$16 per month streaming service Philo expands to Amazon Fire and Apple TV

Mike Snider | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption The cheapest live-streaming TV service has launched A new livestreaming TV service called Philo launches today, and it's sure to get the attention of people sick of paying high cable bills for channels they don't watch.

One of the newest broadband TV services, Philo, is expanding its reach.

The $16 monthly streaming subscription service, which launched in November on Roku devices, desktop and web browsers and iPhones, is now available on Amazon TV and Apple TV, the video service said Tuesday.

Philo is also getting a boost of more than $40 million in investment funding, led by AMC Networks, Discovery and Viacom. Those three major programmers along with A&E and Scripps provided the initial investment of $25 million to help launch the service. (Discovery acquired Scripps in July 2017 for $11.9 billion.)



The dual-pronged initiative will likely raise the awareness of Philo, which includes A&E, AMC, BET, Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, HGTV, OWN and another 30-plus channels.

"Nobody knows Philo exists," said Rich Greenfield, a media and technology analyst with financial services firm BTIG in New York. "The device partnerships are going to provide a good amount of visibility from a marketing standpoint in terms of how Amazon markets around Prime Day and how Apple promotes this."

It's no accident that Philo's arrival on Amazon's Fire TV happens just days before the online retailing giant's Amazon Prime Day on July 16. And the funding will help raise awareness of the streaming service long after Amazon's online sales event.

"I hear a lot of people online who say they love Philo and they’re surprised they don’t see advertisements for the company in more places," said Philo's CEO Andrew McCollum. "That’s one thing we will be changing with the funding."

McCollum declined to reveal the size of Philo's current subscriber base, but said "we're really happy with the growth."

Want to check out Philo? It has a seven-day free trial and you can sign up with just your phone number. Features include an unlimited 30-day DVR, on-demand programs, and the ability to watch shows that have aired in the past three days.

Wondering what is up with the name? Philo T. Farnsworth invented television in 1930.

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Follow USA TODAY reporter Mike Snider on Twitter: @MikeSnider.