According to audience measurements conducted by Omedia-Médiamétrie over a three-month period this summer, you rank third behind A+ Ivoire and RTI1 in terms of audience share among Ivorian channels, well ahead of RTI 2, Life TV, and La 3. How do you explain this strong audience 18 months after your launch?
First of all, it is important to thank Ivorian viewers and internet users, to whom we are very grateful.
To answer your question, we are a generalist channel, and our mission is to offer a variety of programs (news, fiction, entertainment, etc.) that appeal to Ivorian viewers.
So, initially, from December 2019 to February 2021, we focused our efforts on news and information with:
– NCI NEWS, our 7:50 p.m. news program, which aims to be open and focused on social issues,
– NCI REPORTAGES, which covers a topic related to the daily lives of Ivorians every day
– Our weekly political debate program, NCI 360, which quickly established itself as the benchmark in this field.
Indeed, a channel can only claim to be a generalist channel if it has a popular news program and benchmark current affairs programs. This is what we undertook initially, which is why some people initially perceived us as a news channel.
Then, starting in March 2021, we gradually adapted our programming to what viewers want to see at different times of the day.
So, at midday, we launched the daily program "SHOWBUZZ" for young people, Monday through Friday at 11:50 a.m. In three months, it has become a benchmark entertainment program, just as NCI 360 is for political debates.
It was also important for us to penetrate the advertising market targeting women. So we created the women's talk show LES FEMMES D'ICI, Monday through Friday at 1:05 p.m., followed by two series aimed at female audiences.
Similarly, we made sure that from 5 p.m. to the 7:50 p.m. news, we were in the Ivorian entertainment market with BABI EST DOUX !, followed by the talk show LA TELE D'ICI, which is as entertaining as it is informative, then MADAME TONKPI, a comedy by Yvidero with family humor, and the street interviews PLACE PUBLIQUE.
At the weekend, we also launched several entertainment programs such as ICI ON S’ENJAILLE, NOSTALGIE FUN OUTDOOR, and OUVREZ GRANDS LES YEUX !, and we will be producing more and more of them.
Our programs are therefore one reason for our strong audience, but there are obviously other factors. A+ IVOIRE and NOVELAS TV are thematic channels without news or current affairs programs. We are therefore in the same niche as a generalist channel such as RTI1, for which we have a lot of respect, but we stand out by offering viewers a different experience.
Since your launch, you have also invested heavily in Ivorian fiction?
Yes, indeed, we produce our programs in our studios, but we also needed to produce, co-produce, and commission Ivorian fiction for two main reasons: on the one hand, we believe that an Ivorian generalist channel should offer viewers Ivorian fiction, and on the other hand, it was very important for us to work with Ivorian producers and thus contribute to the audiovisual industry as much as we can. We strongly believe in the creativity and potential of local talent.
What future Ivorian productions are in the pipeline?
We are co-producing a brand new series with Erico Sery, consisting of 52 episodes of 26 minutes each, which is almost finished filming.
We also have season 2 of CHEZ LES KOFFI, which has lots of surprises in store, MADAME TONKPI season 3, which is going to blow us away, and season 2 of the series DERRIERE L'EAU, the first season of which was a huge hit. Finally, we have projects from talented and serious young producers on the table that we are reviewing.
How do you explain the fact that you are the Ivorian channel with the most followers on Facebook: 1.5 million after only 18 months of existence?
It should be noted that NCI is the only Ivorian channel that does not sponsor its content on Facebook but has the largest number of organic followers and weekly engagements.
We believe that this fact proves that our programs are much more popular with Ivorians than the Omedia-Médiametrie study indicates and that they are strongly supported by the public, particularly the youngest and most modern viewers. The undeniable interest of viewers who watch NCI via digital media reinforces the position observed in traditional television
. Audience measurement was one of the topics discussed at the round table organized by the HACA before the summer. What do you think should be done to achieve a reliable and consensual measurement
?
Indeed, all Ivorian media outlets question the reliability of Omedia-Médiamétrie's measurement for several reasons.
Firstly, it is carried out without including media outlets that have no control over the method, and Ivorian media outlets were not even consulted on its methodology, sample size, or the conditions for ensuring its reliability.
It should be noted that the only method used for this measurement is street interviews. This method is not suitable for Ivorian television viewers, who often travel by car between home and their activities. Finally, the survey conditions and the number of people surveyed are completely unsatisfactory.
That is why, together with the HACA, Ivorian DTT channels wish to create, jointly and by consensus, a body responsible for audience measurement. This body will select a professional technical service provider with extensive experience and completely independent of the media to produce audience measurements based on a large sample and using appropriate methods. To avoid multiple results, this measurement must also be unique. Such a study is essential for the development of the advertising market and for the Ivorian media. It is a real emergency.