A little more than two years after its birth, the video streaming platformwhich has still not crossed the million subscriber mark, could (already) disappear.
The TF1, M6 and France Télévisions groups, at the origin of the Salto joint venture, will very quickly meet to decide the fate of the pay video service. Created in 2020 with great ambitions, the platform has never really been able to impose itself on the general public, for the moment turned to alternatives such as Netflix, Prime Video or Disney +. It is now seriously threatened.
Transition to the single offer, the reluctance of the new boss of TF1… The signals are not green for Salto
The future of Salto is dotted, and several clues tend to show it. Our colleagues from World indicate that for the paid subscription video service, everything could even be decided before the end of the month, when the shareholders will meet to decide in a binary way. Either the platform will continue on its way one way or another, or it will come to the end of the road, marking a sudden step backwards for the three audiovisual groups.
On our side, we have noticed the very recent change of proposal at Salto, with a switch to the single subscription at 7.99 euros (or 69.99 euros in the annual version), this one taking a small euro extra in the haversack. Now the catalog is available for three concurrent users. The extreme tariff simplification of the service could be commendable, but in such a context, it raises questions.
Another clue: the arrival of Rodolphe Belmer at the head of TF1. The one who was a member of the Netflix board of directors would not be very keen on the Boulogne-Billancourt-based group clinging to Salto, which would generate too many costs and go against its strategy. He has already been considering, for several days, a pure and simple withdrawal from the adventure, wishing to extinguish his own torch.
We can finally allow ourselves to doubt the future positioning of France Télévisions, soon deprived of resources from the audiovisual license fee, and which today sees Salto as the hole in the budget racket.
Salto, a platform with attractive potential, really?
No official decision has yet been made for the future of Salto, but the atmosphere seems heavy, even heavy. Today, the platform claims to have exceeded 700,000 paying subscribers, 900,000 in total (taking into account fluctuations linked to the trial month offered).
If today Salto is not yet in a situation of full mutual cooperation with the operators Orange, SFR and Free, the service has concluded an almost logical agreement with Bouygues Telecom (accessible in IPTV and on mobile), as well as a partnership with Amazon Prime. Proof that its leaders are not yet completely letting go.
Salto says he is confident and is looking to reach the symbolic milestone of one million subscribers before the end of the year, and could generate a turnover of around 69 million euros this year. The service thus represents a certain asset, which could potentially interest other players (production companies or telecom operators), but which the “group of three” would then have to support, in every sense of the term.
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 : The world
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