2024 - FILMO: "On the cinephile and generalist niche, there is only one streaming offer, ours"

Beyond the behemoths Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video, the small world of streaming platforms is full of lesser-known services. In the lot, Filmo is positioned on a niche dedicated exclusively to films (no series, therefore) and at the crossroads of worlds, both cinephile and generalist.

According to the latest CNC report, Filmo is presented as the 7th SVOD streaming platform in France (ahead of Apple TV+), and used by 11.8% of consumers. A flattering positioning certainly, but which owes a lot to its plural offer, mixing video on demand (VOD) and streaming by subscription (SVOD).

Both generalist and cutting-edge, an on-demand and subscription service, Filmo plays the card of mixing genres and models to play its cards right in the war of streaming platforms. Does it work? Digital is there to give you the keys to reflection.

Filmo, what is it?

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Created in 2008 by the film production and distribution company Wild Bunch, Filmo (formerly FilmoTV) was one of the first streaming platforms offered in France. Above all, Filmo was the first French SVOD service in OTT (“over-the-top”), that is to say, accessible directly on the Internet, without going through an operator box. An innovation at the time. Today, if the precise number of Filmo subscribers in France has not been revealed, we are assured that it is “to several tens of thousands“.

Filmo, how much does it cost?

The platform currently offers two types of subscription. A “classic” subscription at €6.99/month, offering unlimited access to the SVOD catalog. And another subscription, at €11.99/month, offering the same unlimited access, supplemented by two “tickets”, i.e. two films on VOD per month.
The same price as Prime Video and Apple TV+ (€6.99/month), and cheaper than Disney+ and Netflix’s Essential offer (€8.99).

What films in the catalog?

For this price, Filmo offers a catalog of just over 1000 films in SVOD. Add to that nearly 5,500 films for purchase or rental on VOD, free programs (Le Bistro, Le Salon, La Méthode, etc.), carte blanche and interviews with directors.

In accordance with their editorial policy, there are both popular films (King Kong, Hot Fuzz, The Holiday, The Social Network), movie classics (scarface, Taxi Driver, Psychosis, Courtyard window) and curiosities (Soul of a Beast, Bad Genius, Swiss Army Man).

Should I subscribe?

If we leave the final decision to everyone, Filmo’s offer is interesting for the curious and all those tired of the inconsistent quality and the algorithm of Netflix, Disney and company. Like Apple TV+, the platform relies on a certain quality and a selection of safe bets, original and interesting works.

More advanced than other streaming services, Filmo remains resolutely a platform dedicated to film lovers. Series fans, or users who are not very fond of cinema, will therefore go their way. Others can be tempted, especially since it is possible to try the platform for free for 14 days.

Interview with Nico Prat

Nico Prat, Filmo’s editorial manager, answered our questions and clarified the positioning and ambitions of the streaming platform, which has launched a new dynamic for more than a year, with a rebranding, a new advertising campaign and creating new programs. Interview.

What makes Filmo different from other streaming platforms?

Filmo offers a 100% cinema offer in a general public market which has essentially been built around non-film, series. A cinephile but generalist and accessible positioning, from heritage to new authors, including classics and blockbusters.

Who is FILMO for? Does the platform have a typical subscriber?

Filmo is for all those curious about cinema. From the cinephile obsessive about the genre to the dilettante who flits between indie film and blockbuster. The objective is not to address particular profiles but cinema desires.

The objective is not to address particular profiles but cinema desires.
Nico Prat, Filmo Editorial Manager

What do you say to subscribers who are annoyed by the glut of streaming offers?

This perception is linked to the exclusivity of series licenses which require subscription to different platforms to access all of them. When you add the prices of Netflix, Disney +, Prime, AppleTV + and Canal +, the bill is salty. On the cinema, and with our cinephile and generalist approach, there is only one offer: FILMO.

There are the behemoths Netflix, Disney and Amazon… But also many other platforms like FILMO. Who is your main competitor today in the French streaming landscape?

There are not so many 100% cinema platforms and they are generally positioned exclusively on the niche: independent with Universciné, authors with MUBI, genre with Shadowz, heritage with LaCinetek… On our cinephile but generalist niche, there is no ‘There’s nobody. And when one of those named walks, it’s good news: any appetite for cinema is good news for us.

On the cinema, and with our cinephile and generalist approach, there is only one offer: ours.
Nico Prat, Filmo Editorial Manager

The streaming environment is constantly changing: the giants Netlix and Disney are starting to reduce their investments, review their models… How does the future of FILMO take shape? What are the horizons of the platform in 2023?

We are looking to expand our audience and recruit new subscribers. We are therefore on all fronts in this objective, with work on the brand and its visibility, on programming to stand out with exclusives and retro events, and on the editorial apparatus to emerge.
Thus in 2023, subscribers will have the right to a retro event around the new voices of independent cinema at the start of the school year, at the same time as the Deauville festival. There will also be a selection around contemporary French female directors. But also Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, Clint Eastwood…

Discover Filmo’s offer on the streaming platform’s official website.

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