Philo's Free Channel Count Tops 170 - Still $0, No Card Required
Eight new channels just landed on Philo's free tier, a reminder that the biggest savings in streaming right now might be the stuff that costs nothing at all.
What actually changed
Philo has added eight more channels to its free, ad-supported live TV service, pushing the no-cost lineup past 170 channels. The new additions are five MGM-branded movie channels (MGM Presents, plus Westerns, Action, Horror, and Black Cinema spinoffs), along with Paternity Court, Teen Wolf, and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader. Nothing about pricing moved. This is purely an expansion of the free tier that sits alongside Philo’s paid plans.
What it costs you
Zero dollars, and that’s the point. Philo’s free service doesn’t require a credit card, works on smart TVs, streaming sticks, phones, tablets, and computers, and now includes limited DVR recording once you make a free account. If you’re comparing that to a cable package running $80 to $100-plus a month, or even to a $50-$80/month live-TV streaming bundle, a free channel with genre-sorted movies and a couple of familiar shows isn’t going to replace your main service, but it can quietly chip away at how much other stuff you feel you need to pay for.
Philo’s paid tiers are unchanged by this update. The Essential plan still adds more than 70 traditional entertainment networks plus on-demand content, and Bundle+ still layers on extra streaming services on top of that. Notably, the new free channels aren’t locked out from paid subscribers either, they show up in both experiences, so existing Philo customers get the extra content at no additional charge to their existing bill.
Who benefits, who doesn’t
Cord-cutters who already lean on free ad-supported TV (FAST) services get more to watch without spending more. That’s genuinely good news for budget-conscious viewers, especially anyone using Philo’s free tier as a supplement to a cheaper streaming stack instead of a full live-TV package. Paid Philo subscribers get a modest bonus, more content, same monthly rate, though nobody should mistake this for a reason to upgrade if they weren’t already planning to.
The people this doesn’t move the needle for: anyone who wants local news or live sports. Philo’s free and paid lineups both stay focused on entertainment, movies, and lifestyle programming rather than the kind of programming that usually justifies a pricier live-TV subscription in the first place.
The bigger trend
This is part of a pattern, not a one-off. Philo has been steadily growing its free tier all year with themed movie channels, reality programming, true-crime blocks, and older TV series from various studios. It’s the same playbook other FAST services have used to build out libraries cheaply: license older catalog titles, organize them into genre channels, sell ads against them, and let viewers browse instead of search. For consumers, the practical effect is more free, legal live-TV-style viewing options competing for the hours you might otherwise spend on a paid subscription.
What to do about it
If you’re already paying for a crowded stack of streaming services, it’s worth checking whether a free tier like Philo’s can cover some of that casual, background-viewing time, old movies, courtroom shows, sitcom reruns, without adding a dime to your monthly bill. It won’t replace HBO Max or a sports package, but for the stuff you’d otherwise flip on without much thought, free is hard to beat. No signup fee, no card on file, no risk in trying it before deciding whether it earns a permanent spot on your home screen.