French commercial broadcaster TF1 has announced the launch of its new ad-supported streaming service TF1+, set to launch in January 2024. This comes less than a year after the closure of its joint-venture subscription streaming service Salto in March 2023.
Along with rival broadcasters M6 and France Télévisions, TF1 launched Salto in October 2020 with ambitions of challenging established US streaming giants. However, following a failed merger between TF1 and M6 in September 2022, Salto was put up for sale, and later shut down.
Independently, TF1 currently operates MyTF1, a free ad-supported BVOD service, and MyTF1 Max, an ad-free subscription version priced at €4.99 per month which launched in November 2021. With limited uptake, MyTF1 Max’s launch arguably undermined Salto’s appeal by increasing the competition.
The revamped TF1+ service will offer consumers in France an expanded catalogue of exclusive titles and a longer catch-up period for titles previously broadcast on TF1. With 15,000 hours of content reportedly available upon its launch, TF1+’s catalogue will be among the largest available in France, and 50% bigger than MyTF1’s current catalogue which contained around 10,000 hours of content in September 2023, according to Ampere Analysis.
Ampere’s Q3 2023 consumer survey shows that the MyTF1 catch-up service is currently the third most watched online video platform in France, with two in five French consumers self-reporting having used the service in the last month. This bodes well for the launch of TF1+, assuming consumers migrate to the new platform, which will be available via Orange, Bouygues Telecom and SFR decoders, and through most connected televisions.
“The future of TF1’s current OTT services remains unclear following the launch of TF1+, though as the new service is yet to sign a distribution deal with Free, MyTF1 will likely remain a legacy service for customers unable to access the new platform,” commented Sam Young, Analyst at Ampere Analysis and the author of the report.