Are you a fan of the Philo live TV streaming service?
If so, you may want to go ahead and lock in your monthly subscription cost while you still can.
The value streaming service is getting ready to increase its pricing for new customers. Team Clark has all the details on how this could impact your wallet.
Philo Will Increase Its Subscription Price in June 2021
The days of the $20 live TV streaming service may soon be coming to an end.
Beginning June 8, 2021, Philo will increase its subscription price from $20 to $25 per month. This price increase affects only new subscriptions. At least for the time being, Philo will keep the price at $20 per month for existing customers.
In a blog post, Philo CEO Andrew McCollum offered the following explanation for the price hike:
“As many of you know, our contracts with our content partners include fees we pay that go up every year, and a significant part of the cost of Philo is driven by our platform and billing partners,” McCollum wrote. “We are relentless in our focus on keeping our price low, so we do everything we can to reduce our overhead while managing these increasing costs. Even with those efforts, we can’t offset these rising costs indefinitely, and this change reflects that reality.”
This is the first price increase Philo has implemented since it launched nearly four years ago.
So while none of us like higher prices, even at $25 per month, Philo is still the value option for live streaming.
A New Feature Comes With the Increased Cost
It’s not all bad news!
To go along with the $5 increase in monthly cost, Philo is trying to provide some added value for new subscribers.
Subscribers who join at the $25 level will be able to keep the content they save to their unlimited cloud DVRs for up to a year.
That’s an increase from the current policy that offers access to DVR libraries for just 30 days.
What Does This Mean for Existing Philo Subscribers?
If you’re already a Philo subscriber, you don’t have to take any action to maintain your current pricing. But you probably do want to brace yourself for an eventual price increase.
The strategy of delaying price increases for existing subscribers has been used by other popular live TV streaming services, such as YouTube TV, in the past. And it almost always results in an eventual price hike for all subscribers.
For now, the only change for existing subscribers is the offer to opt into the $25 pricing level to unlock the extended life on their cloud DVR libraries.
For some users, it’s possible that this is actually a benefit worth pursuing. The current policy of 30 days can be restrictive for users who like to pile up episodes of their favorite shows and then binge them when their lives allow for it.
Philo Basics: What You Get With a Subscription
If you’re seeing this article and wondering what all the fuss is about, let’s bring you up to speed on what Philo has to offer.
Considered to be one of the best values in the live TV streaming game, Philo offers access to many popular cable channels for only $20 per month (if you sign up sometime between now and June 7). That’s less than half of what industry leaders such as YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV are charging customers.
Some T-Mobile subscribers may be able to get access to the service for as little as $10 per month.
So what don’t you get for $20 — soon to be $25? Access to “expensive” cable channels: ESPN, FS1, CNN, Fox News and the like.
| Philo | |
|---|---|
| Base Price | $25.00 |
| Channels | 110 (Full list) |
| Free Trial | 7 Days (Sign up) |
| Best For | Streamers who don’t need access to live sports or local channels |
| Cloud DVR Hours | Unlimited |
| Supported Streaming Devices | Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Apple TV and select smart TVs (Full list) |
You can read Team Clark’s detailed review of Philo here.
Here’s a look at Philo’s current channel list:
| Philo ($25.00) |
|---|
| A&E |
| AccuWeather |
| AMC |
| American Heroes Channel |
| Animal Planet |
| aspireTV |
| AXS TV |
| BBC America |
| BBC World News |
| BET |
| BET Her |
| Catchy Comedy |
| Cheddar |
| Chicken Soup for the Soul |
| Cinevault |
| Cinevault 80’s |
| Cinevault Classics |
| Cinevault Murder & Mayhem |
| CLEO TV |
| CMT |
| Comedy Central |
| Comedy Dynamics |
| Cooking Channel |
| Cowboy Way |
| Crackle |
| Crime & Investigation |
| Deck The Hallmark |
| Destination America |
| Discovery Channel |
| Discovery Family |
| Discovery Life |
| DragRace Universe |
| EarthxTV |
| Fail Army |
| FETV |
| Food Network |
| FYI |
| G4 |
| Game Show Network |
| Gameshow Central |
| GetTV |
| Great American Family |
| Great American Living |
| GustoTV |
| Hallmark Channel |
| Hallmark Drama |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries |
| Heroes & Icons |
| HGTV |
| History |
| IFC |
| Infast |
| INSP |
| Introuble |
| Investigation Discovery |
| Inwonder |
| KIN |
| Law & Crime |
| Lifetime |
| Lifetime Movie Network |
| LOGO |
| Magnolia Network |
| MeTV |
| MeTV+ |
| Military History |
| MotorTrend |
| MTV |
| MTV Classic |
| MTV Live |
| MTV2 |
| Nick Jr. |
| Nickelodeon |
| Nicktoons |
| Outside TV |
| OWN – Oprah Winfrey Network |
| Paramount Network |
| People Are Awesome |
| Pet Collective |
| Players TV |
| Pocket.Watch |
| POP |
| RetroCrush |
| Revolt |
| Revry |
| Ryan and Friends |
| Science Channel |
| Scream Box |
| Smithsonian Channel |
| Start TV |
| Story Television |
| SundanceTV |
| Tastemade |
| Tastemade Home |
| Tastemade Travel |
| TeenNick |
| The Bob Ross Channel |
| TLC |
| Travel Channel |
| TV Land |
| TV One |
| UPtv |
| USA Today |
| Vevo Country |
| Vevo Hip-Hop |
| Vevo Pop |
| Vevo ’80s |
| Vevo ’90s |
| VH1 |
| Vice |
| WE tv |
Final Thoughts
Philo has been a great value option for streamers who don’t particularly care about access to sports or news channels.
That is likely to remain true even when the pricing moves from $20 to $25 on June 8.
But with the price change looming, it’s time for Philo fans to take action. Current, former and prospective new subscribers all should make sure they have an active subscription by June 7 to ensure that they keep getting Philo for $20 per month.
And remember, there is no long-term commitment or obligation with Philo. If you want to lock in the $20 per month now and then decide you no longer like the service, you can cancel with no additional cost beyond your current month’s subscription.
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