Jean Martial Adou was appointed acting Director General of RTI in July 2024 following the dismissal of his predecessor, Mr. Fausseni Dembélé.
Mr. Adou has therefore just been confirmed as Director General by the Board of Directors of Radiodiffusion Télévision Ivoirienne during a regular meeting held on Friday, December 27, 2024.
When Mr. Dembélé arrived, RTI was the most powerful and best-funded channel in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. However, over the past five years, it has had to contend with the rise of new private Ivorian channels, A+ Ivoire, NCI, Life TV, and 7 Info, which were launched in 2019 and have gradually eroded its audience and advertising revenue.
Despite significant advantages linked to its substantial funding and history, RTI failed during this period to maintain its position as the leading television broadcaster. The midday and evening news programs are the only ones that are doing well.
The other channels, RTI2 and La 3, achieve audience levels similar to those of international specialty channels.
Jean-Martial ADOU therefore has an immense task ahead of him, both in terms of regaining the trust of employees and suppliers, who are often paid with huge delays (some invoices from 2023 have still not been settled), restore the company's finances, and revive the audience of channels whose content has greatly deteriorated in recent years in the face of very dynamic private competitors.
Jean Martial ADOU is an economist and senior civil servant. He has in-depth knowledge of the Ivorian administration and the media environment. After starting his career in civil engineering, he joined the office of the Minister of Communication in 2006 and was appointed Chief of Staff to the Ministers of Communication, Media, Francophonie, and the Digital Economy in 2018.