French pay-TV giant Canal+ Group has recently expanded its presence in Africa by acquiring a stake in Marodi TV, a prominent Senegalese production company recognized for its popular TV series across the continent. This move strengthens the partnership between Canal+ and Marodi, further solidifying Canal+’s foothold in French-speaking Africa.
Founded in 2012, Marodi TV, a leading producer of series in Senegal, has broadcast its catalogue as part of Canal+ Group’s line-up for the past 5 years and is known for its acclaimed series such as Pod & Marichou and Maitresse D’un Homme Marié (Mistress of a Married Man). Furthermore, Marodi TV boasts a catalogue of over 600 hours of content and will continue under the management of its founder and majority shareholder, Senegalese entrepreneur Serigne Massamba Ndour. Ndour will retain the majority ownership of the group, which produces popular African series including Karma and Emprises. With a robust community of approximately 6 million subscribers on YouTube, generating nearly 3 billion cumulative views, Marodi TV’s series are widely distributed across various local, digital platforms, and pan-African channels, including Canal+’s African service.
Fabrice Faux, director of channels and content at CANAL+ International, commented: “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, CEO of Marodi TV 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.”
The collaboration between Marodi TV and Canal+ has yielded several co-productions, including “Emprises” and “Déchéances.” Additionally, plans are underway for the creation of an original catalogue tailored for Canal+’s forthcoming channel in Pulaar, spoken predominantly by the Fulani community in Senegal, Guinea, and Mali.
