I Signed Up for Philo for the First Time, Here’s What I Thought
Philo offers viewers a ‘skinny’ cable experience, with around 18 top cable channels at a very reasonable price.
There’s a huge amount of new TV available in the fall of 2024. Channels like AMC, Hallmark Channel, Paramount Network, and more have a huge lineup of new shows and movies coming to viewers in the next few months. So, if you are a prospective cord-cutter who is worried about missing out on Hallmark Countdown to Christmas movies or the new season of “Yellowstone,” you should check out Philo. This skinny-bundle live TV streaming service delivers more than a dozen high-demand cable channels for just $28 per month. I recently signed up for the service, so I will walk you through my initial thoughts on the streamer from its content offerings to features and more.
What Do You Want to Need About Philo?
How’s the Free Trial?
One of Philo’s immediate plusses is its seven-day free trial, which is standard for all new subscribers. This gives you a great impression of what you’ll get from the service if you decide to become a paying customer after the trial is over.
There are some live TV services that don’t offer trials at all, and others don’t tell you how long your specific trial will be until well into the sign-up process, which can be challenging and frustrating. I experienced no such confusion with Philo, which made it very easy for me to know when I was actually going to be charged the first $28 monthly subscription price.
Does Philo Have Enough Content?
The biggest benefit of Philo is its low starting price point, however, the tradeoff for that affordable price is an obvious lack of traditionally in-demand content. Philo users don’t get access to any local broadcast channels like ABC, CBS, Fox, or NBC, nor can they watch big-name sports networks like ESPN, FS1, or TNT.
You will still get 18 of The Streamable’s top 35 cable channels, however, including popular networks like BET, Comedy Central, Lifetime, Nickelodeon, and VH1. There’s also a lineup of dozens of free ad-supported (FAST) channels available to help round out the viewing experience. That’s a great selection of entertainment, especially when factoring in all the on-demand content you’ll get with AMC+. The full AMC+ library is included with your $28 monthly subscription price on Philo.
If the titles and channels that come with a Philo base package aren’t quite enough, viewers also have the option to add on a handful of premium channels. MGM+ and STARZ are available as add-ons, and the Movies & More pack comes with six additional cable movie channels for just $3 per month.
I didn’t have much trouble finding something new to watch with Philo, and the lack of local broadcast channels is easily solved with an over-the-air antenna, which can be had for less than $30 from major retailers. Philo has plenty of entertainment options available, whether you want to stream live channels or on-demand options.
How’s the User Interface?
This felt a little bit like a lesson in getting what you pay for. That’s not to say that Philo’s user experience is bad, but it doesn’t have the same bells and whistles of other live TV services that I’ve tried.
Take the streamer’s live guide, for example. It presents all of Philo’s channels in alphabetical order… and that’s about it. Users can favorite a channel from the live guide to ensure that it stays at the top of the screen, but other than that, there really aren’t any sorting options or filters that you can use to narrow down the channels you want to see.
On the one hand, this isn’t as huge of a problem since Philo has fewer channels to scroll through than most of its competitors. On the other hand, Philo does carry dozens of FAST channels, and it includes them in the mix with all of the cable networks. In an ideal world, I would like to be able to filter out these channels when I am looking for something to watch on cable. The only way to access one particular channel without scrolling is to search for it in the search bar at the top of the screen, which can be a little cumbersome at times.
One cool feature that Philo offers is the “Top Playable” tab, which features the biggest and most popular shows and movies available on the service. This is a good way to steer viewers toward something new if they’ve recently finished a title and are looking for what’s next.
Philo also doesn’t make you open a separate app to watch on-demand content from AMC+; it’s all there waiting for you in Philo’s interface, a feature that I have become a big fan of.
Is Philo’s DVR Simple to Use?
Philo offers unlimited Cloud DVR, which is impressive for a streamer at its price point. Once again, it’s not quite as intuitive as similar features on other live TV services, but I didn’t have too much trouble using it. Instead of giving viewers the option to record a show with one click from the live channel guide, Philo will make you click on the given show within the guide and then click “Save” on the pop-up page that comes next. Once you have a show or movie recorded, Philo moves it to the “Saved” tab at the top of the screen.
Is Philo a Good Value?
Undeniably, the biggest strength of Philo is its low price. For less than $30 per month, viewers get some pretty high-quality cable entertainment networks; AMC+ access alone would cost an extra $5 per month independent of Philo, and that’s before getting into all the content you can watch on the channels included with the service.
The addition of FAST channels is a good way to ensure that viewers get maximum value, as well. These channels are available from multiple sources, but as long as you’ve got Philo open anyway, you might as well watch from there, right?
Unlimited DVR and up to three simultaneous streams also help increase Philo’s value proposition, as some streamers that charge much more for service offer less in these regards.
You won’t get as many features or smoothed-out edges on Philo’s user interface; it’s fairly bare-bones. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it’s also relatively straightforward to use. One thing I’ve noticed about live TV services is the more content they have, the more time they make you spend searching through layers of their platform to find it. Philo doesn’t have that problem, for better or for worse.
Final Thoughts
Philo doesn’t make extravagant promises or pretend to offer content that you really have to pay a bunch of extra money to get. The service is simple, reasonably easy to use, and — above all — cheap.
If you’re looking to get away from an expensive cable package, and saving money is your primary goal, you will definitely want to give Philo a try. Its seven-day trial makes it a perfect service to ease into, and the simplicity of its user guide and its streamlined approach to channel inventory means you don’t have to worry about getting lost in the streamer’s sauce.
Philo
Philo is a live TV streaming service designed for entertainment lovers which includes 60+ channels for $28 per month. It’s an especially attractive option for fans of live TV who don’t watch sports. Your subscription includes ad-supported AMC+. Anyone can sign up for Philo’s free service, which offers 80+ channels.