1 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:11,079 Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in 2 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: which we talked with some of the brightest minds working 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: in media today. I'm Andrew Wallenstein with Variety. For just 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: twenty dollars a month, Filo offers consumers more than sixty 5 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: cable channels. It's a simple value proposition that has helped 6 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: this venture stand out in a crowded marketplace of so 7 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,760 Speaker 1: called virtual m v p d s, and as Filo 8 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:35,239 Speaker 1: CEO Andrew McCollum explains, he's not about to make the 9 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: mistake that has the prices of many of his competitors. 10 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: Thanks for talking to me, Andrew, Thanks for having me. 11 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,960 Speaker 1: So I'm curious, how are those numbers looking now in 12 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,319 Speaker 1: and what is the pandemic meant in terms of your 13 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: subscriber base and keeping that going. Yeah, I'd love to 14 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:56,480 Speaker 1: talk about that. UM. We actually just passed eight hundred 15 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,320 Speaker 1: thousand subscribers recently, so we are tracking a law. I 16 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: think that we've definitely seen a significant surge of growth 17 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: UM this year around, particularly during March, April, May June, 18 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: sort of the shelter and place period that was driving 19 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: a lot of people to spend a lot more time 20 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: indoors and consuming entertainment services. We definitely benefited from that. 21 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:23,560 Speaker 1: I think, you know, as we kind of look ahead, 22 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 1: we really start to think about, well, you know, if 23 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: there's gonna be a longer term economic impact from the 24 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: coronavirus pandemic, is that going to hurt the economy? And 25 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: how do we you know, we've always tried to position 26 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,319 Speaker 1: ourselves as a really low cost, high value service. Um, 27 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: we really think that we give you a lot for 28 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: twenty dollars. You know, we include sixty channels and you know, 29 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: an unlimited DVR and three streams, and you can use 30 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,040 Speaker 1: it on any device. And you know, I think that 31 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: in that climate, we think that, you know, we're very 32 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: well positioned. As people are looking to control their budget, um, 33 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: you know, control of the cost of what they're spending 34 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: on entertainment. Filo is a really good option, um in 35 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: the mix if you're looking to get a lot of 36 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: great content at a at a really fair price. But 37 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: this virtual m v P D space that you're in 38 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:18,640 Speaker 1: is it's got a lot of players in it. Uh. 39 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:21,639 Speaker 1: The good thing is you're one of the cheaper options, 40 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: but a lot of these players have also really run 41 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,840 Speaker 1: into a lot of trouble, and I'm curious, what do 42 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: you think has kept you from running into that trouble 43 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:36,240 Speaker 1: as well. Well. I think it's probably fair to say 44 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: that essentially every other service in this space came to 45 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:45,520 Speaker 1: market with an offering that was significantly under price relative 46 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: to a price that would actually make it, you know, 47 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: a margin positive, functional, long term business. UM. I think 48 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: a lot of this can be chalked up to the 49 00:02:56,639 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: fact that almost every other company who's launched a stir 50 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,880 Speaker 1: this a virtual cable service, has taken a focus on 51 00:03:03,919 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: broadcasting sports, and that content um brings a much higher 52 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: cost along with it, and so delivering those services at 53 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 1: a palatable price point was really difficult to do. You know, 54 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: in the time that we've been launched, you know, our 55 00:03:19,280 --> 00:03:22,440 Speaker 1: twenty dollar package is the same twenty dollars it was 56 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: when we launched, except it has a bunch more channels, 57 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,519 Speaker 1: and that same period of time, you know, YouTube tv 58 00:03:28,639 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: has gone from uh thirty five dollars to sixty five 59 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: dollars um. And I think that's a reflection of this 60 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: challenge that they all came into the market with really 61 00:03:40,200 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: under pricing their services. UM. Whether that was sort of 62 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:47,160 Speaker 1: you know, I mean, the sort of cynical view of 63 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:48,800 Speaker 1: that is they're trying to get a bunch of people 64 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 1: in the door so they can sort of aggressively raise 65 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: the price later. UM. You know, the more favorable interpretation is, 66 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 1: you know, that's just the price they thought they had 67 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: to offer it at. But either way, I think that 68 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: trying to kind of unwind that has been pretty challenging 69 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: and painful for a lot of the other services in 70 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 1: the space. We really approached it from a different perspective. 