The African Broadcasting Forum, held this week in Dakar, brought together public and private stakeholders from the audiovisual sector from several countries.
Among the participants and speakers was the Russian channel RT (Russia Today), which took advantage of the event to present its strategy and development prospects in Senegal.
Natalia LEBEDEVA, director of RT in French, said that the group recently opened an office in DAKAR and wants to strengthen its presence on the African continent.
She expressed her hope that the channel would be broadcast throughout Senegal. As she pointed out, a possible arrival on digital terrestrial television would make it possible to "broaden the range of options available to viewers" and contribute to the diversity of content accessible in the country.
Igor Kouratchenko, journalist and other speaker on behalf of RT during the Forum, explained in an interview given to Social net link that the stated objective was to be broadcast in Senegal to give viewers a choice: "That's freedom of expression, and it's also a question of national sovereignty when it comes to the media."
For the time being, no official decision has been announced regarding the possible broadcast of RT on Senegalese digital terrestrial television. However, the discussions mentioned during the forum demonstrate the media outlet's interest in the Senegalese market, as well as its desire to explore new forms of partnership in the field of news.
Future developments will depend in particular on regulatory authorities and their understanding of what national sovereignty entails, a key concept at the heart of the topics discussed at the FORUM.