Dark clouds are gathering over broadcast actors. The most famous -Netflix, Amazon…- must increase their prices to remain profitable. In France, Salto, the platform for issuing replays, films and exclusive content from TF1, M6 and France Télévisions must at all costs find new shareholders not to disappear
And he is not the only one who suffers a failure in France. BrutX was betting on series and documentaries, but the payment formula did not conquer the audience and it will end at the end of the year. The list is growing with Lionsgate+ announcing the end of its service in France, just a few months after its launch.
Faced with these giants, the more confidential independent film platforms appear to be holding out, but their footing remains fragile due to subscriber volatility and the proliferation of streaming services.
Independent film platforms such as Universciné or La Cinetek offer moviegoers films by French and international authors and great films that you must have seen. Universciné has 29,500 subscribers and, like LaCinetek, offers subscription models and an on-demand movie rental system. For its part, LaCinetek has its 2000 films.
And for Denis Rostein, General Manager of Universciné, the failures of the big ones can be explained as follows: “Salto, BrutX, they are free media that decide to pay, the audience has not necessarily followed them. Investments must convert to subscribers. So it’s a model problem.
Overabundance of offers
Thus, platforms such as Salto or BrutX did not compete directly with Universciné or LaCinetek in terms of content. “We are a complementary offer to the big platforms”, specifies Denis Rostein. For Jean-Baptiste Viaud, general director of LaCinetek, “independent film” platforms resist better “because they stand out in their proposals. At LaCinetek we are interested in heritage cinema, we do not distribute films released before 2010.”
The failures of the big platforms also question independent film platforms and are particularly concerned about two aspects: the volatility of subscribers and the multiplication of streaming platforms. “There are so many streaming offerings that subscribers don’t know what to choose and don’t want to rack up subscriptions. If a new season of game of Thrones destination, subscribers will leave Universciné for Amazon Prime Video”.
And the French independent film sector is also not immune to the proliferation of multi-service offerings such as FilmoTV, Mübi, MK2 Curiosity, to name just a few. “There are many proposals for a single segment, we have already had discussions among ourselves about mergers or acquisitions”, admits Denis Rostein.
The health crisis has also been a source of complications. And Jean-Baptiste Viaud, to complete: “There was a period of opportunity during the lockdowns, then a settlement and a fall. Since then we have wondered where the spectators are because they are not in the room either ”. The two directors also point to inflation because entertainment is not the priority for many French people.
Denis Rostein fears that the big players will increase market concentration; Canal+ could buy Salto shares. The general manager is also counting on giants like TF1 and M6 leaving Salto to offer a free video-on-demand service, which could compete with all streaming platforms, including independent ones.
For the director of LaCinetek, streaming, even independent, is a market “in constant evolution. Therefore, it is very difficult to project yourself, so you have to continue betting on a highly editorialized offer and a personalized experience for each user ”, he concludes. . .
Source: BFM TV
