Media & Advertising

Given its size, its status as a cultural hub of Francophone West Africa and its relatively diverse print media and radio sectors, Côte d’Ivoire has the potential to be a major regional media market. While high production costs and low household discretionary spending have limited growth, developments in the audio-visual (AV) sector, namely the migration to digital TV and planned liberalisation, should stimulate competition and spur investment in that side of the market. While high costs and demographic factors in the Ivorian market continue to pose a challenge to the profitability of the nation’s print media in the short-to-medium term, strong overall economic growth and a large youth population hold promise for the future of web media. By comparison, opportunities in the AV sector are larger. The move to AV liberalisation, plus the shift to digital TV, should create new opportunities for investment in the near future.