French anti-trust authorities put faith in Salto to take on SVOD giants
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Joseph O'Halloran
| 12 August 2019

A year after being officially proposed, and weeks after gaining approval from French broadcast regulator the CSA, the French Competition Authority has officially recognised the Salto OTT platform.

Developed by France Télévisions, M6 and TF1, Salto offers live and catch-up access to a variety of content spanning news, magazines, special events, sports, entertainment, French fiction, US series, documentaries and cinema.

It is described as representing a major milestone for the French audiovisual sector challenged by head-on competition from international platforms, most notably Netflix and Amazon. With Salto, the France Télévisions, M6 and TF1 groups will pool their resources in what they call an ambitious local response to evolving consumers’ expectations, while, they add, further strengthening their active participation in the French and European creative industries. Following the authorisation, the joint venture will now start operation in the first quarter of 2020.

“Now that Salto has been approved, we will at last be able to put together Team France in broadcasting, which I have been longing for,” commented France Télévisions CEO Delphine Ernotte Cunci. “The launch of the platform will very soon give us what we need to compete against international players on our own territory. And it will be a new way for the French and European creative industries to engage with their public.”

“I am pleased that this project is becoming a reality, embodying as it does a new ambition for the French broadcasting industry,” TF1 Group CEO Gilles Pélisson. “The Anti-trust Authority’s ruling is a very positive sign, as it demonstrates the authorities’ awareness for the need to support and accompany industry players in making the necessary innovative changes in order to face new challenges.”