Philo is using its curated line-up of free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels to drive interest in its premium, paid offerings, a senior Philo executive said at an industry conference on Thursday.
Speaking during a one-on-one interview at the StreamTV Show in Denver, Philo’s Head of Content Acquisition, Business Development and Sales Mike Keyserling said the streaming platform was utilizing its sampling of FAST channels to offer more content options that complement its general entertainment, lifestyle and knowledge-based programming found within its core bundle.
Instead of adding hundreds of FAST channels into Philo, the company is rolling out content streams that offer similar shows and movies to those found on premium networks like AMC.
“There’s a lot of FAST platforms that have already reached scale and have a ton of content on them,” Keyserling said. “We’re being a little more curated — we’re looking more closely with what resonates with our current subscribers.”
Philo doesn’t charge anything for streamers to access its FAST platform, which exists within the same app as its premium TV service. Philo offers around 100 free content streams, including some programmed by AMC and A+E Global Media, whose premium cable networks are available within its core, $28 per month plan.
Keyserling said offering FAST and premium networks within the same app makes it easy for streamers who want to upgrade to a paid tier. He used an example of a streamer watching back episodes of “Love After Lockup” on a FAST channel, then deciding to watch the current season on We TV, one of the premium channels available in the $28 per month tier.
“We want to make it as easy for you to upgrade,” he said.
Keyserling acknowledged that some subscribers might sign up for a plan to watch a particular show or series, and then churn out when they’re done watching something on a premium network. When that happens, “we want to be able to have a free platform that they can come back to,” he said.
There are already signs that the approach is working: In March, The Desk reported Philo had grown to 3.4 million monthly active users, based on information available on a new platform for prospective advertisers.
One month earlier, Philo said it had around 1.3 million premium subscribers, a number that seems to grow each time the service offers an update. Assuming the numbers haven’t materially changed over the past few months, it stands to reason that more than half of streamers who are using the Philo app are watching its free channels, without a subscription.
While there is no shortage of apps offering access to hundreds of free streaming channels, Philo has an edge in at least two ways: In addition to providing an easy way for streamers to upgrade to a premium tier with more than 80 live cable networks, Philo allows users of its free streaming service to record shows and movies on most of its FAST channels, a perk few others offer.
Of course, Philo is generating revenue off its FAST channels. And the company hopes streamers are eventually encouraged to upgrade to its $28 per month tier. To sweeten the deal, the company has started leaning into the idea of bundling different subscription-based services into its premium plan: Earlier this year, Philo added the ad-supported tier of AMC Plus into its plan, and it offers add-on subscriptions to other services like Starz, MGM Plus and Hallmark Plus for separate fees.
Over time, Keyserling said Philo is looking to bundle more ad-supported streaming video services into its core offering — he didn’t specify any by name, but said the integration of more ad-supported plans, like AMC Plus, will boost the value of its core offering.
“While the linear business probably has some secular declines, it’s still a great business,” Keyserling said. “It has great margins. It has super high engagement. And it has millions of subscribers who like to watch content in that form. But, the world of streaming is here to stay — that’s not going anywhere. We want to bridge the gap for those subscribers.”
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