71 00:04:10,440 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: You know. We focused on this entertainment lifestyle knowledge category 72 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: not just because we felt like it was unique in 73 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,719 Speaker 1: the market. There weren't other places you could go to 74 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: get this selection of content without paying a huge price 75 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: for broadcasting sports, but also we felt like we could 76 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,320 Speaker 1: bring it to market at a fair price point that 77 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: we can stand behind and not sort of be forced 78 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,080 Speaker 1: to raise prices significantly on our customers, on our subscribers 79 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: in order to actually make the business work. And that's 80 00:04:42,360 --> 00:04:44,919 Speaker 1: why we've been able to maintain you know, basically the 81 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:49,159 Speaker 1: same pricing UM since we launched UH and we feel 82 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 1: like that's put us in a great position to continue 83 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:55,000 Speaker 1: growing quickly and offering something UM that's really honest and 84 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 1: fair to consumers, and and that's resonated, Well, are you 85 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 1: going to be able to hold it that price point? 86 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:03,479 Speaker 1: It seems that the pitfall so many of your competitors 87 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: have run into is they try to add more channels, 88 00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: their costs go up. So or are you gonna stick 89 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,320 Speaker 1: to twenty dollars no matter what? Or is it inevitable 90 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,279 Speaker 1: your price goes up as you seek to add more channels. Yeah. 91 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:19,760 Speaker 1: I mean there's two factors that really drive price UM. One, 92 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,680 Speaker 1: as you mentioned, is adding additional content to the package. UM. 93 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: I'd say that we feel pretty good about the package 94 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: of content we offer. Now. There's definitely things we intend 95 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: to add, but we don't currently anticipate adding big categories 96 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,279 Speaker 1: of channels that will drive costs in our current based package. 97 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 1: The things that will add are more in the category 98 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: of UM you know, ad supported content, UH you know, 99 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: premium add ons, UH, Spot offerings, etcetera. That are either 100 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: all the card offerings to consumers or don't drive additional 101 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:57,520 Speaker 1: programming cost in the base package. UM. But the other 102 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,559 Speaker 1: cause of price increases are the annual increases in costs 103 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: that are built into programming contracts. UM. You know, I 104 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: think you know, the average programming contract includes an annual 105 00:06:08,520 --> 00:06:11,760 Speaker 1: increase in the cost of the content, you know, say, 106 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: roughly five to eight percent a year. Um. You know, 107 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: just to put that in context, you know, that's higher 108 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: than the annual increase in the cost of housing, healthcare, 109 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: and higher education, which are normally cited as the three 110 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:29,839 Speaker 1: most egregiously increasing cost you know, parts of the economy. UM. 111 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: Television programming cleans the floor with all of them. UM. 112 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: So look, we're not um impervious to rising costs. Are 113 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: programming deals have anyone increases built into them? So I 114 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:42,839 Speaker 1: can't sit here and guarantee that our price will never 115 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: go up. But I do think that we have put 116 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:50,320 Speaker 1: much more emphasis on, uh, you know, keeping the price low, 117 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: not just through the choices we made around programming, but 118 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,240 Speaker 1: also we operate the company very leanly. Our company is 119 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: eighty five people, and I'm pretty sure you know that 120 00:06:59,360 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: any other streaming company is probably uh, you know, multiples 121 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: of that, if not orders of magnitude that size. UM. 122 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: Some of these other companies probably place may lawyers as 123 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,280 Speaker 1: we have employees. UM. We also build all of the 124 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:15,000 Speaker 1: technology ourselves, and that helps us to keep the cost 125 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,239 Speaker 1: down because we can reduce our infrastructure and overhead cost 126 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,640 Speaker 1: really significantly because we've created basically all the tech we 127 00:07:22,800 --> 00:07:26,840 Speaker 1: use UM in house. So I think that UM, well 128 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: we you know, I can't say