Burkina Faso fines French broadcaster again over free access to state TV

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Burkina Faso’s media regulator has slapped French broadcaster Canal+ with a second, much larger fine, accusing it of failing to provide free access to state TV channels, a statement seen by AFP on Wednesday showed.

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The watchdog imposed a penalty of 200 million CFA francs ($350,000), four times higher than a 50 million CFA franc fine handed down in June for what it called Canal+’s failure to comply with obligations.

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Authorities in the military-led west African nation require Canal+, whose pay-TV packages are popular across Africa, to keep state broadcaster RTB’s channels available to subscribers even after their subscriptions expire.

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Under a 2024 agreement between Canal+ International and the media regulator, the company must continue carrying the public channels free of charge for users in Burkina Faso.

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But the regulator said the company had failed to comply with a 30-day deadline following the earlier sanction in June over what it called a failure to meet its contractual obligations.

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“The CSC has regretfully noted that its decision has not been implemented within the prescribed deadline” and has therefore ordered Canal+ to pay a fine of 200 million CFA francs, CSC president Louis Modeste Ouedraogo said in a statement dated Monday.

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Burkina Faso has been ruled by Captain Ibrahim Traore since he seized power in a 2022 coup.

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The junta has suspended most major Western media outlets, including France’s RFI radio and France 24 television channel, and expelled several foreign correspondents.

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It has also been accused of cracking down on dissent, particularly criticism of its handling of jihadist violence that has plagued the country for a decade.

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bur/bam/bdi/rh/phz

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