Salto shareholders will meet soon to decide the fate of the French streaming platform. In view of the solitary strategies of its members, its future seems ill-advised.
Two years after its launch, the alliance between TF1, M6 and France Télévisions, which was initially supposed to lead to the creation of a French-style Netflix, could end. As Le Monde reports on its website on November 13, 2022, Salto shareholders will meet in the coming days to decide what to do with the platform. The most likely scenario is that of the end of the alliance.
TF1 and M6 prefer solitary approaches
The probable end of Salto is not surprising. The merger project between TF1 and M6, abandoned in September 2022, was already to cause the death of Salto (since France Télévisions would have had no interest in financing the replay service of a competing private group). Even if TF1 and M6 have not been able to complete their project, their respective visions in terms of streaming no longer seem to go through a common platform. One has MYTF1 Max (2.99 euros per month, which currently exclusively broadcasts Star Academy live), the other launched 6Play Max (3.99 euros per month). These two services are, in a way, mini-Salto dedicated exclusively to the programs of their respective groups. Salto costs 7.99 euros per month.
What about France Televisions? Le Monde indicates that the company would not have reconciled with Salto after the abandonment of the TF1 and M6 project. It misses 45 million euros in its 2023 budget, which corresponds to the money that France TV would have recovered if Salto had been taken over 100% by TF1 and M6. In other words, it is unlikely that France TV will fight to save Salto, which he had at first sight agreed to abandon. The company has nevertheless fallen behind the others, since it does not offer a paid replay formula, even if its site and its France.tv application are rather complete.
A possible takeover?
What will happen to Salto? In the event that the three players in the union do not extend their agreement, two scenarios are possible:
- The liquidation, with a permanent closure of Salto (each actor would then have its own streaming platform).
- Takeover, with the arrival of new partners or an outside player interested in financing the platform.
Only question: what would this famous investor buy, if TF1, M6 and France Télévisions withdraw? The French streaming service could still rely on a catalog of films and series, as it already does today, but is that enough against myCANAL, Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+ and Prime Video? Another hypothesis, the new Salto could continue to offer the channels of French groups, like Molotov. This means that it would have to make deals with its former founding members, which seems quite complicated (and expensive).
