Salto, it’s almost over. This is at least what the terse message that appears since Monday, February 13 on its homepage, which looks very much like a final “goodbye”, suggests. “Unfortunately it is no longer possible to subscribe to Saltolit. Thank you to all Salto subscribers for sharing with us their desire and enthusiasm for a ‘made in France’ streaming platform. »
Launched in 2020 by France Télévisions, TF1 and M6, which were looking for growth drivers in the bottled streaming market, Salto is undoubtedly approaching the black screen, and a probable dissolution. Failing to have, obviously, managed to find a buyer with the backs strong enough to continue the adventure, its three shareholders might very soon throw in the towel. According to sources familiar with the matter cited by theAFPof the “formal announcements” on the future of the platform might intervene “by Wednesday”.
A future compromised for months
No wonder: that day, TF1 and M6 will be heard by Arcom, the audiovisual regulator, as part of the procedure for renewing their DTT frequencies. In particular, they will have to specify their ambitions on the content front for the years to come. There is no doubt that the audiovisual regulator will want clarifications on Salto… It is also possible that Rodolphe Belmer, the new leader of TF1, will say more on Tuesday, during the presentation of the group’s latest financial results.
An end clap would not be a surprise. Salto’s future has seemed compromised for months. It was the failure of the merger between TF1 and M6 that precipitated this outcome. In case of deal, France Télévisions had to resell its shares to the two private leaders of the small screen. The group led by Delphine Ernotte was counting on this windfall to balance its budget. But the merger did not take place. And quickly, TF1 then M6 announced that they did not wish to pursue this project, which implied going back to the checkout.
This certainly does not mean that TF1 and M6 are abandoning their streaming ambitions. It’s quite the opposite. But following failing to get married, they obviously want to favor other projects… Salto’s failure to win enough subscribers (900,000 at the end of 2022) also demonstrates how difficult it is to survive in the ruthless world of paid streaming. Salto obviously does not have the financial strength of Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney Plus, which devote billions of euros to their content each year. These American giants also have the advantage of being able to make their large catalogs profitable in many countries. Let’s also add that Salto has not had it easy, following being imposed significant remedies by the Competition Authority from its launch. This did not fail to disrupt its operation.