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Young adults, women key demo for Philo OTT streaming service

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Young adults, women key demo for Philo OTT streaming service

Six months after its launch, streaming provider Philo Inc. is attracting young consumers and building a subscriber base skewing toward women.

Michael Keyserling, head of content and distribution partnerships, discussed Philo's customer acquisition trends during a keynote discussion at the June 5 Over The Top Video Executive Summit in New York. Organized by the OTT Executive Magazine, a free quarterly publication, the annual conference is focused on OTT business models and trends.

Asked what groups Philo was garnering subscribers from — whether cord cutters, cord shavers or cord nevers — Keyserling didn’t specify, but pointed to young adults overall. He said that group can't afford or is not interested in spending around $150 per month on traditional pay TV services.

At this juncture, he said 60% of Philo's subscriber base is female.

Philo, which launched its virtual offering in late 2017, currently features 38 channels from A+E Networks, AMC Networks Inc. and Viacom Inc., as well as networks owned by Discovery Inc., including the roster of services it recently acquired from Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. The service costs $16 a month and subscribers can add nine more networks for another $4 per month.

Users can watch via the web, Roku Inc., iOS and Chrome devices. Philo also offers an unlimited 30-day DVR, an on-demand content library, and simultaneous use across three different devices.

Price point aside, Keyserling told attendees at the event that the streaming offering has "something for everyone, except sports fans." To that end, he said those who enjoy athletics might be supplementing their Philo package "with something else."

Keyserling also said Philo is generating sampling opportunities among new and traditional pay TV entrants via "a really simple onboarding process." Prospective subscribers can enter their mobile phone number to begin streaming. After 48 hours, those trialing the service can unlock another five days of free access by entering their billing information.

Philo has a referral program offering subscribers a $5 credit for each connection that yields a new subscriber, as well as a like amount for the person they refer. That reduces the price of the service to $11 for a month.

Being an OTT proponent doesn’t necessarily exclude Philo from participating in the traditional pay TV universe. Keyserling said the company is talking to several cable operators about being part of their offerings to broadband-only customers, or being an option for subscribers who have cut the cord or are seeking lower price video options.

Keyserling shared the stage with Julie Uhrman, executive vice president and general manager of over-the-top ventures at Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Uhrman discussed the company's OTT offering Pantaya, a premium Spanish-language streaming service and Laugh Out Loud, a comedy platform partnership with Kevin Hart that showcases original series and content from influencers in that community.

Keyserling joked about forming a distribution partnership: "Let’s do a deal on a stage, break some news." Philo recently buttressed its lineup at no additional cost by adding a trio of digital services: Cheddar Big News, which supplies headlines and general news aimed at younger audiences; TasteMade Inc., a purveyor of original fare surrounding food, home and travel lifestyles; and PeopleTV, which melds celebrity, pop-culture and lifestyle stories from People magazine.

For her part, Uhrman said content providers can succeed in OTT by being hyper-focused on specific audiences. She said Lions Gate has been aggregating original content for both Pantaya and Laugh Out Loud, and supplementing those offerings with targeted library fare.

But she cautioned that as OTT choices continue to proliferate, consumers have to be careful with their content additions, as they could see their monthly video expenses begin to creep back up toward traditional pay TV levels.

As to premium service Starz, Uhrman said the OTT offering has been "a great product" to take abroad, with launches in the U.K. and Germany, and rollouts slated to follow in other countries.