Q&A: Two Philo Execs Discuss FAST Channels

BusinessMediaQ&A: Two Philo Execs Discuss FAST ChannelsByRick Ellis,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. The global media business, from streaming to linear TVFollow AuthorMay 19, 2026, 07:25pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.A television with the Philo logo on the screenPhilo, 2026Philo has always been a fascinating live TV service to me.Before the major live TV platforms were offering a smaller bundle of channels, Philo put together a bundle of primarily entertainment live TV channels, at a cost well below what a full live TV bundle costs each month.In the past few years, Philo has added a substantial bundle of FAST (free, ad-supported television) channels to its subscription package and has also rolled out a free TV offering that allows users to watch those FAST networks without needing to add the paid subscription tier.I wanted to learn more about how that business worked and I recently spoke with Sarah Wong, Chief of Staff and General Manager, FAST at Philo, and Edward King, Chief Product Officer at Philo.We discussed the quickly changing FAST market, how adding the channels has helped build Philo's paid product, as well as some of the challenges of making it all work seamlessly.The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity (mostly mine):Sarah, can you talk a little bit about the strategic role that the FAST channels play with Philo? Companies are in this space for a lot of different reasons. So why does it make sense for Philo?Sarah: Early on, we were just trying to understand the free side of the business and what FAST channels meant. And we already had a lot of great relationships with our existing programmers that also had FAST channels available.So when I first joined, it was already a concept at Philo, where we decided, "Why don't we try this out?" We understand that our Philo subscrib...