French streaming platform Salto has won a significant legal battle against challenger telco Free.
Free had argued before the council of state that Salto’s three owners, TF1, France Télévisions and M6, were so ingrained in French culture there was a risk of anti-competitive actions, such as streaming their free-to-air channels to the detriment of IPTV services.
Having first been rejected by the French competition authority, Free took its complaint to the council of state.
In order to appease its rivals, Salto has set up a series of Chinese walls between its teams and its shareholders, to ensure no sensitive information passes between the two.
The Council of State said the Competition Authority’s interpretation of the law was correct as Free was not under any additional obligation or deprived of any rights.
However, it was noted that when Free launched its Oqee app last July, neither TF1 nor M6 were available, a scenario that has now changed.
Les Echos suggests Salto has between 350,000 and 400,000 subscribers, however, Capital reduces this to 300,000 by removing those on trial subscriptions.
