Booming audiovisual and film production, strategic development and strengthening of the media on the continent… 2023 was a busy year in the world of media, advertising, and digital technology in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. 2024 opens up new prospects with the start of the year marked by the kickoff of the Africa Cup of Nations. This highly anticipated event bodes well for a promising year ahead.
Before diving into this major sporting event, let's take a look back at the news stories that made headlines across the continent in 2023.
Audiovisual and film production: still riding high!
A recent study by the CNC notes that "the global film, audiovisual, and video game markets are experiencing unprecedented vitality and are characterized by an explosion in demand for content, driven by the development of platforms. Projections for 2030 confirm a very significant increase in production volume, which could double."
The same is true for French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, where the audiovisual and film production sector is attracting increasingly significant investment, driven by a new generation of talent and the rise of digital terrestrial television and digital platforms.
Among the countries spearheading this trend in 2023 is Benin, which, through a vast government action program implemented to accelerate economic and social development, has chosen 2023 to showcase its ambition to become a production hub in Africa. In fact, the country officially launched digital terrestrial television (DTT) nationwide during the year.
Senegal is also one of the countries with the most vibrant audiovisual and film production industries. The DAKAR series event, the Kourtajme school, and the international success of MARODI TV productions are the most visible manifestations of this dynamism.
Not to mention Côte d'Ivoire, which, in addition to making headlines with a proliferation of successful production projects, hosted SICA in 2023. Organized by the Ministry of Communication and the Ministry of Culture, SICA established itself in November as the must-attend event for anyone interested in fiction and audiovisual production. Furthermore, according to our information, the Ministry of Culture has recently initiated a review to encourage foreign film shoots in Côte d'Ivoire.
The film and audiovisual industry in French-speaking Africa is booming, with a wealth of cultural and artistic talent just waiting to be discovered. That's why Adweknow has decided to launch the first guide to Audiovisual Film Production in French-speaking Africa in 2023. The guide offers an in-depth look at the world of audiovisual production, providing practical advice on the various professions, inspiring testimonials from decision-makers and creators, and a comprehensive directory of those involved in the creation of today's works. It also includes a list of all the initiatives (schools or private organizations) that offer training courses in production.
Two major acquisitions in the world of media, advertising, and digital
In 2023, Mediawan officially announced the acquisition of Côte Ouest, the leading distributor of audiovisual content in French-speaking Africa. This was a major strategic move for the company, which is looking to accelerate its growth on the continent. Côte Ouest is a recognized leader in the industry and enjoys privileged access to content from major US studios, the best Brazilian telenovelas thanks to an exclusive partnership with Grupo Globo, and more than 10,000 hours of locally produced programming. Côte Ouest's catalog of more than 20,000 hours of programming is distributed to more than 150 customers in nearly 70 territories, mainly in French- and English-speaking Africa. The company is also involved in the development of highly successful African productions and channel publishing in Africa with Nina Novelas TV.
"Mediawan Africa aims to recruit talent, produce and distribute African works both within Africa and to other markets around the world. I am delighted with the acquisition of Côte Ouest, a leading player thanks to its know-how and expertise. This is a major step in the development of Mediawan Africa, complementing the production activities developed by our company Keewu Production. In addition, the support of our partner Canal+ International enables us to enrich our catalog and accelerate the implementation of our strategy to promote our productions," said François Thiellet, President of Mediawan Africa.
In terms of acquisitions, 2023 also saw a deal by Ipsos, one of the world leaders in market research and opinion polls. Present in 90 markets, Ipsos marked its big comeback in French-speaking Africa with the acquisition of Omedia, the Médiamétrie subsidiary based in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Mali. The company, which already has a presence in English-speaking Africa, is thus giving itself the means to develop its business in French-speaking markets.
In 2023, African countries are considering possible regulation of social media
How can content published across social media networks be regulated? This is a thorny issue that media regulators in Africa attempted to address in 2023.
Social media certainly increases access to information, but its use by users also leaves room for many abuses, including misinformation. To combat this scourge and provide a framework for the digital platforms that are exploding across the continent, initiatives have multiplied in Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire in particular.
Cameroon, which has 4.5 million active social media users (source: CM d'Afrique), hosted an international forum on November 8 on the theme of social media regulation and ways for African media regulators and digital platforms to work together. The goal? To implement a cross-cutting and coordinated approach to social media regulation.
