Mediawan reinforces its activities in Africa after acquiring Côte Ouest

Mediawan has acquired the majority stake of Côte Ouest, an independent audiovisual content distributor in Africa which privileged access to content from the U.S. majors, to the best of the Brazilian telenovelas thanks to an exclusive partnership with Grupo Globo, and to more than 10,000 hours of locally produced programs. Côte Ouest's catalog of over 20,000 hours of programming is distributed to more than 150 clients in nearly 70 territories, primarily in French and English-speaking Africa.

Côte Ouest is also involved in the development of highly successful African productions such as "Les Bobodioufs", "Hospital IT" and "The Getaway." With this acquisition, Mediawan also integrates itself into the network broadcasting business in Africa including Nina Novelas TV.

This new acquisition expands and diversifies Mediawan’s activities, already present in Africa through Keewu, a production company based in Dakar, and behind many successes co-produced with Canal+ International such as "Sakho & Mangane" and "Terranga." This operation is carried out with the support of Canal+ International, Mediawan's long-standing partner in Africa, which will hold a minority stake in Côte Ouest and, by contributing its own content, will accelerate the development of the continent's leading distributor of audiovisual rights.

"Mediawan Africa is dedicated to recruiting talent, producing and promoting African works both within Africa and to other markets around the world. I am delighted with the acquisition of Côte Ouest, a leading player thanks to its know-how and expertise. This is a major step forward in the development of Mediawan Africa and complements our production operations managed by our company Keewu Production. Moreover, the support of our partner Canal+ International allows us to enrich our catalog and to accelerate the implementation of our strategy towards the promotion of our productions", says François Thiellet, President of Mediawan Africa.

"I am very proud to have developed Côte Ouest into the leading distribution companies in Africa. In this ever-changing world, it is of course of the utmost importance to me to guarantee the future of this business that I have carried with passion and conviction for more than 25 years and I believe the Mediawan group with its great independence, professionalism and its extensive business connections is the best partner to continue driving our growth and secure a long and prosperous future for Côte Ouest", adds Bernard Azria, founder and CEO of Côte Ouest.