Reality TV is becoming increasingly popular in French-speaking Africa. What is your view on this?
I think it's a natural development for any audiovisual landscape.
And this is even more true in French-speaking Africa, where audiences are already fond of reality TV formats that they know from watching them on French channels distributed by CANAL+.
And I'm delighted that this development is giving certain talents the opportunity to express themselves or reveal their talents.
What are the strengths of this type of program?
These programs are, by their very nature, original, never broadcast before, and therefore cannot be pirated. They allow channels to create a buzz, with programs that generally run over several weeks.
They are very loyal, functioning like soap operas with recurring "characters" whose adventures become crucial for their fans.
Finally, they serve different purposes for viewers: escapism in the case of Fort Boyard Afrique, for example, projection with a mirror effect when anonymous people try their hand at it, and dreams with the opportunity to see their favorite stars when well-known personalities take part.
How is CANAL+ positioned?
The CANAL+ group was a pioneer with the production and broadcast on A+ of the talent show Island Africa Talent.
We then produced and broadcast the first African edition of Fort Boyard in September 2019. Fifty celebrities from across the continent agreed to take part in challenging and spectacular trials for the benefit of charities. These personalities included MAGIC SYSTEM, SAFAREL OBIANG, MANI BELLA, LOCKO, SINGUILA, LES TOOFAN, actor ISSAKA SAWADOGO, and Olympic taekwondo champion CHEICK CISSE… Not to mention our trio of dynamic hosts: the Master of the Fort with Haussman Vwanderday Dayanga, Chef Gohou, and Master Yaya played by Valéry Ndongo.
And so, in October, we will be launching 4 Weddings for 1 Honeymoon
.
You are launching 4 Weddings for 1 Honeymoon. Can you tell us more about it?
We are very happy to be adapting ITV's world-famous format, 4 Weddings for a Honeymoon, for the first time in Africa. The concept is that each week, four brides will attend each other's weddings and judge them on various criteria such as the dress, the meal, the atmosphere, etc. The bride with the highest score will win a honeymoon.
We will be filming in four countries, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Gabon, and the DRC, with eight weddings in each country. I must say that the call for applications generated a lot of excitement throughout the sub-region. The filming of our first wedding took place in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast. We are, of course, working with an African production company, On Est Ensemble Production, with whom we are already collaborating on various programs, including Le Chœur des Femmes.
Any news for the fall
season?
The fall season should be full of new developments, with the repositioning of some of our channels and the launch of several new programs. The coming months will also see an acceleration in the release of our CANAL+ ORIGINAL series, with the first of these, Crime & Justice Nairobi, arriving in July.