that the price of 129 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: file will never go up. We definitely put a lot, 130 00:07:31,680 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 1: a lot, a lot of effort into trying to keep 131 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 1: it as low as we can and and and not 132 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: and not raise the price. You've done that in part because, 133 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: as you've mentioned, uh, no broadcast, no sports. You're also 134 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 1: missing some of the top news names. So uh, you know, 135 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: those are some pretty big gaps. I would imagine there's 136 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: gonna be a big chunk of the marketplace that's not 137 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,320 Speaker 1: going to go for your product because that's missing. So really, 138 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:00,840 Speaker 1: who is your customer base? Who out there doesn't want 139 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,240 Speaker 1: these kind of things? Maybe it's a bigger market than 140 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: some might realize. Yeah, I mean around the time we 141 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 1: launched UM, several outside independent analysts, without any involvement by 142 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: us UM studied this idea of an entertainment driven package, 143 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,240 Speaker 1: and most of them pegged the number of US households 144 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: that were interested in this type of package somewhere in 145 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,200 Speaker 1: the fifteen to twenty million households range. So we're obviously 146 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: nowhere close to that. We think there's a lot of 147 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,560 Speaker 1: room to grow and and to to become quite a 148 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: significant size service just with the category of content we have. 149 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: But I actually think that it's a bit of a 150 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: mistake to peg filos market as simply those subscribers, because 151 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:45,439 Speaker 1: there's a lot of other ways to get value out 152 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,000 Speaker 1: of Filo. For example, a lot of people combine Filo 153 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,440 Speaker 1: with other spot services like Netflix, Disney Plus who lose 154 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: v O D service, Amazon Prime, inst and Video. You 155 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: can kind of build your own package out of a 156 00:08:58,320 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: bunch of these olive cart Spot offerings and Filo, and 157 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:04,920 Speaker 1: you know, still be paying a lot less than you 158 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,079 Speaker 1: would be for traditional cable. You know, adding multiple ten 159 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 1: to twenty dollar month add ons on top of a 160 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,920 Speaker 1: twenty dollar month TV package is a lot more economically 161 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: viable than adding those same add ons on top of 162 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:21,000 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty dollar month TV package, which is like, um, 163 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 1: you know what the average direct TV customer pays for example, Um, 164 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,079 Speaker 1: you know, I think that other than that, there's also 165 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: the opportunity to pair Filo with over the air broadcast antenna. 166 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: You know, here in San Francisco, you can get seventy 167 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: channels over the air. Uh, And so with Filo you 168 00:09:38,320 --> 00:09:41,840 Speaker 1: can get twenty channels for twenty bucks a month. It's 169 00:09:41,880 --> 00:09:44,959 Speaker 1: a really good deal if you're looking to really um, 170 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:47,480 Speaker 1: if you're really budget conscious and cut your cost. And 171 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: there's a lot of great you know, a lot of 172 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 1: the news and sports content you can get for free 173 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: over the air. So that's a great option for people. 174 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 1: I think that also, I would say that, you know, 175 00:09:56,440 --> 00:09:59,920 Speaker 1: we don't have any in air bias against broadcast and sport. 176 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: We would love to offer those networks if we can 177 00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:04,680 Speaker 1: do it in a way that preserves the kind of 178 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: choice and flexibility we think that customers demand. Uh. And 179 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,520 Speaker 1: I think that I'm hopeful that we'll get there eventually, 180 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: but you know, I think that, uh today, we haven't 181 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: been able to make make it work well, certainly given 182 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: the state of the economy in this country right now. 183 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: Something as budget conscious is what Filo is doing, I 184 00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: think is going to resonate. But on that same point, 185 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: up until very recently, you guys were the cheapest option 186 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: along comes T Mobile, which very recently launched a ten 187 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:39,880 Speaker 1: dollar thirty something channel offering. What do you think about 188 00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:44,360 Speaker 1: you know, the possibility that we could see others come 189 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: in and undercut you. Is there some some area there 190 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:51,600 Speaker 1: to play that you guys might not have anticipated could 191 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: become into market. Well, look, we've never really defined our 192 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 1: service as being the lowest cost TV service. Um. You know, 193 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: I think that we want to be a good value 194 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: to people. We want to deliver you know, a great 195 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: a lot of content and functionality for the price you're paying. 