Development of international media on the continent, strengthening of television channels in French-speaking countries, boom in local production…
2022 was a busy year in the world of media, advertising, and digital technology in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. 2022 deserves credit for once again putting the spotlight on innovative players and ambitious projects that have greatly contributed to energizing the ecosystem.
While we wait to see what this new year has in store, let's take a look back at the major news stories that marked the continent in 2022.
The media is developing and growing stronger on the continent
For several years now, major international media outlets have chosen to develop their presence by publishing African versions of their media to capture a new readership.
In line with this trend, the Nigerian online news publisher Pulse Africa has chosen 2022 to expand into French-speaking Africa, specifically Côte d'Ivoire. By targeting this country in the sub-region, the media company aims to strengthen its presence in the French-speaking world by offering news and entertainment content, as well as video production, marketing, and creative services through its brands Pulse TV, Pulse Marketing, and Pulse Studio.
Already established in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal, Pulse now claims several million regular monthly users of its news platforms deployed on the web and social networks among young African audiences.
On the TV side, 2022 also marked the launch of Fox News International, FOX News Media's global broadcasting service, on the continent. Distribution will be gradually expanded to Egypt, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia, bringing its presence to 44 countries worldwide.
Finally, media players already present on the continent took advantage of 2022 to diversify. This is the case for Sport News Africa (SNA), the sports news platform launched in 2020, which officially launched its first online magazine: THE MAG! With an offbeat and "impertinent" tone, the new online magazine features personalities from the world of African sports as well as in-depth reports.
The pan-African television channel Voxafrica also launched a version of the talent show The Voice Afrique francophone dedicated to children this year. The channel's teams, led by Rolande Kammogne, chose the Ivorian economic capital to shoot and produce the first season of The Voice Kids.
Finally, the end of 2022 was marked by the launch of the leading French movie news and content website, AlloCiné.
The platform, published by The Boxoffice Company (Webedia group), which is the leading hub for cinema and series audiences in France, has chosen to open its editorial platform to the African continent, starting with Côte d'Ivoire, offering internet users content dedicated to cinema news, trailers, synopses of films currently showing, and cinema listings.
Local production is gaining momentum
For another year, the audiovisual production sector in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa has continued to grow, driven by a new generation of talent, marked by the liberalization of the landscape, boosted by the rise of digital platforms, and fueled by increasingly significant investments. This observation did not escape Adweknow. In fact, our team illustrated this boom in the local industry in an exclusive report
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Once again, 2022 was marked by the launch of numerous African productions, illustrating the creative power and potential of the audiovisual and film production sector:
- The production of the first daily soap opera, "Le Futur est à nous" (The Future is Ours)
- The musical series "La dernière voix" (The Last Voice) broadcast on A+ channels
- "De plus en plus loin," a new series by Alex Ogou
- "Dans la peau d'un Caïd," a comedy released in theaters
- LES TROIS LASCARS, the latest comedy by Burkinabe director Boubakar DIALLO, co-produced by CANAL+ INTERNATIONAL, which has exceeded 50,000 admissions
… But also the announcement of structural projects for existing players such as the Canal+ group and TV5Monde, which are constantly strengthening their content offering and increasing their investment in production.
CANAL+ has also acquired Zacu Entertainment
, a major player in content production and distribution in Rwanda, thereby strengthening its commitment to African production. The group has also officially launched A+ Benin. Following in the footsteps of A+ Ivoire, which has successfully boosted local production in Côte d'Ivoire, A+ Benin, which is broadcast on DTT and CANAL+ packages, could better satisfy viewers by offering programs designed and produced in Benin.
It is clear that African and local audiovisual content is increasingly in demand on the continent. VOD platforms have also integrated this into their strategy! Netflix, HBO, Amazon… Even if the market is still somewhat immature, VOD platforms are launching on the continent. In 2022, Disney+ decided to launch on the continent, taking market share from the giant Netflix, which was already established there. Its ambition? To launch its services in 42 additional countries in the Middle East and Africa.
According to the latest report published by Digital TV RESEARCH in January 2022, the number of pay-TV subscribers will continue to grow: Africa as a whole is expected to gain 18 million pay-TV subscribers by 2027, reaching a total of 57 million subscribers.
Faced with the streaming giants, other players are stepping up their initiatives. This is the case for Patrick Fandio, CEO of the production company Hémisphère Africa, who unveiled the outlines of a new video content offering in 2022. Called "Muntu," this new project aims to "tell Africa about Africa, tell the world about Africa, and tell Africa about the world…" The journalist has already announced that it will be a digital platform offering a news channel featuring live coverage, in-depth reports, programs, documentaries, investigations, and video content thanks to a network of 70 correspondents.
With the arrival of digital terrestrial television, the proliferation of local channels, and the presence of long-standing players, competition promises to be fierce, with the battle being fought primarily over content.
To attract subscribers, platforms are redoubling their efforts to offer high-quality content tailored to local realities. This is giving a boost to the audiovisual production sector. A symbol of renewal, Côte d'Ivoire has now become a spearhead in production and the country aims to become a real hub in this field.
A very "football" end to the year
2022 ended with the kick-off of one of the biggest sporting competitions: the FIFA World Cup. This was a highly anticipated event for African football fans and the local media alike.
In Côte d'Ivoire, NCI (La nouvelle Chaine ivoirienne) was the first to announce in July that it had acquired the "free" broadcasting rights. In Senegal, RTS broadcast the 28 matches included in the offer for free-to-air channels. The two channels broke new ground throughout the competition, deploying exceptional resources to offer viewers in their respective countries the best of the sporting event.
In Burkina Faso, it was also the national public channel, RTB, that broadcast the World Cup under the same conditions, Télé Congo in Congo, ORTM in Mali, RTG in Guinea, RTN in Niger, Gabon TV in Gabon, and the public channel RTNC in the DRC.
The sporting competition was also played out on the web, with several online media outlets taking advantage of the opportunity to deploy exceptional measures, such as Sport News Africa.
"We built on our successful experience with the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to continue in the same vein and offer content that appeals to a wide readership. On our website, readers were able to find articles and interviews related to the African teams that will be present in Qatar. Analytical articles, unusual stories, historical articles, profiles of players and coaches, analysis of opponents… Everything was scrutinized so that our readers could have as much information as possible before kick-off and during the competition. We also renewed our video coverage with three special correspondents on site to bring the best moments inside and outside the stadium to life,"
said Mansour Loum, editor-in-chief of the online media outlet.
Bring on 2023!