Tag Archives: Orange

Orange debuts athlete-focused Y’Africa S3

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Sénégalese hurdler Louis François Mendy is among the athletes featured in S3

French telecommunications company Orange, which operates mobile networks in 18 African nations, has debuted the third season of its flagship programme Y’Africa.

Y’Africa is dedicated to African culture and it first launched in 2020, with the first two seasons showcasing 63 African artists.

The new season, which debuted this week, centres on 28 athletes from 12 African countries representing 21 sports disciplines. The athletes include Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa, Sénégalese hurdler Louis François Mendy, Burkinabé jumper Hugues Fabrice Zango and Ivorian taekwondo athlete Cheick Sallah Junior Cisse.

The 7×52’ season airs on 15 national TV channels across Africa. They include BTV in Botswana, Cabal 2 International in Cameroon, RTI2 in Ivory Coast, RTS in Senegal and SLBC in Sierra Leone.

Directed by Dan Assayag and produced by South Africa-based Fame Productions, the third season celebrates the careers of the athletes as they take viewers on a journey of discovery through their sport and country.

Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange Africa and Middle East, said: “Season three of Y’Africa marks a new stage in our commitment to highlighting the wealth and diversity of African talent. This series offers a unique platform to celebrate our ambitious and determined youth. I am delighted that the Orange Group is once again playing a key role in highlighting these inspiring stories.”

Anne Imbert, Orange’s director of brand, advertising and sponsorship, said: “To mark this Olympic year, we’re honouring the sporting prowess of the African continent. After two seasons dedicated to artists, Y’Africa is back with an exceptional series of athlete profiles, both champions and hopefuls, all focused on a single goal: to better their performance.”

Assayag added: “I have admired the beauty, grace, agility and power of athletes as they reach their maximum potential. I have understood why motivation is nothing without discipline, and that high-level athletes have an above-average work ethic.

“I have also seen that they accept pain, more than you and me. I have understood that Olympic sport is a world unto itself. And they made me understand what it meant to represent one’s country, an African country. For all these reasons, Y’Africa S3 is very special for me.”

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OTT mobile subs to grow 50% by 2026

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African OTT video consumption will be driven by the increasing number of mobile internet subscribers and is expected to grow by another 50% by 2026 to reach around 709 million, according to research.

International data company Dataxis found increasing numbers of OTT subscribers now choose mobile operators’ apps, and with the growth in the streaming market, mobile operators are, in turn, offering their own mobile platforms to capture the growing demand.

“Since mobile internet subscriptions are more accessible and affordable than fixed internet, OTT platforms have had to adapt their model to make their content easily consumable on mobile and a lot of multinational telecommunication companies such as Globacom, Airtel, MTN, and Orange have decided to become full players in the video streaming market in sub-Saharan Africa,” said the report’s writer and analyst, Léa Zouein.

Léa Zouein

“In 2021, mobile operators’ streaming platforms accounted for 26% of OTT and SVoD subscribers in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the challenges that could still prevent streaming platforms from becoming widely used, mobile operators that have been partners of streaming platforms for many years, are now becoming players in their own right by offering all-in-one services including voice and data phone packages, TV access and streaming content.”

In Africa, telecoms companies including Orange Group and MTN have launched various mobile applications so subscribers could watch various content offerings.

In May 2021, Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom launched its own mobile streaming service, Baze, with local and regional short videos.

In the same year, Nigerian multinational telco Globacom introduced its Glo TV mobile app offering TV channels and streaming content.

Airtel, Globacom, MTN, Orange, Safaricom and Vodacom are all examples of telecoms companies deciding to become full players in the video streaming market in sub-Saharan Africa.

In the coming years, Dataxis predicted, OTT video consumption will be driven by the number of mobile internet subscribers, which grew by about 8% between 2020 and 2021 and is expected to grow by another 50% by 2026 to reach around 709 million.

“For several years and in various African countries, MTN has been a partner for multiple streaming platforms such as Wi-Flix, Showmax and StarNews and, more recently, for the Kiwi platform launched in early 2022 by the group Cote Ouest Audiovisuel,” continued Zouein.

“Vodafone and Safaricom both work with Wi-Flix. Vodafone also works with StarNews alongside Moov and Orange, and Vodacom is partnered with Netflix, Showmax and Amazon Prime Video. Mobile operators therefore continue to aggregate streaming platforms while launching their own services.”

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Orange series to celebrate African culture

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Orange and Fame Productions have partnered on a TV project designed to promote culture in Africa that will be broadcast on channels in 17 African countries.

Y’Africa (13×26’) will air between February 6 and April 30, with its name being a short version of the Lingala phrase ‘Africa ya ielo,’ meaning ‘today’s Africa.’

It will showcase 39 talented artists from 10 countries including painters, sculptors, photographers, musicians, choreographers, chefs and designers.

Each episode will profile three unique artists involved in African culture today who will show their work, creativity and journey so far.

Dan Assayag, the series’ director, said: “Going to see what’s happening in all those towns, giving artists the chance to speak, show their world – what a great idea! I loved the idea that what we were doing would surprise people, just because we were going to show people what we never usually see. On a human level, it’s a continuous, artistic learning process. And it was fascinating because we could be as free as all the artists we were featuring.”

Béatrice Mandine, executive director at Orange, said: “I’m very proud of this fresh, new concept for showcasing the diversity and wealth of talent in Africa. Orange, as a responsible provider, wishes to promote all cultures, to support and improve the visibility of young talent on the booming African scene”.

Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, added: “Orange has had a presence in Africa for a number of years. Our integration in the territories has allowed us to follow the current cultural scene from close quarters and identify the talents of the moment. In this way, the Y’Africa project has supplemented a number of initiatives by Orange focusing on the cultural promotion of Africa, like the Orange Prize for African Books ,for instance. This was launched last year to promote literary talent on the continent and to support local African publishing”.

The series will be dubbed and subtitled into three languages – Arabic, Portuguese and English – and will be available outside Africa this summer on Pan-African channels such as TV5 and Monde, on culture channels, documentary channels, discovery channels and some VoD platforms.

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