196 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: And we think we do that today with the price, 197 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,720 Speaker 1: uh that we're at. But you know, we're not really 198 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 1: focused on being the cheapest. We really want to be 199 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,400 Speaker 1: a great service for the price you pay, no matter 200 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 1: what that price is. Um. You know, I think that 201 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: the offering from T Mobile is really interesting. You know, 202 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 1: this idea of splitting broadcasting sports just getting to the 203 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: point I was just mentioning, makes a ton of sense. Um, 204 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: you know, I think it's really uh, that is the 205 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 1: direction that the TV Bundle needs to move it. In 206 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,000 Speaker 1: our opinion, Um, if we were gonna offer broadcasting sports, 207 00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:44,719 Speaker 1: I think we would really seek to do it as 208 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: a separate package. So that part is really smart. And 209 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:50,480 Speaker 1: hats off to them for for doing it. Now they 210 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:51,960 Speaker 1: seem to be in a bit of hot water with 211 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,839 Speaker 1: their programmer and partners. So, UM, maybe the approach they 212 00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: took wasn't quite um uh calculated just exactly right. But UM, 213 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:06,280 Speaker 1: in spirit, I think that um, the concept makes sense. 214 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: You know, I think that comparing the prices directly isn't 215 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,840 Speaker 1: exactly fair. They don't include DVR for ten dollars, so 216 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,440 Speaker 1: you're you're paying an extra five dollars for that, and 217 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,240 Speaker 1: it's not an unlimited DVR, it's only a hundred hours, 218 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: and you know, like also you only get two streams 219 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,319 Speaker 1: instead of three, so and it's not available on Roku 220 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:28,679 Speaker 1: and so, and it's only available a T Mobile postpaid customers. 221 00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:30,880 Speaker 1: So there's a lot of caveats to get to the 222 00:12:31,120 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: you know, to the price that they launched at. UM. 223 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:36,120 Speaker 1: And so look, I think that we still feel really 224 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,440 Speaker 1: good about where we are in the market, and you know, 225 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:41,840 Speaker 1: maybe someone will come along and and undercut us on price, 226 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 1: and I think that, UM, we really try to focus 227 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 1: not on what other people are doing, but on what 228 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: we're doing and just try to deliver the best service 229 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: we can and you know, kind of let that speak 230 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:56,200 Speaker 1: for itself. Well, but you can't ignore the competition. And 231 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,800 Speaker 1: I'm curious whether you know, some describe it, I guess 232 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,359 Speaker 1: as a different products set. But these free ad supported 233 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,480 Speaker 1: streaming services like Pluto, there's a number of them out there. 234 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: Do you see them as competitors because of course what 235 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: they're providing is absolutely free. Yeah, not really. There's a 236 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: lot of people who that's another uh point. Actually, a 237 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 1: lot of people combine those free unsupported services with Filo 238 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 1: and very happy to to use both. Um. You know, 239 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:28,320 Speaker 1: I think ultimately, um, they're much more synergistic than they 240 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: are competitive. Um. As I mentioned, we are looking to 241 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,439 Speaker 1: bring more of that content within Filo. Would be great 242 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: to offer it within the same app and experience, and 243 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 1: I think that, um, there's a lot of opportunity there. 244 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,760 Speaker 1: Um Ultimately, Uh, you know, the free content is great. 245 00:13:44,080 --> 00:13:46,920 Speaker 1: I'm a big fan of that strategy and think that 246 00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,959 Speaker 1: it again, it makes a ton of sense. Um, but 247 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot of uh, you just aren't 248 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:55,319 Speaker 1: gonna be able to offer the full range of content 249 00:13:55,800 --> 00:13:58,319 Speaker 1: at free. It's just not a price point that works 250 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:02,559 Speaker 1: for the economics of television to to have everything be 251 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: available for their at that price. So I think that 252 00:14:05,679 --> 00:14:07,360 Speaker 1: there's gonna be a lot of people who are gonna 253 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: want you know, more premium offerings and and so it 254 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:13,760 Speaker 1: would be great to pair those things together to say, look, 255 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:16,880 Speaker 1: we've got a selection of the as supported content for 256 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: people who want