By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on Facebook & X.
Former editor of 4 TV magazines.

Philo, the live streaming service that offers more than 70 ‘basic cable’ channels for $25 a month, is offering a Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal to reduce that price even further. If you order the service on this Philo page, and input this code at checkout, BFCM23, you can get 50 percent off the first month. The discount, which brings the first month to just $12.50, is good from today through November 28.

The streamer offers such channels as AMC, A&E, Discovery, OWN, Lifetime, Comedy Central, MTV, History Channell, Paramount Network and BET. You can see the complete list here. Once you purchase the base package, you can also add some premium channels separately such as MGM+ and Starz.

Philo, which comes with a seven-day free trial, does not require any installation or cancellation fees. And you can cancel at any time. There are no contracts such as those required by many cable and satellite operators.

At $25 a month, Philo has the lowest price of all major live streaming services, including Sling TV, which is $40 a month. However, there is something different about Philo that helps explain why it can charge such a low rate. Philo does not carry sports channels, such as ESPN, Fox Sports, or regional sports channels. It also does not have local channels. The decision to omit sports channels and network affiliates allows Philo to charge less because both groups are very expensive to carry. (ESPN, for instance, arguably charges more in carriage fees than any other channel.) They don’t have to pay as much in carriage fees so they don’t need as much subscriber revenue to succeed.

Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.