Canal+, a French company and subsidiary of Vivendi under Vincent Bolloré’s ownership, is reinforcing its presence in the African audiovisual industry. The company has acquired a minority stake in Senegalese production company Marodi TV, with which it had already been broadcasting a catalogue of TV series in West Africa.
Marodi TV has gained immense popularity with series like “Maîtresse d’un homme marié,” “Pod et Marichou,” and “Karma” in both Wolof and French, garnering billions of views on platforms like YouTube and local and pan-African television channels. However, the Senegalese production company sought additional financial support to expand its production capabilities and distribute content across the continent. Serigne Massamba Ndour, the founder and CEO of Marodi TV, explained their choice of Canal+ as a strategic partner: “Instead of choosing a conventional investment fund, we preferred Canal+, which shares the same vision and ambitions for Africa and with whom we have been working for over five years.”
Canal+ recognized the opportunity presented by Marodi TV’s success, as African content, including that of Marodi, dominates audiences among its growing 8 million subscribers on the continent. These African productions are now on par with premium American content.
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Fabrice Faux, Director of Programming at Canal+, reflected on the evolution of their offerings: “Twenty years ago, our services targeted an elite audience, partly made up of expatriates and locals with an international background, who were satisfied with an international TV offering. Today, our expansion has reached all African capitals and extended to provinces. The families joining us are looking for products and stories they can understand and relate to, which are distinctly African.”
Canal+ could not overlook the opportunity to strengthen its African content portfolio, which already included Marodi TV’s productions. With an increasing emphasis on local languages, Faux highlighted the importance of having content in vernacular languages both for the audience and strategically to stay ahead of potential competitors: “It is important to have content in these vernacular languages, vis-à-vis the audience and strategically in relation to other operators who could be our future competitors. Marodi is capable of producing content in Wolof, Pulaar, and French, given its presence in Senegal.”
Following its acquisitions of Rok Studios in Nigeria, Plan A in Ivory Coast, and Zacu Entertainment in Rwanda, Canal+ continues to invest in expanding its content catalogue 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-TV channel aims to withstand competition from American platforms when they enter the African market.