that. We also have options, uh, you know, 257 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: at really fair prices above that for those who want 258 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 1: to add more premium content, and you can get one 259 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: or the other. You can start one place, go to 260 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:31,160 Speaker 1: the you know, you can start it free and go 261 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:32,680 Speaker 1: to paid. You can start to paid and go to 262 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: free if if you feel like it, and really just 263 00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,360 Speaker 1: give people a lot of ability to kind of pick 264 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,240 Speaker 1: what makes sense for that. You guys recently announced a 265 00:14:40,280 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: partnership with best buy where uh, customers who buy various 266 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:50,960 Speaker 1: streaming products that come to that retailer will get I 267 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: think it's one month free of file. Oh how important 268 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: are those kind of partnerships when you're trying to crack 269 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: this marketplace. In the long term, I think they're very important. UM. 270 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:05,680 Speaker 1: I don't think it's been a huge driver of adoption 271 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,720 Speaker 1: of our service or or other services to date, but 272 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 1: I think in the long term, UM, I'm very optimistic 273 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: about those kinds of partnerships because I think that this 274 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: still the single largest barrier to people adopting streaming TV 275 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,480 Speaker 1: like services like Filo is just the complexity of it. 276 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 1: I mean, I think that those of us who are 277 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,960 Speaker 1: in this space, you know, day and day out, Uh, 278 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: it seems very straightforward. We're like, oh, well, you just 279 00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: like get a Roku and then you go on the 280 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: channel store and you get the Filo app and you 281 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: sign up and you're off to the races. But for 282 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:43,040 Speaker 1: I think the average you know consumer out there, they're like, well, 283 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: which thing do I get? Do I get a Roku 284 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: or a fire TV or or a Google TV? But 285 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: I thought that was Chromecast And how is it different now? 286 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: And or or maybe I get an Apple TV and 287 00:15:54,200 --> 00:15:57,080 Speaker 1: what's the different Like why is one and one thirty 288 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: dollars and what's the difference? Or maybe my tv R 289 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,080 Speaker 1: does it? I thought I got a smart TV three 290 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 1: years ago, so you know what does that mean? And 291 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: and then they're like, okay, well I want to replace 292 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: these channels, but which services do I need? I want 293 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:12,600 Speaker 1: the entertainment networks from Philo, but I want the sports 294 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: networks from someone else, um, you know, but also I 295 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:19,960 Speaker 1: want you know, uh, Peacock and HBO Max, but that's 296 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: not available on you know, it's very confusing to people, 297 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: you know. And you know, for all the things you 298 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 1: can say about traditional cable that are bad, and there 299 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,360 Speaker 1: are many, uh, there's a lot that's bad about traducial cable, 300 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 1: the one part of it that's really great is you know, 301 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: it's a pain to call them on the phone and 302 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: and schedule like an eight hour block when they're gonna 303 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,040 Speaker 1: come to your house. But when that cable installer comes, 304 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: they set everything up, They put the box in your TV, 305 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 1: they connect all the wires, they put the batteries in 306 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: the remote, they test it all out, and when they leave, 307 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:53,880 Speaker 1: you pick up the remote, you press the power button 308 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: and your TV comes on and it's playing and it works. Um. 309 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,479 Speaker 1: And that is like actually and an amazingly underrated experience 310 00:17:01,640 --> 00:17:04,479 Speaker 1: that you know as a consumer. It's literally you know, 311 00:17:04,880 --> 00:17:07,679 Speaker 1: brain list to to get it to get it working. 312 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,080 Speaker 1: And we do not have that right now in streaming 313 00:17:10,119 --> 00:17:12,399 Speaker 1: TV that I believe is the single biggest bearer to 314 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,439 Speaker 1: people adopting these services. So if we can build these 315 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: kinds of relationships with retailers like best Buy, who have 316 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: you know, they have tech support, they haven't they have installers, 317 00:17:23,119 --> 00:17:26,520 Speaker 1: they have you know, salespeople in the store who can 318 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,320 Speaker 1: explain the options and how it works and help you 319 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:31,840 Speaker 1: get set up. You know, that is a huge win 320 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: over time because we can basically recreate the ease of 321 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:40,359 Speaker 1: the cable installer, uh, you know, in the streaming space, 322 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,880 Speaker 1: and I believe that in the long term that will 323 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 1: be absolutely vital. Was curious is international on the philoh 324 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:50,480 Speaker 1: road map? Could we see you guys in in Europe 325 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 1: or elsewhere? Do you see much products of your type 326 00:17:55,480 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: out in these markets that you're not in yet? Yeah? 327 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: I mean I think that, um, a lot of the other. 