In terms of saving money, Philo’s options could cut your bill pretty significantly. If you happen to live in an area where there is Cox TV available, the Starter package costs $53 per month for over 75 channels, many of them about the same as Philo TV. Did we mention no technician visit? Of course, with Philo TV you can also watch on an Apple iPad or your phone. The app is widely available on most smart televisions and streaming devices as well. You can also add the MGM+ or STARZ premium movie channels to Philo TV, but then the cost per month goes much higher than basic cable and also Netflix. I’m also a sports fan, and Philo TV has extremely limited options. There might be a show or movie to watch in the genre once in a while, but no live sports. Is it all worth it? That’s a question that we’ll explore. That’s amazing, but Philo as a company sort of shrugs and says, okay—so what? We record everything all the time no matter what. All day. Known as a “look back,” this feature is what separates Philo TV from other live television apps. Note that not all channels support this feature due to content licensing restrictions. When a show or movie is saved, you can then quickly skip the commercials as though you are using a cable or television DVR. This is not quite the same as the Kangaroo feature on DISH for Primetime Anytime show, which automatically removes commercials for you when you watch. With Philo TV, you can skip commercials manually. It’s even worse with movies. I searched for about 20 movies that are listed as “Certified Fresh” in Rotten Tomatoes from 2018 (meaning, they have had plenty of time to filter down to the basic cable channels), and not a single one popped up. A Philo TV representative said they do often have highly ranked movies in the app. If you add MGM+ or STARZ your movie viewing options suddenly become more robust. Both of those channels tend to debut some fantastic films like a personal favorite of mine called The Peanut Butter Falcon. You will also suddenly pay more than Netflix per month. At least the VOD content is in 1080p. I watched a few episodes of AMC shows like The Walking Dead and noticed an uptick in quality. A Philo TV rep said the quality will adjust on the fly depending on your connection speed. Once again, for $25 and no hassles with a set-top box, wiring, or installation (not to mention contracts), it’s still acceptable. I like the low price and the flexibility even if the quality is a bit below average.
