Philo adds AMC+ to bundled plan, expands FAST offering to non-subscribers

The Philo streaming app.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

Philo, the over-the-top (OTT) streaming TV service that offers both live and on-demand content, has some exciting new promotions coming this month. First, there’s an upgrade to its Core bundle that will now include access to AMC+. There’s also a new option that will provide Philo’s FAST (that’s Free Ad-Supported Television) channels to non-subscribers. But the price of the Core package is also going up for new subscribers.

The Philo Core package will include access to AMC+ starting June 12, 2024. The catch? The Core service will also be increasing in price from $25 a month to $28 a month starting that same day. That’s only for new and returning subscribers, however. Existing subscribers can continue to pay the same $25-a-month fee for the package, which is effectively grandfathered in for as long as they remain a subscriber. But if they stick with the old plan, they will not have access to AMC+.

What do you get with AMC+? The premium network is home to popular new shows like The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live and The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon (which returns for its second season in mid-2024), upcoming shows like Orphan Black: Echoes, and exciting award-winning titles like Mad Men, Better Call Saul, and Breaking Bad.

The package will include AMC+ with ads or you can pay an additional $4 per month for the ad-free tier. The ad-supported plan also throws in access to Shudder, Sundance Now, and IFC. For even more content, you can also pay an additional $7 a month for MGM+, $10 a month for Starz, and/or $3 a month for Movies and More.

“A big part of our philosophy is doing everything we can to keep Philo as affordable as possible for our subscribers,” says Philo CEO Andrew McCollum, “and not raising prices for them after they subscribe.”

Buy at PhiloHowever, McCollum notes that the rising cost of content and services means that costs do need to go up for anyone signing up for the first time. He points out, however, that this is the first time its prices have been hiked in three years. McCollum adds that anyone who joined on the first day of launch way back in 2017 and has kept their subscription active ever since is still paying the same price today.

New customers and returning customers can still sign up for the standard Core package without AMC+ until June 12, 2024, after which the $28-a-month fee with the addition of AMC+ will become standard. The Core package already includes access to live and on-demand TV from networks including A&E, MTV, BET, Discovery, VH1, Lifetime, Hallmark, OWN, and others.

Philo is also now offering more than 70 FAST channels outside of its usual paywall, which makes sense, since they’re free. All that’s required is a sign-in to the free service, and you can watch and record the selection of free channels without a subscription. You don’t need to provide a credit card either. Sign in from the special deal page to enjoy this offer.