328 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: Every TV market is sort of unique and has its 329 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 1: own dynamics that you need to understand. I think we 330 00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:10,080 Speaker 1: we have, Uh, we're obviously most focused on the US 331 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: and think that there's a lot of room to grow here. 332 00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:16,159 Speaker 1: We have looked at launching in some international markets, and 333 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: I think that, um, it's more likely than not that 334 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:22,919 Speaker 1: we will go in that direction in the relatively near future. 335 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 1: You know, I think that the way TV content is licensed, 336 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: you know, it's quite smart that Netflix has been able 337 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:33,439 Speaker 1: to build this international library of content, whereas most of 338 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,040 Speaker 1: the traditional TV content tends to be licensed out market 339 00:18:37,080 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: by market in a very piecemeal fashion. That makes it 340 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,439 Speaker 1: actually much more challenging to UM grow services internationally, you know, 341 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:48,640 Speaker 1: like UM even if you look across the border from 342 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: like the US to Canada, there's a lot of TV 343 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,480 Speaker 1: networks that have the exact same name but totally different 344 00:18:54,480 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: content lineup, totally different content strategy and approach UM. And 345 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,760 Speaker 1: that makes it really ch lenging to build a globalized 346 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:04,600 Speaker 1: service because we would love to have the brands and 347 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,639 Speaker 1: channels are on Filo be available everywhere and have it 348 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: be consistent and and have it have the same meaning 349 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 1: to consumers, but it doesn't UM. So I think that's 350 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:17,439 Speaker 1: a challenge. I think they will overcome that, UM, but 351 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: it does make the international growth piece UH much more, 352 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: much more challenging. And you know, I think that UM 353 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 1: definitely like the economics of each different market are are 354 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:29,879 Speaker 1: you know, are are something to be considered as well. 355 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,080 Speaker 1: You know. Filo, of course, is is very reliant on 356 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:40,680 Speaker 1: all these US cable brands that in their day we're 357 00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:44,359 Speaker 1: you know, had the very best programming out there. You 358 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,920 Speaker 1: fast forward to though, and it seems like a lot 359 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:51,680 Speaker 1: of the content companies behind those UH networks are putting 360 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 1: more and more energy into their streaming services content that 361 00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:59,119 Speaker 1: you're not necessarily gonna get your hands on. Is that 362 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 1: a concern for you in the long term. I think 363 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:06,359 Speaker 1: it's some concern, But there I think there's different approaches 364 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: in this space. There are some that are taking approach 365 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,199 Speaker 1: where they want to make it much more complementary to 366 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:15,200 Speaker 1: the content that's available on traditional TV. You know, for example, 367 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,800 Speaker 1: UM Disney obviously took that approach with Disney Plus and 368 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,479 Speaker 1: in the ESPN Plus. I think there's a lot in 369 00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: terms of what AMC is doing that's very similar to that, 370 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:26,119 Speaker 1: where it's sort of a premium upgrade to what you 371 00:20:26,119 --> 00:20:29,520 Speaker 1: get on the traditional UM TV service. Uh, that's great 372 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,080 Speaker 1: from our perspective, it's another we we love to offer 373 00:20:32,119 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 1: those things through filo and give people more options. I 374 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 1: think that there is definitely um an emphasis that Wall 375 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 1: Street is placing on the successity services that's causing companies 376 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: to really feel like they need to go out and 377 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: try to make them successful to kind of buoy their 378 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: stock price. UM I'm not sure that necessarily translates to 379 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: what makes the most sense in the long term, and 380 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:59,640 Speaker 1: so you know, ultimately I'm not I feel like the 381 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,600 Speaker 1: model all that a lot of are pursuing today, UM 382 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 1: will change and so UM for that reason, I wouldn't 383 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,639 Speaker 1: say we're like overly concerned