NCI is one of the channels on the upcoming Ivorian digital terrestrial television network. What sets it apart?
NCI is a 100% Ivorian general-interest channel. We have made significant investments to develop a high-quality channel that will offer all kinds of programs in the coming months.
The TV studios currently under construction and the teams we are beginning to recruit will enable us to offer daily programs produced in Côte d'Ivoire, in line with the expectations of an increasingly demanding Ivorian audience.
Who is NCI aimed at?
NCI will target a broad audience, both male and female, and mainly young people. Our ambition is to create a channel that offers programs that are both entertaining and enriching, and that deals in a modern and innovative way with all subjects of interest to Ivorians in all fields (politics, economics, arts, lifestyle, music, cinema, sports, etc.). We want all Ivorians to identify with this channel, which is aimed at them.
Digital terrestrial television has been technically operational since February 8, yet few Ivorian viewers have access to it. Why is that?
First of all, we commend the efforts of the Ivorian government, which has enabled the installation of a DTT transmission center in Abobo. This is a major step forward in the implementation of the technical infrastructure for DTT, without which nothing is possible. It should be noted that the government has also made the wise choice of opting for high-definition quality in line with international standards for channel broadcasting.
However, it should be understood that DTT will only become a reality when the majority of Ivorian households are equipped with either a new television set with a built-in DTT decoder or an external DTT box for those who wish to use their current television set. Only then will viewers be able to watch the new DTT channels.
What needs to be done to ensure that the majority of Ivorian households have a decoder?
To achieve this goal, we believe it is important that DTT decoders be offered at affordable prices, around 12,000 CFA francs, as is the case in Burkina Faso and Senegal.
Beyond the key factor of the price of the decoder, it is urgent to start manufacturing and importing DTT decoders so that they can be put on sale on the Ivorian market as soon as possible.
Once these decoders are available in Côte d'Ivoire, as planned by the state broadcasting company (SIDT), a massive promotional campaign will be needed to inform viewers of the availability of a full range of seven DTT channels. Viewers will only be fully satisfied if all seven channels are available when they purchase the decoder. It is important to avoid the disappointment that could result from an offer that does not include all channels.
This means that the seven DTT channels must be ready to broadcast their programs at the time of the communication campaign, ideally in September 2019.
It is through such mobilization and coordination to create a real event around the launch of the seven DTT channels that we will be able to successfully transition from analog to DTT.
We will, of course, join any initiative by the public authorities that goes in this direction. Last December, we conducted a study in partnership with IPSOS which shows that 65% of Ivorian agencies and advertisers plan to use DTT channels from 2019. How do you see the advertising market evolving?
Our initial contacts with advertisers are very encouraging. We can clearly sense advertisers' need to seize the opportunity offered by DTT channels for their communications, which will enable them to reach all social classes of the population. Tomorrow, through DTT, all households will be able to access high-quality programming without having to pay a monthly satellite subscription, which is still reserved for the wealthiest segments of the population. This is what we have seen in other countries and why we strongly believe in the commercial success of DTT in Côte d'Ivoire: it should result in a major increase in advertising investment.
Nevertheless, the level and speed of growth in the advertising market remain linked to the penetration rate of decoders. The investments we have made to create our channel and the costs we will have to bear are very heavy, which is why the new DTT television channels will be able to exist in the long term and create jobs if they are supported by the public authorities, particularly with regard to broadcasting costs and audiovisual funding.
Unlike some of your competitors, such as A+ Ivoire with the Canal+ group or Life TV with the M6 group, you are not backed by powerful multinationals. How do you plan to overcome this handicap?
We are not part of a multinational corporation, but that is not a handicap. We are an independent team of young Ivorians, media professionals, working in a start-up spirit.
We believe that this independence is a strength. It gives us greater flexibility because our decision-making process is short. Similarly, we have extensive media experience and knowledge of the field thanks to Radio Nostalgie, the leading radio station in Côte d'Ivoire, which already produces generalist content for Ivorians and now covers the entire country on FM.
Our ambition is to build an independent national media group specializing in the production of content that speaks to Ivorians.