By Adedapo Adesanya
Canal+ Group has acquired a stake in Senegalese television production company, Marodi TV, in its push to dominate the African market.
The French pay-TV giant is currently attempting to secure 100 per cent ownership of the South African pan-African TV and streaming giant MultiChoice, in which it holds a minority stake.
The Canal+ Group is also already a majority shareholder in the production companies Rok Studios, in Nigeria, Plan A, in the Ivory Coast and Zacu Entertainment, in Rwanda.
Founded in 2012, Marodi TV has positioned itself as the leading producer of television series in Senegal with a catalogue of over 600 hours of content. These shows are also popular with the African diaspora.
With a community of six million subscribers on YouTube, the company has based its success on broadcasting its series via digital platforms and local and pan-African television channels.
The stake acquisition is coming after Canal+ Group and Marodi TV have been working together for five years. Co-productions to date include successful series such as Emprises and Déchéances.
The Marodi catalogue has broadcast as part of Canal+ Group’s channel line-up while they have also produced an exclusive series with an initial broadcast on the Sunu Yeuf channel in Wolof, followed by a French-language exposure on the pan-African channel A+, both of which are available to eight million Canal+ subscribers in Africa.
Under the agreement, the founder and majority shareholder of the company, Senegalese entrepreneur Serigne Massamba Ndour, will continue to be at the helm of affairs.
The partnership will see the development of quality and in-depth production added to the Marodi TV catalogue not just in French but in other languages and expand its distribution across the continent and beyond through synergies with Canal+.
To this end, the two entities are working to set up an original catalogue for Canal+’s future channel in Pulaar – the language spoken by the Fulani community, which has a strong presence in Senegal, Guinea, and Mali.
Dipo Olowookere