By Andy Fry

France Télévisions, M6 and TF1 have finally pulled the plug on their joint venture streaming platform Salto. Launched in October 2022, the platform almost hit the one million subscriber mark but never managed to reach financial viability.

In a joint statement, the three founder-shareholders said the decision “follows the abandonment of the proposed merger between TF1 and M6, which would have paved the way for Salto to be taken over by the merged entity. Now that this project has been stopped, the shareholders of Salto have decided that the conditions are not met for Salto to continue with its current structure.” In the statement, the three companies also took the opportunity to criticise the “complex and constraining governance arrangements” that Salto had to work within “and the refusal of most internet service providers to distribute the platform, as is the case with the American platforms.”

The shareholders said that there had been several expressions of interest in taking over Salto but none could be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. “Consequently, the shareholders have decided that Marc Sénéchal, a partner in the firm BTSG, should be designated as court-appointed administrator to conduct a voluntary liquidation.”

BTSG will shortly specify and announce the timetable for the shutdown of the platform and subscriptions. A specific communication will be sent in the near future to Salto subscribers to inform them of the consequences on their current subscription.

France Télévisions, M6 and TF1 ended their statement by paying tribute to the “exceptional work accomplished” by the Salto team. They also expressed “their disappointment at this unfortunate outcome for the French broadcasting industry”.