You have just launched the TV5MONDEplus platform. What are your ambitions for the development of this project? Will there be African content?
TV5MONDEplus is the first free, general-interest French-language global platform.
We wanted to offer a French-language alternative (free with advertising) to the SVoD services offered by the American giants. TV5MONDEplus offers all kinds of general interest programming: fiction (films, series), documentaries, magazines, animation and children's programs, entertainment shows, podcasts, and more.
The international platform's programs are exclusively French-language: Quebecois, Canadian, Swiss, Belgian, French, and of course African… with accents from all French-speaking countries, which are the identity and richness of TV5MONDE. The editorial choices aim to pique the curiosity of audiences, with local programs that are both authentic and universal.
Faced with the overwhelming amount of online content, the TV5MONDEplus catalog offers a qualitative selection of cultural content. The stated aim of this selection is to showcase the excellence of the expertise of each of our partner countries, as well as French-speaking African countries, in all genres.
TV5 Monde Plus is launching with more than 3,000 hours of content from partner channels, acquisitions, and co-productions from all French-speaking countries.
The goal is to reach 5,000 hours of programming by the end of 2021. Exclusive content is also available, such as the series "Wara" (a co-production between Senegal, France, and Niger). Productions from French-speaking Africa are of course included in the catalog and make up more than 10% of the content offered. They are present in all program categories.
These different types of content are the best representation of productions from French-speaking public broadcasting and French-speaking production. These programs, which have been tested with national audiences and are scheduled according to the target areas, will reach the widest possible French-speaking audience with a view to building loyalty.
TV5Monde is very active in the field of African production. What were the main new developments in 2020?
With regard to African TV series produced in French, we are actively pursuing our policy of acquisition (purchase and pre-purchase) and co-production with our partners in French-speaking Africa. These series are intended to appeal to a wide audience on TV5MONDE Afrique, the television channel where they have been broadcast daily for almost 15 years (well-established, popular, and unifying), and the Africa digital offering, but also on other TV5MONDE channels, where we have been able to discover them since last year as a complementary television genre alongside French, Swiss, Belgian, and Canadian series. Since the start of the new season, a carefully selected number of them have also been available on TV5MONDEplus.
Our editorial ambition is demanding. We continue to build on the successes that strengthen our brand with the exclusive broadcast of new seasons of series in 26-minute format, most of which are pre-purchased as the first broadcaster: the second season of the Ivorian family thriller set in the cocoa industry, Sœurs Ennemies
, co-produced by RTI; the third season of the Senegalese medical series C'est la Vie
, which focuses on youth with an educational slant, and season 4 of the hugely popular Burkinabe comedy series Les Bobodiouf
Le Retour, to be broadcast in November on TV5MONDE Afrique.
In addition, in a short 3-minute format, in 2020, 200 new episodes of the Gabonese comedy and family series Parents Mode d'Emploi
, pre-purchased exclusively by the channel (the African adaptation of the French version broadcast on France 2), have been or are being shown every day on our linear and non-linear channels. After season 5 launched at the beginning of the year, the highly anticipated season 6 is being broadcast this September.
In parallel with our pre-purchase policy, we continue to acquire, as the first exclusive broadcaster, unexpected 26-minute series on subjects that have been little or not at all covered in French-speaking African fiction until now. We embrace the strong viewpoints of authors with the Cameroonian historical series Our Wishes,
which recounts the birth of Cameroon and, in particular, the treaty that made Cameroon a German territory at the end of the 19th century. In a different genre, the Senegalese social series Renaissance
deals with drugs, delinquency, medical treatment, and social reintegration through well-crafted storylines. We will also continue to exclusively broadcast the Congolese (DRC) series Color
, which explores the generational concerns of Kinshasa's student youth.
Finally, with regard to co-production, we believe in this strategy, which allows us to join forces with other audiovisual partners to produce series with an international reach. The series Wara
que, which we have just co-produced with three producers (Senegal, France, Niger) in a 45-minute format, is a good example. Supported by AFD, CFI, OIF, and CNC, the funding has enabled creators, screenwriters, directors, actors, and technicians to work in good conditions to bring our first science fiction series to fruition: a political thriller that puts into perspective the struggles of a generation calling for social change. The series is being launched as a world premiere on the Francophone Digital Platform. It will subsequently be available on TV5MONDE channels.
TV5MONDE also co-produced DJ BATTLE
with ALMA PRODUCTION and AFRICA DJ, based on an original idea by Jean-Claude Tapey in Côte d'Ivoire, a major pan-African DJ competition (14 countries) which will be broadcast in October. The eight best candidates selected by a jury of professionals will compete in mixing challenges.
TV5MONDE has also significantly increased its presence in the production of African programs for young people, particularly high-quality educational programs, including: Gabâo
, produced in Gabon, which answers a question related to a technical object or our environment in each episode
- Le petit Geek, produced in Côte d'Ivoire, an educational program on new technologies
- Raconte à Wanda Jemly, produced in Cameroon and, for season 2, in Rwanda, is an educational program featuring stories made by and for children.
And we have lots of other projects in the pipeline…
In your opinion, what are the keys to the success of new African television series?
There are no more keys to success for African television series than for other programs, whether they come from Africa or elsewhere. If there were, we would know about them…
An artistic project brings together an entire team to work on its production, creating a collective energy where everyone's talent and originality can be deployed to tell stories through images. You have to be in tune with the times and… work hard as a team with the creators, producers, and all the players in the audiovisual industry.
What is your view of the audiovisual production sector in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa? Is the sector doing well?
There are some very exciting projects in development, and talented, dynamic, trained producers are making great efforts. The sector is doing better, but there are no miracles either. Investors, especially foreign investors, remain very cautious about French-speaking Africa, which is a shame.
How do you see it evolving?
I'm fairly optimistic. Change is happening, but it takes time. Some countries are taking great decisions to support and finance culture and train people in various audiovisual professions. Some great international initiatives are also being set up to support production in French-speaking Africa, which is a good thing. African countries are also organizing themselves to promote "South-South" co-production, which is excellent news for producers and creators.
Read also: French-speaking African production: current situation and prospects