Wallet-friendly streaming service Philo has inked a distribution deal with Versant’s multicast business Free TV Networks to offer three of its channels on its free tier.
The channels — 365BLK, Outlaw and Pam Grier’s Soul Flix — are now available through the Philo app for phones, tablets and smart TVs, even if a streamer doesn’t have a subscription to Philo’s core $25 per month offering.
The deal with Philo is the fourth for Versant and Free TV Networks this year, and makes its channels available on an affordable streaming platform that is working to become a central destination for entertainment, lifestyle and knowledge-based content.
All three channels are available through broadcast TV distribution and as free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) networks, making them attractive to a service like Philo, which prioritizes keeping costs low for subscribers.
“Free TV Networks continues its sustained momentum,” said Joe Cantrell, the Chief Distribution and Development Officer of Free TV Networks, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Four deals in a short window reflects a deliberate strategy to scale across both streaming and broadcast. FAST extends reach and frequency, while OTA remains a foundational part of our distribution model, together ensuring consistent access to our brands across how audiences watch today.”
In an email sent to The Desk, a spokesperson for Free TV Networks said the company logged 16 million viewing hours across its channels over the past year, amounting to an average of 43,000 hours of content viewed daily. That number was directly attributed to its FAST channels, and didn’t appear to include broadcast consumption of the same networks.
“FAST allows us to scale efficiently while delivering targeted audiences for advertisers,” Jonathan Katz, the President of Free TV Networks, said on Tuesday. “At the same time, Free TV Networks’ broader distribution strategy is designed to maximize accessibility and engagement across the television landscape, particularly among viewers who have historically been underserved.”
Free TV Networks also distributes its channels through Amazon’s Prime Video and Echostar’s Sling TV, where they are free to stream. In February, The Desk was the first to report that Free TV Networks had inked a similar deal with Paramount to place two of its networks — Outlaw and 365BLK — on digital subchannels of CBS owned-and-operated stations, replacing Fave TV, which shut down later that month.
The three channels are among 10 FAST networks that Philo launched on Tuesday. Others include marathon channels consisting of repeats of popular courtroom shows “Judge Judy” and “Hot Bench,” and four channels operated by Banijay Rights, including “The Osbournes” and “Deal or No Deal.”
Philo serves up more than 100 FAST channels of content, which don’t require a credit card or subscription to view. The service also offers two paid tiers — a $25 per month plan called “Essentials,” which unlocks more than 70 premium cable networks from Paramount, AMC Global Media, A+E Global Media, Warner Bros Discovery, Revry, Weigel Broadcasting and other programmers — and “Bundle Plus” that includes ad-supported access to HBO Max, Discovery Plus and AMC Plus for $33 per month.
