Media companies join forces for sports-free skinny bundle

Interest in sports BI Intelligence

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A new over the top (OTT) skinny bundle with no sports programming is set to launch in the coming weeks, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Media companies including Viacom, Discovery, AMC, and Scripps Networks will have their cable channels included the bundle, though it's unclear exactly which.

The skinny bundle will be by Philo, a San Francisco-based online TV company. The bundle, also called “Philo”, will cost $20 and focus on nonfiction shows, children’s content, lifestyle programming, and scripted dramas. Discussions of a sports-free skinny bundle with programming from certain media companies including Viacom and Discovery were reported in April of this year.

There could be a sizable market for sports-free skinny bundles. Fifty-three percent of those shopping for Pay TV surveyed by CutCableToday.com indicated live sports wasn’t an important consideration in their decision. Additionally, users aged 18 to 24 in the US and UK showed less interest in sports than the national average for the country in comparison to all older age groups, according to Ampere Analysis cited by Bloomberg. The relatively low price point of $20 — other skinny bundles like YouTube TV and DirecTv Now cost $35 — is another factor that could entice consumers in this age group to sign up for Philo.

Sports-free skinny bundles can be more profitable than skinny bundles including sports. Skinny bundles that don’t contain sports could produce a 30% profit margin for distributors, according to Viacom CEO Bob Bakish. In comparison, some skinny bundles that include sports yield very little profit due to the high cost of programming from channels like ESPN.

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