According to the latest Africascope 2018 results, TV5 Monde Afrique is the most watched generalist channel across Africa, with a 5% audience share and a 48.5% cumulative audience over the last seven days. What do you think is the secret to your channel's enduring success?The mirror effect is undeniable! Since its launch in 1992, the channel's programming has taken into account the African dimension. Of all nine TV5MONDE generalist channels, TV5MONDE Afrique is the only one with specific programming. Former Senegalese President Abdou Diouf, who was behind the creation of TV5MONDE Afrique, said that this channel would not only allow the South to speak to the North, but also the South to speak to the South! The best compliment viewers give TV5MONDE is to say that it is an African channel before being an international channel. In my opinion, this explains the channel's continued success, even though the audiovisual landscape has become much richer over the past two decades.You have a particularly strong position in Congo (Brazzaville and Kinshasa), where your audience share is twice your pan-African average. What do you think are the reasons for this?I can see two reasons. The first is that the local offering of generalist channels in the DRC, with the exception of RTNC and B-ONE, is not very attractive. The second is the mode of broadcasting. In the DRC, the largest French-speaking country, TV5MONDE is broadcast terrestrially, but the channel is also available on public digital terrestrial television (DTT).
In addition, local private operators such as Startimes, Bleusat, and Easytv in the DRC, as well as Drtv, Easytv, and Startimes in Congo, also include the channel in their offerings. This network allows TV5MONDE to be accessible to as many people as possible in both Congos!According to the 2018 KIDSCOPE study, TIVI5, which has been in existence for less than three years, is already known by 84% of African children. How did you achieve such a result in such a short time?
The reason for our success is that we broadcast the best in French-language animation, offering a great selection of French, Canadian, Belgian, and Swiss children's programs. But we also offer young French-speaking Africans programs of African origin. TIVI5Monde is the only children's channel to offer so many French-language African programs in different genres: animation, fiction, and soon magazines.
What are the channel's key programs?
Among the key programs popular with young audiences are:
La Petite Pokou, Kassa le messager, Api ! (season 2 currently in production for these three Ivorian series), Conte-nous (season 3 currently in production)– Nubu et Yara (Ivory Coast), Le journal de Rémy with 3 seasons (Gabon)– Raconte à Wanda Jemly (Cameroon) (season 2 currently in production)– L’as du lycée and Vive la famille in fiction– French animation: Les Sisters, Les Pyjamasques, Marsupilami, Le manège enchanté, Zak Storm super pirate, Les Ptits Diables, Chasseurs de dragons and # Dans la toile developed and produced by Médias Publics Francophones (LMFP)– 100% Animal and Tactik for Canadian programs
Are there any programs produced specifically for this channel?
Children's programs are not produced specifically for TIVI5MONDE. However, thanks to a pre-purchase policy, we support the production of series of African origin. This allows us to obtain exclusive broadcasting rights for these productions for one year on TIVI5MONDE, of course, but also on other TV5MONDE generalist channels. We have been developing this policy since 2016. And the channel's success with young audiences proves that we have made the right choices!
How would you assess the other initiatives you have taken in recent years?
Twenty-seven years after it first began broadcasting in Africa, TV5MONDE now offers three channels: a general-interest channel, TV5MONDE AFRIQUE, launched in 1992, and two thematic channels: TIVI5MONDE, launched in 2016, and TV5MONDE STYLE, launched in 2017 and dedicated to lifestyle. These three channels are available unencrypted on the SES5 satellite, and certain countries such as Benin and the Seychelles have included them in their DTT offering.
Furthermore, in response to the growing consumption of short content on mobile devices, at the end of 2017 we launched a digital offering and an app that is 100% African and 100% free, with a multicolored zebra as its mascot!This offering has been a hit with mobile users, as evidenced by the number of downloads: 1,000,000 and more than 4,000,000 videos viewed.