As part of the network’s 25th anniversary, TV5Monde Afrique has launched a free digital offer on online and mobile programs, specifically for African users. With 1.2 billion inhabitants, 362 million internet users, 150 million social network users and 220 million Africans aged between 15 to 24, the region is becoming a hot spot for telecom investors and TV5Monde is keen to take advantage.
TV5Monde’s digital director Helene Zemmour said the growing mobile market in the African continent meant the network had to find a way to move with user habits and rethink their offer for mobile. Consisting of a new website, mobile app and offline content, TV5Monde will broadcast programs based on the centralised theme of Africa, such as, the daily Africa Journal, as well as, movies, series, game shows, sport, documentaries, and magazines. Officially launched in Kigali, Rwanda in October, it will launch from Abidjan in Cote d’Ivoire on November 27th, Dakar in Senegal on December 5th, and Paris, France on December 11th. TV5Monde’s move to mobile, aims to confirm the network’s position on the continent and stay in touch with Africa’s increasing mobile consumption.
Mobile Consumption in Africa
According to the London research and consulting firm Ovum, over a billion Africans will be connected online by 2020, and this is due to the growth and influx of affordable smartphones. According to Ovum’s statistics, there are currently 419 million people online in the region, which is set to more than double over the coming five years to 1.07 billion people, by 2022. Ovum’s research shows Africa to be the fastest growing mobile market in the world and mobile data will be the main driver of growth. Researchers suggest this increase in data connectivity will also bring rising data revenue for operators, and create new platforms for digital services.
According to Bloomberg’s Matthew A. Winkler, from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean, hand-held phones are driving economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa as much as the railroad did in the United States of America in the 19th century. Mobile phones are letting people be their own ATMs, Winkler said, increasing economic activity by enabling payments for food, travel, school and business. This transformation is reflected in the more than 1,300 publicly traded companies that make up corporate Africa. According to data collected by Bloomberg, communications firms have increased in the last five years by 25% of the total market capitalization of African companies, up from 16%. Materials and energy, the natural resources the region is known for, diminished to a combined 18%, from 27%, for the same period. With a mere 43% mobile penetration, compared to 65% for the world, it will not be surprising if Sub-Saharan Africa will be most highly favoured region for telecom investors.
SES-5 Satellite
Taking advantage of the high digital growth forecasts for the region, TV5Monde has also signed a long-term distribution contact with SES to broadcast three channels to French speaking viewers in Sub-Saharan Africa. The SES-5 satellite, which covers Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Atlantic Ocean, will distribute TV5Monde Afrique, the youth channel, TiVi5Monde, as well as, the lifestyle channel, TV5Monde Style HD.
The move to join SES, is also a move to strengthen the use of the French language across Africa. TVMonde’s CEO, Yves Bigot said the agreement would broaden the reach of the French language, which was becoming all the more decisive in a digital world where language is increasingly important, and the CEO of SES Video said the company would be delighted to contribute to the spread of the French language. SES-5 currently distributes over 500 local and international channels to Sub-Saharan Africa, 65 of which, are in French.
Dedicated to the audiences of the African continent and to the diaspora and fans of Africa, TV5Monde’s digital offer hopes to tap into the expanding internet audience, as well as, maintain and possibly grow the French language in the region.
