Philo Review: A Low-Cost Live Video Streaming Service for Non-Sports Fans | PCMag
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3.5 Good this.$refs.template.innerHTML, onCreate: (instance) => this.tippyInstance = instance, onShow: (instance) => { this.escapeHandler = (e) => { if (e.key === 'Escape') instance.hide(); }; window.addEventListener('keydown', this.escapeHandler); }, onHide: (instance) => { if (this.escapeHandler) { window.removeEventListener('keydown', this.escapeHandler); this.escapeHandler = null; } }, onMount: (instance) => { const closeBtn = instance.popper.querySelector('[data-tooltip-close]'); if (closeBtn) closeBtn.addEventListener('click', () => instance.hide()); }, }; }, }"> What Our Ratings Mean 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies. The Bottom Line Live TV streaming service Philo offers a valuable mix of entertainment and lifestyle channels at a reasonable price, but it has few news networks and no sports content. Per Month, Starts at $25.00 7 Days Free Philo Live and On-Demand TV Trial See It PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.
Pros & Cons Inexpensive More than 70 channels Free channels Good mobile apps Easy-to-use DVR No major sports coverage Few news channels Lacks parental control options Some on-demand and DVR content have ads Philo Specs Name Value tr:nth-of-type(n+6)]:hidden" :class="{ '[&>tr:nth-of-type(n+6)]:!table-row': open }"> Starting Price $25 per month Sports Coverage None DVR Storage & Retention Unlimited; 365 days Concurrent Streams 3 On-Demand Movies and TV Shows 4K Live Streams Live TV Original Programming Anime Ads Offline Downloads on Mobile More Specs
Many video streaming services cost as much as a regular cable subscription, defeating one of the main reasons viewers like me have cut the cord. Lifestyle- and entertainment-focused service Philo offers more than 70 live channels starting at a relatively cheap $25 per month. However, Philo is not in the business of creating original content like Netflix or Prime Video. Likewise, it doesn't aim to replace cable entirely, as Editors' Choice winners Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV do—it has few news channels and no sports content. Still, Philo performs well across many platforms and might make sense if you're into its en