Wallet-friendly streaming service Philo will remove the financial news channel Bloomberg on March 31, according to an e-mail sent to some Philo customers and reviewed by The Desk on Friday.
The channel was added to Philo’s service as a free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) network in April 2021, joining Revry and the Crackle library of content at that time.
Since then, Philo subscribers who pay $25 a month have enjoyed live-streaming access to Bloomberg’s domestic news and financial affairs channel, along with the ability to record Bloomberg shows for playback at a later date.
Bloomberg is listed among a number of “free” streaming channels that Philo offers, including Revry and PocketWatch, though the service has yet to offer those channels to customers who don’t have an active Philo subscription or trial.
The e-mail Philo sent to customers on Friday said Bloomberg is in the process of transitioning the channel and its programming, though it wasn’t clear if the channel was changing its business strategy (like converting from a free-to-access network into one that charges cable and satellite companies for carriage) or if Bloomberg was abandoning carriage agreements with pay television platforms in general.
“While we try our best to limit changes that cause a disruption in programming for our subscribers, there are occasionally unfortunate situations outside of our control,” the e-mail sent to Philo customers said.
In the meantime, Philo customers can still get financial news from Cheddar News and global affairs content from BBC World News (which is licensed in the United States by AMC Networks, a co-investor and co-owner of Philo).
Those who want to watch Bloomberg can do so via other streaming apps, including Paramount Global’s Pluto TV, Fox Corporation’s Tubi and on YouTube.
