Philo has added the Smithsonian Channel and Pop TV to its base plan, and at no additional cost. While Philo remains an affordable way to stream live TV over the internet, the lower monthly price can mean missing out on some channels that a home might want access to. Due to this, it is particularly good to see additional channels being added to the base package.
The standard cost of a Philo subscription is $25 per month. For that price, subscribers get access to a good selection of live TV channels, on-demand content, and an unlimited cloud DVR for recordings. Even though Philo isn’t the best option for news or sports channels, the lineup does include plenty of popular entertainment channels. A category that has now expanded even further.
Philo has confirmed that both the Smithsonian Channel and Pop TV have already been added to the base package. Both channels can be accessed though the Guide section of the website and apps. In addition, a selection of on-demand content from both channels is also now available to stream at any time.
With the Smithsonian Channel now included, Philo subscribers can expect greater access to history, science, nature, and pop culture content. With Pop TV, subscribers will be able to check out a variety of popular shows including ER, Ghost Whisperer, House, The Goldbergs, and NCIS: New Orleans.
For reference, both the Smithsonian Channel and Pop TV are owned by Paramount Global. Considering Philo already carried a number of Paramount Global-channels including Paramount Network, BET, CMT, Nickelodeon, and TeenNick, this appears to be an expansion of an existing deal.
Even though Philo didn’t explicitly state the channels were being added without any change to the price, the announcement did highlight how they’ve “been added to Philo’s $25 base package,” which is as good as confirming the lack of a price increase for now.
In fact, it has been some time since Philo last increased the price of a subscription. While the majority of the other live TV services raised their prices within the last year, on more than one occasion in some cases, the last time Philo encountered a price increase was back in June of 2021.
While it still remains to be seen whether Philo will encounter a price increase in 2023, the addition of two new channels in January is a good way to start the year off. According to the announcement, the addition of Smithsonian Channel and Pop TV now means subscribers to the $25 base plan get access to more than 70 channels in total.
Leave a Reply