SACD: Salto has ‘no chance’ against Netflix

Salto, the project to create a French OTT service championed by France Télévisions chief Delphine Ernotte, has “no chance against Netflix”, according to Pascal Rogard, the director-general of copyright collecting society SACD.

Pascal Rogard

Presenting the authors’ and composers’ rights outfit’s contribution to a consultation on the reform of public service media in France, Rogard said that “the only credible response” to the rise of international digital content distributors such as Netflix was to create a pan-European platform.

Rogard said that Salto, which will bring together content from the archives of public broadcaster France Télévisions and commercial broadcasters TF1 and M6, was essentially a “political” project.

The three broadcasters teamed up in June to develop the new platform, with a promise to “actively participate” in the creation of French and European original content as well as to provide a platform to distribute a variety of existing programming, news and debate, magazine shows, special events, sports, entertainment and homegrown drama.

France Télévisions director-general Ernotte has consistently championed the Salto project, which she has said will need to include a pay strategy for archive content, in the face of scepticism from a number of quarters.

Ernotte has said that French channels should retain the exclusive rights to their own shows in order to develop a digital platform, citing the example of Disney’s decision to no longer license content to Netflix.