Breaking Down Philo TV’s Channel List for 2022

Philo TV has a long list of channels, but how many do you actually want to watch? Read on to learn why we rate only 28 of Philo’s 71 channels as high value for 2022.

If your goal is to finally cut the cord and get rid of cable altogether this year, but you don’t want to break the bank doing so, you’re research has likely led you to Philo TV.

With live TV streaming services increasing prices across the board, Philo is one of two remaining options for live TV streaming on a budget, with Sling TV as the best alternative.

Of the two options, Philo TV is the cheapest, plus the Mark Cuban backed service boasts 71 channels and unlimited DVR, and a 7 day free trial for just $25 per month, which is almost $500 per year cheaper than YouTube TV.

By contrast, Sling TV’s Orange and Blue options, both priced at $35 per month, only offer 34 and 43 channels respectively. At first glance, cord cutters on a budget, or who don’t want to deal with the larger content libraries of some other streaming services, might see Philo TV’s channel count and assume they are getting great value.

However, after digging in and using Philo TV extensively, we feel the channel list doesn’t offer as much value as you might think by just tallying the channel count. In fact, there is quite a bit of bloat in Philo’s 71 channel roster.

Philo TV lacks local and sports channels altogether

For starters, Philo TV doesn’t carry any local channels and has no sports options.

By contrast, Sling TV Orange carries ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN 3.

Philo TV lacks popular cable news channels

Although Bloomberg TV, BBC America, and BBC World News are available to subscribers, Philo’s channel roster doesn’t offer the option of watching Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC.

For some, the lack of cable news will be a welcome addition, however, those who want the latest news available at all times will miss popular shows like Morning Joe and Special Report with Bret Baier.

Sling TV Blue carries all the popular cable news networks that Philo TV lacks.

Philo TV’s channel roster is bloated

Once you dig in and go one by one through the channel guide in the Philo dashboard, you quickly notice a pattern – many of the channels are redundant, or feature lesser known networks that don’t offer the most popular content.

We’ve included the full list of Philo channels here and highlighted in bold the ones we feel add the most value. Of the 71 channels available on Philo TV, we rate only 28 as high value.

1. A&E
2. AccuWeather
3. AMC
4. American Heroes
5. Animal Planet
6. Aspire
7. AXS TV
8. BBC America
9. BBC World News
10. BET
11. BET Her
12. Bloomberg TV
13. Cheddar News
14. Cleo TV
15. CMT
16. Comedy Central
17. Cooking Channel
18. Crime + Investigation
19. Destination America
20. Discovery
21. Discovery Family
22. Discovery Life
23. DIY Network
24. Food Network
25. FYI
26. G4
27. GAC Family
28. GAC Living
29. Game Show Network
30. GET TV
31. Gusto TV
32. Hallmark Channel
33. Hallmark Drama
34. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
35. HGTV
36. History
37. IFC
38. INSP
39. ID Channel
40. Law &Crime
41. Lifetime
42. LMN
43. Logo
44. Motor Trend
45. MTV
46. MTV Classic
47. MTV Live
48. MTV2
49. Nick Jr.
50. Nickelodeon
51. Nick Toons
52. OWN
53. Paramount Network
54. People TV
55. Players TV
56. Pocket watch
57. Revolt
58. Revry
59. Ryan & Friends
60. SCI
61. Sundance.tv
62. Tastemade
63. Teennick
64. TLC
65. TRVL
66. TV Land
67. One
68. UpTV
69. VH1
70. VICE
71. WE

Philo’s channel lineup is redundant

Who do so few channels make the cut? The first issue with Philo channels is redundancy.

You can throw out AccuWeather right off the bat as most of us get the weather reports from our phones.

We rate Hallmark TV as high value, the channel has a lineup that some find appealing, especially around the Holidays, but even the biggest Hallmark fans won’t need Hallmark Drama and Hallmark Movies & Mystery as additional channels.

The same is true for MTV. Four MTV channel options will only be an attractive feature for a handful of cord cutters. You see the same principle at work for BET and Discovery. BET has been a great channel for decades now, but most won’t have time to incorporate BET Her, even if the content is excellent.

Similarly, Discovery offers fun educational programming, and some 4K options on YouTube TV, but the addition of Discovery Family and Discovery Life will be TV overkill for many of us. Further, the American Heroes channel is owened by Discovery, so when that is factored in, Philo’s 71 channels offer 4 from Discovery alone.

Many Philo channels are lower tier

To continue picking on the American Heroes channel, a channel focused on military programming, the programming lineup has consistently low ratings. You have to ask how many Philo users will need access to the American Heroes channel when they already have the History channel.

Maybe some hard core western fans will love the INSP channel’s slogan “Heroes live here,” and binge watch John Wayne movies. But, the fact remains, that existing on-demand providers, like Netflix, offer a large library of westerns making the INSP channel unnecessary for most cord cutters. A simple search for “western movies” on YouTube TV offers plenty of westerns for most viewers to get their OK Corral fix.

When you dig in and look at the channels offered through Philo TV, most are forgettable.

Some cord cutters will find value

Now, that isn’t to say that Philo won’t have some die hard fans, and that the channel lineup lacks all value.

For example, their decision to include an LGBTQ first channel, Revry, will be a hit for some, and be seen as a step in the right direction for others, but on a channel for channel basis, Philo will lose out to Sling for pure value for many cord cutters.