FREE AFRICA SA, TNT SAT AFRICA Côte d’Ivoire, and SAT IVOIRE are the three beneficiaries of the new agreements signed by the Ivorian High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA) authorizing the operation of a cable and/or satellite radio and television broadcasting distribution network in Côte d’Ivoire.
It should be noted that just over two years ago, the HACA had already authorized three other players to operate equivalent services: the STARTIMES group, AKWABA TV, a subsidiary of Japan's Strong Technologies, and TV-COM Côte d'Ivoire, a subsidiary of Benin's TV-Com.
Today, Startimes has established itself commercially and claims to have around 150,000 subscribers in Côte d'Ivoire.
There is much speculation about the intentions of FREE AFRICA, which has not yet communicated on the subject. Although the arrival of FREE in Côte d'Ivoire is an event to be followed closely, TNTSAT AFRICA, already well established in Mali, will certainly be able to offer a real alternative to CANAL+ and STARTIMES much more quickly.