Almost a year after its introduction, somersault
fails to find its audience and impose itself against the competition.
The actual numbers have been released, and they are far from good. The SVOD platform is twice less than its initial objectives.
Disappointing numbers
As we suspected, Salto did not meet with the expected success. Launched in October 2020 following an agreement between TF1, M6 and France Télévisions with a view to competing with Netflix and others, the French-style SVOD platform is struggling to find its audience. The magazine Capital conducted the survey to find out the exact figures for Salto and the impression of a difficult launch is confirmed. Delphine Ernotte, boss of France TV, said on January 12 that the service defining itself as “the French entertainment platform” had some 700,000 subscribers.
The reality is quite different. This figure indeed includes users benefiting from the first month of free subscription and who, very often, do not renew it to avoid getting their hands on the wallet. According to information from the magazine, the actual number of paying subscribers is more likely to be around 500,000, half of what the bands hoped for. The business plan called for totaling over one million subscribers by the end of 2021.
Salto lacks exclusive content
If the French streaming platform is struggling to take off, it is largely due to its lack of exclusive content. Salto prides itself on providing ” more than 115 new programs ” near Capital, without giving a precise list. The magazine has therefore gone through the entire list of programs to identify those that display the small “unpublished Salto” logo, meaning that they have never been broadcast on the antennas. Finally, these exclusive contents are few in number. At the end of November, the platform only counted 33 original series out of more than 200, in addition to a documentary series, ” i.e. only 255 hours out of a total of 15,000 hours, i.e. a microscopic proportion of 1.7% “, explains the media.
The observation is self-evident: why subscribe to Salto to see programs broadcast free of charge on the airwaves and offered in replay on everyone’s platforms? Especially since the price is higher than the competition, 6.99 euros per month against 5.99 euros at Amazon Prime Video for example, and the content is less rich than expected, knowing that 20,000 hours of programs had been promised.
As a result, Salto is struggling against its competitors. The figures of CNC show a complicated position of the service on the SVOD market in France. It is found in ninth position of the most used services in France, since only 8.4% of respondents say they subscribe to Salto. Next door, the American giants are popular. This figure increases to 62.9% for Netflix, 52.1% for Amazon Prime Video and 31.4% for Disney+.
The bill begins to be heavy for the French trio. In mid-2021, Salto already accumulated 72 million euros in net losses. An addition which should have climbed to 130 million at the end of 2021. The TF1-M6-France Télé alliance was forced to revise its budget several times upwards with a new investment raised to 250 million euros over three years, against 45 million initially, then 135 million.
On the same subject :
Media chronology: Canal+ wins its fight against the major platforms
See the offer
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- Access to the programming of the TF1, M6 and France Télévisions groups
- Some programs available before they air
- Some exclusive series and different classics
A little over a year after its launch, Salto is still far from being an essential in the video streaming landscape. Some elements are missing and the interface may seem confusing at first, while the catalog still has some gaps and inconsistencies.
The platform, which is technically perfectly functional, remains an interesting alternative for lovers of French productions. Salto even has potential beyond that, and could become a nice complementary solution by drawing more from its neighbours.
A little over a year after its launch, Salto is still far from being an essential in the video streaming landscape. Some elements are missing and the interface may seem confusing at first, while the catalog still has some gaps and inconsistencies.
The platform, which is technically perfectly functional, remains an interesting alternative for lovers of French productions. Salto even has potential beyond that, and could become a nice complementary solution by drawing more from its neighbours.
Source: Capital
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