France’s Canal+ Group has acquired a stake in Senegalese production company Marodi TV, a leading player in the scripted series sector in Africa.
Founded in 2012, Marodi TV has a catalogue of more than 600 hours of content. Its credits include popular African series including Pod & Marichou, Maitresse D’un Homme Marié (Mistress Of A Married Man) and Karma.
It is the latest production company acquisition by Canal+ Group, which is a majority shareholder in the production companies Rok Studios in Nigeria, Plan A in Ivory Coast and Zacu Entertainment in Rwanda.
Marodi TV will continue to be managed by its founder and majority shareholder, Senegalese entrepreneur Serigne Massamba Ndour.
Canal+ Group and Marodi TV have worked together for the past five years, with Marodi TV broadcasting its catalogue as part of Canal+ Group’s channel line-up, as well as producing 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 8m Canal+ subscribers in Africa.
Together, the two companies have co-produced series such as Emprises and Déchéances.
Marodi TV will work with Canal+ to develop its catalogue, including in other languages, and expand its distribution across the continent. Both companies 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.
Fabrice Faux, Director of Channels and Content at Canal+ International, said: “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.”
Serigne Massamba Ndour, CEO of Marodi TV, said: “This alliance will enable us to strengthen our production and broadcasting capabilities and export our model across the continent.”
Canal+ Group produces over 4,000 hours of African content and has over 30 channels dedicated to the continent in 10 languages.
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