Although it's unfair to generalise, many foreigners find watching French terrestrial TV fairly unsatisfying, with a high number of panel shows, variety shows and dubbed American TV series on offer.
Which why the arrival of Netflix in France – with its smart, witty and original French shows – was greeted with some enthusiasm by viewers.
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France Télévisions boss Delphine Ernotte is spearheading the project. Photo: AFP
But the US-based company is about to get a little competition, with the approval of French streaming service Salto, which is also looking to create original content.
Salto is a public-private partnership run by France Télévisions, TF1 and M6 and it was on Monday granted approval by the competition authority.
It is now expected to launch early next year, offering a combination of exclusive content and documentaries and series from French terrestrial channels as an on-demand service. An early estimate on subscription costs was €2 to €8 a month.
The service will join Canal+ and Amazon Prime in the French market, as well as Netflix, which launched in France last year and is opening a Paris office in the autumn.
France is now the fastest growing market for Netflix, currently with more than 5 million subscribers locally.
Netflix France's original content has also proved a hit with viewers in France, with series like Marseilles, Plan Coeur and Family Business pulling in big viewing figures.
The company's fast turn-around times for series and tight production schedules, along with the use of a diverse pool of talent, have been credited with bringing a new creative energy to French TV shows.
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