Sports-Free Streaming Service Philo Raises Money as Competition Heats Up

Daily Show host Trevor Noah, whose Comedy Central show airs on Philo. Photo by AP.

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Philo, which launched the first sports-free streaming TV service late last year, is raising a new funding round of between $40 million and $50 million, people familiar with the situation said. The fundraising comes as competition intensifies in the low-price end of the streaming TV market, including from a similar service unveiled this week by AT&T.

Philo plans to use the money to pay for marketing to help it sign up more subscribers. The service is also planning to launch a new user interface, one of the people said. Investors in the round include many of the entertainment companies that have already invested in Philo, including Viacom, Discovery Communications and AMC Networks. Philo, led by an early Facebook employee, Andrew McCollum, has previously raised a total of $51 million.