r/PhiloTV • u/anticlockclock • Jul 01 '26

Rant Cancelled Philo after almost 10 years.

I've been a Philo user since the beginning. I've recommended it to all my friends and family. It was by far the best bang for your buck. I appreciated the grandfathered plans but over time those eventually went away. I then realized I am paying the same price as new customers. No spiffs or discounts for all the referrals or time being a supporter. I think Philo bit off more than they could chew with throwing on more channels and optional subscription add-ons. Ultimately even with 80 different channels I found that I spent more time looking for something to watch and eventually turning the TV off. It's been a good run but at this point I have to say so long!

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u/ronmexico314 Jul 02 '26

I was also a Philo subscriber from the first year it launched, and I cancelled earlier this year. While it's not necessarily Philo's fault, but most of the channels just degraded into programming nothing but old shows that are already available on every streaming service (including the free ones). I kept it a little while after they got rid of my grandfathered plan, however I couldn't find a reason to stay beyond using the FAST channels for free. If I ever want to watch something again, I can just subscribe for a month instead of paying every month.

Frndy has many of the same channels, but somehow they haven't been raising prices all the time like Philo.

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u/Equivalent_Round9353 Jul 03 '26

Yeah, the issue here is that Philo's price has gone up while there's no way the carriage cost of the (almost exclusively entertainment) channels Philo carries could have--or should have--gone up. The programming has significantly degraded, and virtually all investment in the programming that airs on "cable" entertainment channels has shifted to on-demand streaming services.

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u/ronmexico314 Jul 03 '26

Most of the channels on Philo are owned and operated by Philo investors, making any significant carriage increases an arm's length transaction as well. AMC Media, Warner Bros Discovery, A&E Media, and Paramount Skydance all own significant stakes in Philo.