A closer look at Philo

I said recently that I would be looking at live streaming services. And it's only fair for you to know ahead of time that I don't regularly use a live streaming service. If you want to know why, read my recent post about that.

For now, I'm taking a look at one of the live streaming services that doesn't get enough love: Philo.

At $25/month, Philo isn't the cheapest live streaming service, but it's close. And it's a really good service. But Philo isn't for everybody.

As is true of the other less expensive live streaming services, Philo does not carry local channels. Philo also doesn't have many news channels, nor does it have much sports programming. If you have or can put up an antenna for live local channels, then that's no longer an issue.

News may not be an issue. Philo has BBC World News, Bloomberg, and Cheddar news. If you simply want news, there are those, plus several free news services available on the major streaming devices. ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC all have news streams available for free. There are others as well. If you want to high ratings talking heads from the cable news channels, you won't find those for free. But if you want more news than opinion, and not all the shouting, then the free services available on the major streaming devices will fill the bill, and that becomes no longer an issue with Philo.

Sports? Okay, that's a problem. Philo has Motor Trend, but that's it. You won't find ESPN or Fox Sports for free, or in a standalone package. Bally Sports hasn't launched yet, and that may not have everything you'd expect at first. So if sports is a big thing for you, Philo probably isn't the way to go.

Unless you only follow a certain sporting season. For example, if you like college football (using my personal example) then you could subscribe to Sling TV during football season, then save $10/month by switching to Philo the rest of the year.

Of course, if you don't need major sports programming, then this won't matter. Personally, I really like Philo. It has a lot for the money.

The interface is okay. It's not my favorite, but it's functional. And you can mark certain channels as favorites, which it moves to the top of the guide.

Philo is one of the cheapest ways to get Hallmark. All three channels -- Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries -- are included in the package. Plus, you get a lot more.

• A&E
• AccuWeather Network
• AMC
• American Heroes Channel
• Animal Planet
• aspireTV
• AXS TV
• BBC America
• BBC World News
• BET
• BET Her
• CLEO TV
• CMT
• Comedy Central
• Cooking Channel
• Crime + Investigation
• Destination America
• Discovery Channel
• Discovery Family
• Discovery Life
• Food Network
• FYI
• G4
• GAC Family
• GAC Living
• Game Show Network
• getTV
• Hallmark Channel
• Hallmark Drama
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
• HGTV
• History
• IFC
• INSP
• Investigation Discovery
• Law&Crime
• Lifetime
• LMN
• Logo
• Magnolia Network
• Motor Trend
• MTV
• MTV Classic
• MTV Live
• MTV2
• Nick Jr.
• Nickelodeon
• Nicktoons
• Oprah Winfrey Network
• Paramount Network
• PeopleTV
• REVOLT
• Science Channel
• Sundance TV
• Tastemade
• TeenNick
• TLC
• Travel Channel
• TV Land
• TV One
• UPtv
• VH1
• Vice
• WE tv
• Bloomberg Television
• Cheddar News
• Crackle
• Gusto TV
• Kin
• PlayersTV
• pocket.watch
• Revry
• Ryan and Friends

If a lot of channels for a low price is what you want, then Philo is a great choice, as long as you don't need the major sports channels. It may become a valuable, and value-focused, part of your Streaming Life.