2024-03-31 22:05:02
Canal+ is strengthening its presence in the audiovisual sector in Africa. The French group, a subsidiary of Vivendi in the hands of Vincent Bolloré, becomes a minority shareholder in the Senegalese production company Marodi TV, whose catalog of television series it already broadcast in West Africa.
Mistress of a married man, Pod and Marichou, Karma… Marodi TV series have been a hit, in Wolof and French, on digital platforms (three billion views on YouTube) or local and pan-African television channels. But the Senegalese production company needed a new financial boost. “ We needed funds to do more production and distribute throughout the continent, explains Serigne Massamba Ndour, its founder and director. Instead of choosing a traditional investment fund, we preferred to choose Canal+ which is a strategic partner with whom we share the same vision and the same ambitions for Africa and with whom we have been working for more than five years ».
Expand the catalog
Canal+ might not miss this opportunity: African products, including those of Marodi already in its catalog, are at the top of the audiences with its now 8 million subscribers on the continent. And they are more than on par with American products on the premium side.
« 20 years ago, our offers were aimed at an elite who were partly expatriate and partly local, but very international, who were happy with an international TV offer, recalls Fabrice Faux, director of programs at Canal+. Today, our expansion has taken place in all African capitals, then from the capitals to the provinces. The families who join us are waiting for products, stories that they understand and which resemble them and which are therefore African. »
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Before the arrival of platforms
African stories and more and more in local language. “ It is important, vis-à-vis the public and strategically vis-à-vis other operators who might be our competitors tomorrow, to have content in these vernacular languages, underlines Fabrice Faux. And this is the case with Marodi. Based in Senegal, he knows how to produce in Wolof, Pulaar and French. »
After acquiring Rok Studios in Nigeria, Plan A in Ivory Coast, and Zacu Entertainment in Rwanda, Canal+ is therefore continuing its investments to expand its catalog with audiovisual products entirely created and manufactured in Africa. With 2,000 to 2,500 new episodes per year and long-term rights, the French pay channel hopes to be able to resist competition from American platforms when they arrive in Africa.
Also read or listenThe African ambition of Canal+
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