Entertainment-Only Streaming TV Service Philo Raises $40 Million

Entertainment-focused streaming service Philo announced on Tuesday that it had completed a $40 million Series C round of funding. Leading the funding round is existing investors AMC Networks, Discovery and Viacom. The company says that with the funding it will invest in "product features and enhancements and expand marketing efforts to reach an even larger audience."

One of the enhancements is a long-planned socially-driven TV experience. I got an early look at that experience a few months back and it's a fascinating attempt to connect viewers with other fans of the show as well as with networks and other interested parties. There's been no announced date for when that function will launch.

Philo also said on Tuesday it has launched on Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. Philo already supports Roku devices, desktop and web browsers, iPhones, as well as more than 35 participating TVE apps. It doesn't currently have a native Android app (although one is promised), but viewers can access Philo on Android devices via Chrome.

Philo is the first entertainment-focused streaming TV service, with a core tier of 40 channels available for $16 per month. An additional tier of 9 channels is available for another $4 per month. Subscribers can watch simultaneous streams and a free 30-day DVR function is included, along with the ability to pause live programming, start programs from the beginning and watch programs that have aired in the past three days.

The company has programming agreements and investment from A+E, AMC Networks, Discovery, and Viacom, as well as additional funders including CBC New Media, NEA, Rho Ventures, Xfund and others Philo is based in San Francisco, with offices in New York and Cambridge, MA.

40 Channels For $16:

    A&E
    AMC
    Animal Planet
    AXS TV
    BBC AMERICA
    BBC World News
    BET
    Cheddar
    Cheddar Big News
    CMT
    Comedy Central
    Discovery Channel
    DIY
    Food Network
    FYI
    GSN
    HGTV
    History
    IFC
    Investigation Discovery (ID)
    Lifetime
    Lifetime Movies
    MTV
    MTV2
    Nickelodeon
    Nick Jr.
    OWN
    Paramount
    PeopleTV
    Science
    SundanceTV
    Tastemade
    TeenNick
    TLC
    Travel Channel
    TV Land
    Velocity
    VH1
    Viceland
    We tv


Nine Channel Add-On Programming Tier For $4:

    American Heroes Channel
    BET Her
    Cooking Channel
    Destination America
    Discovery Family
    Discovery Life
    Logo
    MTV Live
    Nicktoons