In a crowded streaming market, Philo wants to set itself apart with a focus on delivering value and accessibility to customers seeking entertainment and lifestyle content.
The virtual MVPD (multichannel video programming distributor) has carved out a niche by offering a more affordable bundle that excludes sports, while providing an extensive lineup of programming from major media companies like A+E, AMC, Hallmark, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
“We’re really focused on super serving our customers who are looking for that sort of content,” said Aulden Kaye Yi, Head of Advertising Partnerships at Philo, in this video interview with Beet.TV. “And we do see more viewership on that sort of content than on the other services where there is also sports and news and the more traditional cable bundle.”
Leaning into Programmatic and Addressability
Philo has been adding new content to its platform over the past year, including the addition of AMC+ in June. The company is also exploring rebundling opportunities to provide a richer entertainment and lifestyle experience for its customers.
In addition, Philo has been expanding its free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) offerings, adding about 80 channels over the past year. The company sees FAST as an opportunity to engage with new audiences, grow its ads business, and drive acquisition and retention.
“FAST really provides an environment for us to continue to engage our churn subscribers and then provides touch points for us to bring them back into the core service when, for example, a show that they have previously watched and enjoyed on Philo comes back into season,” Yi said.
Advancing Addressability and Measurement
On the advertising side, Philo is taking a programmatic-first approach, with 100% of its inventory addressable. The company is focused on making it easy for advertisers to find relevant audiences on the platform.
“We really lean into flexibility and transparency signaling,” Yi explained.
Philo is collaborating with industry partners to optimize addressability and improve signal fidelity and accuracy for advertisers. The company has integrated with universal IDs and extended IDs, such as Unified ID 2.0 and LiveRamp’s ATS solution.
“We’re in a pretty great position as it relates to these extended IDs because almost a hundred percent of Philo’s viewership is logged in and authenticated,” Yi noted. “So we’ve got really great opted-in coverage and we have seen so far strong performance where these IDs have found adoption on the buy side.”
