Streaming: 80% of French people think there are too many platforms

You probably won't have missed this, but the days when Netflix was alone in the world in the field of paid streaming are long gone. Since then, Prime Video, Disney+ and even Max have joined the dance. It is therefore difficult today to subscribe to everything, due to lack of means to finance everything.

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It is in this context that a new Ipsos survey unveiled by our colleagues from Le Parisien shows us a clear trend: many French people do not appreciate this situation, or even turn primarily to free alternatives.

Faced with Netflix, free streaming in France is resisting

Carried out at the beginning of December among 1,000 adults, this study nevertheless reveals that 70% of French people have a paid subscription to at least one streaming service (1.8 on average), and that they spend an average of 26 euros per month.

If Netflix (47% of respondents), Prime Video (34%) and Disney+ and Canal+ (17%) are on the podium of the most used platforms, 80% of respondents nevertheless believe that there are too many offers and that They are too expensive.

The other figure that emerges from this study to be put in association with the last one is the following: 46% of those questioned think that the free offer is as qualitative as the paid one.

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Potentially good news for Arte, TF1 and other France TV, which have been increasing content on their own platforms for several months to try to fight against the streaming behemoths.

Free services that are ever more attractive

Be careful, however, not to fall into the trap of “too much”. Indeed, some French people don't like having too much choice. A man interviewed for this study declared:

“For me, it's the anxiety of having too many choices of programs. It's like giving myself access to an all-you-can-eat buffet. I end up eating too much, picking at lots of different things and ending up unhappy.”

As for paid offers, today he is content with access to Canal+ after having canceled Prime Video and Netflix. However, it seems to benefit from the free offer:

“On France.tv, there are lots of good things. I discovered Rivages recently, and during the Olympic Games, I watched lots of sports there in replay. I believe in the public service function. Fewer offers means settling for a reduced choice, it allows you to explore and make great discoveries. I am also a huge fan of Arte.tv, on which I discovered the masterpiece In therapy, the documentary series on DJ Mehdi or the series by the Italian Niccolo Ammaniti, Il Miracolo or Anna.“

Same story for a woman, even though she subscribes to Netflix and Apple TV+:

“France.tv and TF1 +, I could practically be satisfied with that. There are more and more varied and quality programs there, these sites really compete with paid platforms. Netflix, I watch less than before, we keep the subscription for the children, I get lost, there are too many choices.”

A few more improvements to play on equal terms

On the other hand, as another man interviewed points out, free platforms still have some major flaws: “Coming from Arte.tv, which I love, I find the free content quite poor. And then availability over time is often limited. It's frustrating to plan to watch a program only to realize that it's no longer available when you arrive on the platform.“

He also adds: “My partner watches Star Academy in replay on TF1 +, it's full of ads! I couldn't stand it if my daughters stumbled upon it and ingested all these spots. For me, it's the world before. I clearly prefer to pay and not have to go through that.“

An observation that applies more and more to paid streaming, with cheaper subscription plans with the presence of advertisements before and during the content, the quantity of which today almost equals that on free services. Enough to lead users more than ever to question their uses.

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