(Agence Ecofin) – On May 27, the president of TV5Monde Yves Bigot resigned, leaving unresolved the question of the entry of 7 African countries into the group’s capital. The position of his successor on the subject should take shape in the coming weeks.
According to several French media, the appointment of Kim Younes Charbit as president of TV5Monde will be proposed on October 2 to the group’s Board of Directors. If her appointment is approved, one of the important questions she will have to address is that of the entry of 7 African countries into the shareholding of the French-speaking channel.
Considering the large proportion of audience generated in Africa by the latter, i.e. more than 50 million of its 64 million weekly viewers (around 78%), former CEO Yves Bigot was in fact in favor of the integration of Senegal, of Ivory Coast, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Cameroon to its capital.
Currently provided by France, Switzerland, Canada, Quebec, the Principality of Monaco and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, TV5Monde’s annual budget finances content broadcast free of charge in Africa. The entry of the African countries mentioned into its shareholding would allow the continent to also participate in this financing.
Several reservations are nevertheless expressed regarding autocratic tendencies in some of the countries concerned, which some observers fear could influence the editorial positioning of the channel.
As a reminder, Kim Younes Charbit was director of the marketing, innovation and communication department of M6, from 2008 to 2019. She was also CEO of BFM Business.
Servan Ahougnon
