Chalk it up to CTE concerns, the Colin Kaepernick controversy or people watching hurricane coverage, but the ratings for the NFL’s first week were the worst the league’s had in a decade.
Or, if you’d like, chalk it up to the reality that some people don’t like football — or sports in general.
As the The Wall Street Journal reports, a soon-to-hit-the-market TV streaming platform is hoping that there are enough of those people to make their new sports-free bundle a viable option. Offering programming from channels owned by Discovery, Viacom, AMC, A+E and others, the skinny streaming bundle, named Philo after the inventor of the first all-electronic TV system Philo Farnsworth, will offer subscriptions for less than $20 per month.
Targeted towards viewers who opt for dramatic lifestyle, children’s and nonfiction programming over sports, Philo should be launching in beta in the next few weeks.
It’s a sharp contrast to what subscription services companies like YouTube and Disney are offering, but Philo could ease a big pain point for people who don’t care about the big game.
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