It was to be expected, but the merger of the TF1 and M6 groups will have got the better of France Télévisions’ commitment to Salto, the Franco-French SVoD platform. The share of the public service will be sold for 45 million euros to its former partners.
“It is not unusual for the public group, which would find itself in the minority in the event of a merger between its two partners, to seek a solution if the merger takes place.” During the interview given to Digital last February, the boss of Salto, Thomas Follin, had not hidden his doubts about the maintenance of France Télévisions within the shareholding of the platform in the event of a merger between TF1 and M6. Probably the negotiations around this issue were already well underway.
The case is now no longer in doubt. According to several sources, the representative of the public service managed to haggle over his exit from the project. Its 33% stake will be sold to its two ex-partners for 45 million euros. The transaction will obviously depend on the effectiveness of the merger between the first and the sixth channels, which should be completed in early 2023 if all the lights are green. In total, the valuation of Salto would therefore reach 135 million euros.
France TV programs could stay on Salto
According to The echoes, this release would not necessarily lead to the disappearance of France Télévisions content from the platform, the latter not being against the negotiation of distribution agreements. In addition, the sale of its shares should allow the group of public services not to lose money in this file – although it is not known how much it had invested originally.
This sale should allow the future TF1/M6 group to have a free hand to shape Salto as it pleases. During their hearings in the Senate at the start of the year, Nicolas de Tavernost and Thomas Rabe, respectively boss of M6 and the majority shareholder of this same channel, had expressed great ambitions for the Franco-French SVoD service. The second had reaffirmed the strategic position of the streaming in the development of groups originating from television. This new entity should be no exception.
Les Numériques is a media of the Unify group, which belongs to TF1.