Canal+, iRoko launch SVoD in Africa

Vivendi-owned Canal+ Group has partnered with Nigerian video-on-demand company iRoko to launch a mobile-first SVoD service for French-speaking Africa.

Jacques du Puy

Set to roll out in the coming months, the service is part of Canal+’s new strategy of expanding its footprint globally. According to the company, sub-Saharan Africa counts 250 million French speakers across 23 countries and as many as 165 million smartphones were thought to be in circulation up to 2020.

Jacques du Puy, president of Canal+ Overseas, said: “Now that Canal+ is close to having two million pay TV households in Africa, our ambition is to widen our audience to those whose mobile is the main entertainment device.

“iRoko’s original approach integrating popular content production and mobile SVoD perfectly matches our group’s entertainment vision in French-speaking Africa. This will also allow us to make more accessible the content that we specifically produce and design for the African market.”

Jason Njoku

iRoko CEO Jason Njoku added that his company has been “committed to leading viewers to content they will love and Canal+ Overseas shares our vision, translated into French. Canal+ has over 20 years’ experience of delivering content to Francophone Africa, we have an unrivalled Nollywood content catalogue and have pioneered VoD in Africa.”

The on-demand service will be accessed via an Android App with download functionality, aimed at building a mobile-only subscriber base and will showcase popular French-language TV content. The app will be entirely translated into French and all content will be in French.

Canal+ and iRoko previously signed content distribution deals for linear TV channels including Nollywood TV. Last year Canal+ acquired Nollywood broadcaster and production studio ROK from iRoko for an undisclosed sum as part of a move to boost its local production in Africa.

This story first appeared on C21’s sister site Content Nigeria.