Tea Time: Philo x T-Mobile

In case you missed it, Andrew McCollum, Philo CEO spilled it, and I am here for it.

“We’re so thrilled to partner with T-Mobile. Both companies are united by a similar mission —we’re committed to always putting our customers first. This partnership with T-Mobile takes Philo’s amazing value to another level. With T-Mobile’s leading 5G network and expansive customer base, this partnership will provide a massive boost to our shared vision of reinventing television by creating an experience people love as much as the shows they watch.”

Ya’ll know Philo is my Streaming option of choice and this changes the game.

T-Mobile recently posted the following

We are announcing our latest move to take on the Cableopoly with TVision. As the landscape changes, TVision is changing too – and our customers are the winners. As you know, TVision is all about helping people cut the cord, giving them more choices, access to the best media, and unheard of value. And that’s getting a major upgrade today.

We are welcoming YouTube TV and Philo to the TVision initiative. As part of an expansive, new, multi-year agreement with Google, we’re going to make YouTube TV our premium live TV service. And we are announcing a new partnership with Philo as our new base live TV service, starting at just $10 per month, exclusively for T-Mobile customers.

With TVision, we provide T-Mobile customers with preferential access to the world’s best streaming services. And we will make those services available on the TVision HUB, our exclusive low-cost TV streaming device that comes with a familiar, easy-to-use remote to make the leap from cable to streaming as smooth as possible. Our customers can get all the streaming services we offer directly with exclusive rates and benefits, such as Netflix, MLB.tv, YouTube TV and Philo (with more to come soon!), while also having access to just about any media out there, because the TVision HUB is built on the familiar Android TV platform.

YouTube TV and Philo come with incredible value for our customers, and that is the goal:

• T-Mobile TVision LIVE and VIBE customers can get $10 off YouTube TV and/or Philo every month — a value not found anywhere else — just for our customers, and they’ll get that discount for as long as they’re a T-Mobile subscriber, starting today in their MyTMobile account. That means our TVision customers continue to benefit from streaming TV choices starting at JUST $10 per month.
• PLUS, existing TVision LIVE customers can get a FREE month of YouTube TV to start (regularly $64.99/mo.) and can get three free months of YouTube Premium on us (regularly $11.99/mo). Getting started with our new partners is ON US, as a special thank you to our early-adopting TVision customers!
• Current TVision VIBE customers can get a FREE month of Philo to start (regularly $20/mo). Again, because THANK YOU!
• ALL T-Mobile postpaid wireless and Sprint consumer customers — are eligible for our incredible TVision partner offers: $10 per month off YouTube TV and/or Philo, starting on April 6.

That means T-Mobile customers get exclusive access to the best pricing on the highest-rated streaming service, YouTube TV, starting at just $54.99 per month. And, access to streaming TV through Philo starting at just $10 per month for a limited time.

This is a big upgrade. YouTube TV offers more than twice as many channels as TVision Live, and Philo offers nearly twice as many channels as TVision VIBE. Plus customers of both get unlimited DVR, can watch TV on more devices like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Chromecast, and more. And just like previous TVision offerings, customers get these new services with no cable box, no annual contracts, no exploding bills, and no hidden fees. And they’ll still get T-Mobile’s team of thousands of friendly, knowledgeable mobile experts ready to help them cut the cord.

This shift may surprise some given last year’s TVision streaming services launch. But innovation seldom follows a straight line. Since launching the TVision initiative, we’ve learned a lot about the TV industry, about streaming products, and of course, about TV customers. We also saw trends that made us take a fresh look at how to best do in video what we always do: put customers first. With our TV software provider encountering some financial challenges and with our broader, strategic partnerships with Google and Philo, we saw an opportunity to deliver unique value to our customers and strengthen the TVision initiative with the best partners. This industry is incredibly fragmented, with new streaming services launching all the time, and we’ve concluded that we can add even more value to consumers’ TV choices by partnering with the best services out there, negotiating incredible streaming media deals for T-Mobile customers, and helping our customers navigate the increasingly complex streaming world.

We’ve always seen video as a critical ‘door-opener’ for our forthcoming Home Internet business, because, even today at the peak of cord cutting and streaming, most homes still buy entertainment and internet connectivity together — and the #1 thing people stream on their home internet connection is video. Our TVision brand and our TVision HUB device will play a central role in helping customers get the best of media in connection with our Home Internet service. And now, we’ll offer even better solutions to our customers with the combined strength of YouTube, Philo and more leading brands through future partnerships, because really – TV is better with friends!

Our mission hasn’t changed and is more relevant and important than ever. This TVision initiative is only getting stronger with these changes, and our new TVision partner offerings will give customers more choices as we wind down TVision LIVE and VIBE services on April 29. Our experience has shown us consumers need an advocate in this space. They don’t want more streaming services – they want help buying and navigating the services that already exist. And they want exclusive deals and special access. We’ll continue to play that role, giving our customers the best value with the best streaming services. So millions can cut the cord with the Cableopoly once and for all.

I’m proud to run a business that is not afraid to learn, adapt and change, with customers as our north star. That’s what the Un-carrier does. That is what we are doing today, and if the last few years have shown you anything, you know … We Won’t Stop. – T-Mobile Blog