about it. Um. You know, 384 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: the traditional ecosystem provides a lot of value uh and 385 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:16,000 Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense on a bunch of different 386 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 1: economic and user experience dimensions. And so I think that ultimately, UM, 387 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,399 Speaker 1: you'll end up with something that's more of a blend 388 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,040 Speaker 1: that's in between again, like perhaps like the main channels 389 00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:29,880 Speaker 1: are on filow and then you can sort of get 390 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:31,600 Speaker 1: the you can add on to that and get a 391 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,280 Speaker 1: deeper experience through kind of upgrading to one of these 392 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:37,600 Speaker 1: plus you know offerings as well. UM. But we'll see, 393 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,320 Speaker 1: you know, it'll be interesting to see how it all 394 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:44,280 Speaker 1: all plays out. One last question, what will this new 395 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:47,600 Speaker 1: year mean for Filoh? Is this going to be a 396 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: big year for you guys? Yeah, I mean every year 397 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:52,840 Speaker 1: we try to make a big year where you know, 398 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,879 Speaker 1: fast Gregg startups, so we are always starting to kind 399 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,080 Speaker 1: of move as quickly as we can. I do think 400 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,439 Speaker 1: that kind of that one way. The one thing that 401 00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: I'm quite excited about is that you can kind of 402 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:05,400 Speaker 1: I think I think you'll be able to look back 403 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:10,080 Speaker 1: into and divide the history of Filo into into two phases. 404 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:13,440 Speaker 1: The first phase was just to build what you got 405 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: from cable, but sort of with superpowers. So you know, 406 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,520 Speaker 1: it's the channels that you've got before, but you can 407 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:22,040 Speaker 1: watch them on any device, and you can start anything 408 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 1: over from the beginning, and you haven't unliving the TVR 409 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 1: and you can watch you know, multiple streams, and it's searching, 410 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,439 Speaker 1: discovery is much better. You know, you know, all of 411 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,680 Speaker 1: these things that are similar to what cable did, but 412 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:38,280 Speaker 1: you can do it better with Filo and and cheaper. Um. 413 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: I think phase two is really to start to say, look, 414 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,359 Speaker 1: we need to reinvent what TV is. You know, the 415 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: idea of TV, what like a TV channel is now 416 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:51,320 Speaker 1: hasn't changed and since it was first like the first 417 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:56,199 Speaker 1: broadcast channel was broadcast in whatever, nineteen thirties whatever, you know, 418 00:22:56,280 --> 00:23:00,720 Speaker 1: it's still a seven network on a schedule, which makes 419 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,480 Speaker 1: sense when you have literally a broadcast tower on the 420 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,359 Speaker 1: top of the tallest hill around sending out the signal 421 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:09,040 Speaker 1: to everyone who's getting it in real time. But in 422 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,399 Speaker 1: the age of the Internet, there's really no reason why 423 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: it needs to work that way technologically, and certainly not 424 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,959 Speaker 1: from a product perspective. So I think there's a lot 425 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: of things we can do now to really reinvent the 426 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,199 Speaker 1: TV experience, to make it more dynamic, to make it 427 00:23:22,200 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: more personalized, to make it more social, to make it 428 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,360 Speaker 1: more connected, and a lot of that stuff we are 429 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: just getting to launching in the product you know now 430 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: in the near future, and I think that that will 431 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,680 Speaker 1: start to make television and filo look completely different than 432 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:39,880 Speaker 1: what it looked like on traditional cable. And I'm very 433 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: excited about that because I think that's the ultimate promise 434 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 1: of moving to streaming as a technological platform, and we 435 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: it's not. It hasn't really happened yet, So I think 436 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:51,720 Speaker 1: that that will that's really exciting and will start to 437 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,359 Speaker 1: really changing how we all think of television. Aut looking 438 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,040 Speaker 1: forward to seeing how that future takes shape. Thanks for 439 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:05,919 Speaker 1: your time today, Andrew, Yeah, thank you. M H. This 440 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,120 Speaker 1: has been another episode of Strictly Business. Tune in next 441 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:12,920 Speaker 1: week for another helping of scintillating conversation with media movers 442 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,159 Speaker 1: and shakers, and please make sure you subscribe to the 443 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: podcast to hear future episodes. Also leave a review in 444 00:24:18,640 --> 00:24:21,240 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts and let us know how we're doing.