🎤 Broadcasters and Streamers Join Forces

Declining linear TV ad revenues and shrinking broadcast audiences are compelling networks to seek partnerships with global giants. The defining example of this trend is the integration of French media group TF1, which placed its channels and AVoD service TF1+ directly within the Netflix interface.

At the Lumière Summit in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, top executives from TF1, Prime Video, Globo, and Gaumont Television met to discuss shifts in distribution models, the economics of IP rights, and shared threats facing the traditional media market.

Hybrid Distribution and Monetization

Moving away from strict exclusivity is becoming the new baseline. As TF1 CEO Rodolphe Belmer noted, the expansion of global platforms is eroding linear TV’s addressable market, making it impossible to monetize and recoup high-budget content alone. TF1 already shares around 15 titles a year with international services through windowing or simulcasting. Notably, 10 weeks after TF1+ was integrated into Netflix, audience cannibalization remained under 10%.

Control over commercial relationships, audience data, and ad targeting remains the central battleground. Paulo Marinho, head of Brazilian giant Globo, emphasized that even when expanding onto third-party platforms, broadcasters insist on retaining direct contracts with advertisers and access to user analytics.

Content Strategy and Cultural Sovereignty

Prime Video executive Andrew Bennett confirmed that local content has become essential for retaining European viewers. However, panelists agreed that data should serve as a commercial tool rather than a creative blueprint. According to Bennett, analytics only reflect the past, whereas producing hits requires intuition and creative instinct. For independent producers, the primary risk of a hybrid model is losing their intellectual property.

Gaumont Television CEO Isabelle Degeorges stressed that retaining library rights is vital for studio survival. While French regulations allow producers to keep IP rights in roughly 70% of cases, the risk of the European market becoming financially dependent on US platforms remains high.

A Common Enemy: YouTube Regulation

Despite ongoing competition, traditional broadcasters and SVoD services (Netflix, Amazon, Disney) are finding common ground regarding cultural funding. Under the French framework of “cultural exception,” streamers comply with obligations to invest in local content and cinema.

Panellists singled out YouTube as the primary threat, as it aggressively captures TV screens and ad budgets without bearing licensing or investment obligations. Belmer estimated that YouTube undercuts the market by offering ad rates 2.5 to 3 times lower than traditional broadcasters—a practice market players label as destructive.

European media companies are counting on the upcoming revision of the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) to compel video-sharing platforms to contribute to local production funding alongside traditional players.