams at once. But it's not as perfect as it seems. Although you are getting sports and news networking channels with this service provider and neither the local channels.
Therefore some streamers find Sling TV a better compromise for this drawback of Philo with a price of $35 as Sling has some features that Philo lacks. If you are paying $65 every month, some other streaming bundle service will offer you a better channel lineup that will closely resemble the traditional cable connection.
PROS:
- Unlimited cloud DVR storage at no extra cost
- Probably the best live streaming service with the cheapest price
- Up to 3 simultaneous streams and 10 user profiles in total
CONS:
- No Sports or News channels
- No access to local channels
- Price hikes from $20 to $25 in June 2021
Philo TV Device Compatibility
One of the biggest advantages of being a cord-cutter and choosing Philo is that you get to enjoy media content in a variety of formats. Whether it is seamless movement from one device to another or portability of the recorded content in cloud DVR storage, you name it.
You get to stream Philo on tablets, smartphones, PC, or on Smart TVs. You just require a high-speed internet connection to enjoy your content. If you are planning to watch on TV, then you would require a streaming device like Amazon Fire TV stick or Roku Stick.
Here are the devices that Philo TV is compatible with:
- iOS (iPhone & iPad)
- Apple TV
- Android Smart TV
- Amazon Fire Tablets
- Android (Smartphones & Tablets)
- Amazon Firestick or Amazon Fire TV Stick
- Roku Stick
- Chromecast with Google TV
Summary:
Philo sets out to do something extraordinary-something very special from the rest of the live TV streaming services. By getting rid of sports and news entertainment channels, Philo is able to set its prices low over all sorts of channel packs it could offer like movies, TV shows, and so on.
