Sports-Less Virtual MVPD Philo Could Face Uphill Climb, nScreenMedia Analyst Says

The sports-less virtual MVPD service Philo that A&E, AMC, Discovery, Scripps and Viacom reportedly are partnering on "could be a good deal" for viewers and content companies, but a tough sell nonetheless, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Wednesday. He said the top 34 channels of the four content companies are earning around $10 a month in pay-TV license fees, so even a Philo subscriber paying $15 a month would be more valuable than a pay-TV subscriber. Considering other expenses, a likely Philo cost could be around $19 a month, he said: But Philo will see competition from other virtual MVPD services carrying many of those same channels and also the cord-cutter universe is still relatively small.