Philo increases price? Philo is free? Yes, and yes.

Follow me on this. Yesterday, Philo announced a free ad supported television (FAST) service. There are over 70 channels involved, and some even offer DVR service.

Yesterday, Philo announced a price increase to $28/month (up from $25) for its standard pay TV service (streaming cable, or vMVPD service).

So, yeah, both.

Philo's pay TV service is great. No local channels, and no news and sports (well, not the big boys anyway), but a lot of entertainment channels. A bargain at $25/month, and still a bargain when the price goes up in a couple of weeks (June 12, 2024).

The FAST service is smaller than, say, Pluto TV, Roku Channel, Tubi, and the like, but still pretty good:

• 4UV
• All Reality WE tv
• All Weddings WE tv
• AllBlk Gems
• AMC Thrillers
• Anger Management
• ANIME x HIDIVE
• Are We There Yet?
• BBC News
• beIN Sports XTRA
• The Bob Ross Channel
• Cheddar News
• Chicken Soup for the Soul
• CINEVAULT
• CINEVAULT Westerns
• CINEVAULT: Classics
• Cold Case Files
• Comedy Dynamics
• Confess by Nosey
• Cowboy Way
• Crackle
• Crime 360
• Crime Cults Killers by A&E
• Crime ThrillHer
• Dance Moms
• Deal Zone
• Drag Race Universe
• Duck Dynasty
• Ebony TV by Lionsgate
• FailArmy
• Game Show Central
• GET Comedy
• Growing Up Hip Hop WE tv
• Gusto TV
• HerSphere
• Home.Made.Nation
• Ice Road Truckers
• IFC Films Picks
• INFAST
• INTROUBLE
• INWONDER
• Kin
• Matched, Married, Meet
• Modern Marvels
• Movie Favorites by Lifetime
• MovieSphere by Lionsgate
• MSG SportsZone
• Mythical 24/7
• Nashville
• OuterSphere by Lionsgate
• Outside TV
• Overtime
• People Are Awesome
• The Pet Collective
• PlayersTV
• pocket.watch
• Portlandia
• RetroCrush
• Revry
• Ryan and Friends
• Scares by Shudder
• Screambox TV
• Slightly Off IFC
• Stories by AMC
• Tastemade Home
• Tastemade Travel
• Tiny House Nation
• TV One Crime & Justice
• UnXplained Zone
• USA TODAY
• Vevo '80s
• Vevo '90s
• Vevo Country
• Vevo Features
• Vevo Hip-Hop
• Vevo Pop
• The Walking Dead Universe

And many have DVR functionality, according to Cord Cutters News:

"Another way we have been working to bring more value to our subscribers is by expanding the catalog of free channels we offer as part of Philo. We currently have a curated selection of 70+ free channels — from reality to music, news to classic TV — with more to be added over time. What’s new is that users will now be able to sign up to watch and record a majority of free channels without being a Core subscriber or providing a credit card. Whether someone's not ready to make the jump to Core or is simply taking a break, we still want to provide them with a wide selection of great shows and movies." Philo said in a statement on its website.

My Streaming Life doesn't usually include pay TV services such as Philo, but that is a service that I would consider if a family member wanted more than what is currently available for free. Philo continues to be a favorite of mine, even with a price increase.