CANAL+ Group Buys Stake in Senegalese Producer

CANAL+ Group is boosting its presence in Africa with the acquisition of a stake in the Senegalese production company Marodi TV.

Founded in 2012, Marodi TV is a leading producer of series in Senegal, with a catalog of more than 600 hours of content. Its content slate includes Pod & Marichou, Maitresse D’un Homme Marié (Mistress of a Married Man) and Karma.

Marodi TV will continue to be managed by its founder and majority shareholder, Senegalese entrepreneur Serigne Massamba Ndour.

The two companies are working on setting up an original catalog for CANAL+’s future channel in Pulaar, the language spoken by the Fulani community, which has a strong presence in Senegal, Guinea and Mali.

Fabrice Faux, director of channels and content at CANAL+ International, said: “We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Marodi and to benefit from their invaluable expertise in developing our content offering. Based in Senegal, this producer benefits from an artistic, technical, linguistic, and climatic environment that is particularly conducive to audiovisual production. This investment again demonstrates our enduring commitment to growing Africa’s creative industries and our excitement and commercial optimism in its creative and media sectors.”

Massamba Ndour said: “I am delighted to have reached the end of this process with CANAL+, a strategic partner with whom we have already been working for five years. This alliance will enable us to strengthen our production and broadcasting capabilities and export our model across the continent.”