Côte d'Ivoire has also sought to tackle the issue of content regulation head-on. On October 26, the HACA, in collaboration with bloggers and influencers, adopted the first-ever agreement aimed at regulating social media within the country.
“If we aspire to a fair and equitable society, we must put in place effective legal mechanisms that protect the rights of every citizen. The web, which has become a platform for ordinary citizens to express themselves, must have a minimum set of rules. Côte d'Ivoire has nearly 7 million social media users. When we consider the impact that bloggers, activists, and influencers can have on the behavior of internet users, regulation is essential in the world of content creators," said Rita Pascale Kwaminan, President of the Association of Bloggers of Côte d'Ivoire.
This agreement enabled the implementation of a Social Media Charter incorporating seven key principles to regulate and promote positive digital citizenship on the web.
In Côte d'Ivoire, advertising investment in television fell sharply for the second consecutive year.
In 2023, advertising investments were down in Côte d'Ivoire: -21% in 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022 and -9.2% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year.
The first quarter of 2023 reached a level barely higher than that of the first quarter of 2019, i.e., at a time when A+ Ivoire had just begun broadcasting and the other Ivorian DTT channels had not yet been launched. This level of funding for Ivorian television is worrying, as it is the same as before the launch of the new Ivorian channels. However, these channels need significant resources to continue to enrich their programming offerings.
This is an atypical result because, in general, the advertising market grew faster than the economy, which grew by 6.7% in 2022 in Côte d'Ivoire.
In recent years, advertising in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa has undergone a major transformation linked to market liberalization, the creation of new advertising offerings, and the development of digital technology. These new opportunities open up unprecedented prospects for advertisers and agencies. Globally, digital channels have been capturing a larger share of advertising spending.
Africa is not being left behind, even though advertisers still have many questions about whether to follow this trend or continue to rely on traditional media.
While it is difficult to accurately determine the development of digital technology and its uses in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa, we took advantage of 2023 to give a voice to professionals from the continent to decipher the phenomenon. Advertisers, agencies, and industry experts shared their experiences of the new challenges associated with digital technology and a rapidly changing advertising market.
$1.53 versus $3.06
Mobile internet access is half the price in Senegal and Cameroon compared to Côte d'Ivoire
Cable.co has published a report on the cost of mobile internet access around the world. Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, the report shows that there are significant disparities between countries: from Ghana, which has the lowest cost per gigabyte, to Togo, the differences range from 1 to 20. Among French-speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa of comparable size, Senegal and Cameroon have costs that are half those of Côte d'Ivoire (US$1.53 compared to US$3.06). Among the most expensive countries in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa are Togo (USD 12.94), the Central African Republic (USD 8.93), and Chad (USD 5.10).
The gap between the two most economically important countries in sub-Saharan Africa is 1 to 3, since the average cost per gigabyte is $2.04 for South Africa and $0.71 for Nigeria.
Despite these disparities, internet usage in the eight French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries studied continues to grow. According to the latest AFRICASCOPE results for 2022, regular internet users (at least once a week) now account for 53% of the population, with significant variations from one country to another: 76% in Senegal, while remaining around or below 50% in many other countries, with the exception of Mali (61%) and Côte d'Ivoire (57%).
A productive year for Adweknow!
In addition to launching our Production and Audiovisual Guide and hosting our first conference in Abidjan on October 12 with prestigious speakers in attendance, Adweknow took advantage of 2023 to launch the Ivorian Brand Observatory.
Since its launch in 2016, Adweknow has aimed to promote and develop the advertising and media sector in French-speaking Africa. Convinced that the development of advertising and media must be based on reliable studies, we decided, in collaboration with Fieldpro Research, that it would be interesting to provide the market with specific insights into brand awareness and perception, for which there are few public studies in Côte d'Ivoire and more broadly in French-speaking Africa.
That is why we have chosen to launch an innovative tool called the OBSERVATORY OF BRANDS APPRECIATED BY IVORIANS, which collects information on brand awareness (TOP of MIND, assisted and spontaneous), consumption, and consumer satisfaction, and provides an indicator of preference linked to brand image.
Read also: Food and beverages: discover the favorite brands of Ivorians
Heading for 2024!
2024 is off to a strong start with an event that is generating huge enthusiasm among the African public: the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
This is an eagerly awaited opportunity for advertisers, who take advantage of the public's enthusiasm and passion to increase their visibility. It is also a real opportunity for the media broadcasting the matches to break audience records and generate new subscriptions.
The competition will take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024, in Ivory Coast!