Transnational Television and Football in Francophone Africa

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Transnational Television and Football in Francophone Africa:

The Path to Electronic Colonization?

A dissertation presented to

the faculty of

the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University

In partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Gerard A. Akindes

June 2010

This dissertation titled

Transnational Television and Football in Francophone Africa:

The Path to Electronic Colonization?

GERARD A. AKINDES

has been approved for

the School of Telecommunications

and the Scripps College of Communication by

Steve Howard

Professor of Media, Arts and Studies

Gregory J. Shepherd

Dean, Scripps College of Communication 3

ABSTRACT

AKINDES, GERARD A., Ph.D., June 2010, Individual Interdisciplinary Program

Transnational Television and Football in Francophone Africa:

The Path to Electronic Colonization? (226 pp.)

Director of Dissertation: Steve Howard

Since the late 1990s, political democratization and new broadcasting technologies have

transformed African countries’ mediascapes. In addition to new private local television,

broadcasters of transnational television officially gained access to African audiences. As such, transnational football (soccer) broadcasting became increasingly accessible to

African football fans.

This study aims to understand and to explain how television broadcasting’s political and technological changes in the late 1990s induced electronic colonialism in Francophone

Africa. This qualitative study was conducted in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina, and Cameroon. It constituted at first the goal to achieve an understanding of the intricacies of football television broadcasting by public, private, and transnational television broadcasters. The in-depth interviews, documents analysis, and field observations provided required data to analyze transnational television broadcasting in

Francophone Africa within the theoretical framework of Thomas McPhail’s (2006) electronic colonialism.

Several significant findings emerged from this study. The main players in football television broadcasting are public and transnational television broadcasters. The newly installed private television broadcasters remain too economically fragile to compete for 4 broadcasting rights. The economics of broadcasting rights (along with the access to satellite technology) give to European transnational television broadcasters—and media and marketing groups—a competitive advantage over local public television broadcasters. Consequently, media flows from Europe (and the one produced by

Africans) are controlled by European media and marketing groups. What contributes to the control of the media broadcasting by European media and marketing corporations are the cultural and linguistic connections facilitated by African players in various French and European leagues, and the inherent cultural discount of football.

The study demonstrated how CanaSat Horizons and Canal France International (by supplying African audiences with French football programs and live games packaged with bartering) contribute to a French electronic colonialism of the Francophone Africa audience. The findings also reveal that the sponsoring of leagues and national teams by cellular corporations from the core and the semi-periphery in football introduced an additional player to the electronic colonialism through football in Francophone Africa.

Although electronic colonialism cannot only be imputable to transnational football broadcasting, the findings of this research demonstrate that football broadcasting in

Francophone Africa represents a pertinent case study of electronic colonialism.

Approved: ______

W. Stephen Howard

Professor of Media, Arts and Studies 5

DEDICATION

A la mémoire de Papa, Maman, et Régine 6

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my sisters Rosemonde and Clotilde, my brother Simon, my late parents Monique and Clovis Akindes, and late sister Régime. They were always there to support and encourage all my sporting and academic endeavors. Thanks to Fay for her encouragements and guidance.

I express my gratitude to my committee members, Dr. Howard, Dr. Kreutzer, Dr.

Obregon, Dr. Muhammad, and Dr. Zyati. Dr. Howard deserves thanks for encouraging me to start the doctoral program, supporting my application, and for advising and guiding me all along the whole academic journey at Ohio University. Thanks to Dr. Obregon for encouraging me in pursuing my work in media and football. Thanks to Dr. Kreutzer for his constant push and encouragements and for being my sport administration advisor.

Thanks to Dr. Muhammad for his suggestions and support.

The encouragement of many friends was crucial in completing this study. In

France and Belgium, Christiane Devos, Marie Helene Ba, Christian Lestienne, Willy

Moulin, Sylvie Druart, Yves Tixhon, Hibou (Abdou) Akpiti, Madelaine Senghor, and

Kenneth Karl continuously encouraged and supported my academic journey. Charles

Amegan in France and Bassirou Gning in Belgium consistently supplied me with information, books, and articles from French libraries and bookstores along with comments and words of support. In Benin, Georges Amlon opened many media and broadcasting office doors for interviews. In Senegal, Mohammed Ali Kparah gave me access to all electronic media outlets in Dakar. Thanks to Ousseynou Samb, Maramane 7 and Mamadou for their hospitality and contacts in Senegal. I thank Ramatoulaye Ndao and Thierno Ndao for making their connections in Dakar available for my data collection.

In Burkina, Faso Matthew Kirwin’s contacts were critical in connecting with

Burkinabe journalists and media personnel. Thanks also to Aurelie and Honore Somda who helped me to record sport content from Burkinabe television.

In Abidjan, all my gratitude to Aissatou Balde, Sangare Brahima, Jose Ayite,

Raymond Ouegnin, Daniele d’Almeida-Ouegnin, Made and Alain Gouamene, Idriss

Diallo, Abou Coulibally, Oumou and Ami Guindo, Mian and Catherine Brou, Camille

Anoma, Camille Gobey, Konan Ferdianand, and Asec Mimosas Sifcom’s football academy staff, my cousin Francis Akindes, and all my former teammates of Abidjan

Université Club.

Thanks to all my friends in Athens and the US who read, edited, and advised me all along my academic and doctoral journey in Athens. Among them, Lisa Aubrey,

Andrea Frohne, Ghirmai Negash, Bernard Frampton, Chung-Yan Hsu (Jack), Ken Dobo,

Mark Riley, Juliette Storr, Erica Butcher, Winsome Chunnu, Travis Boyce, the Keesey family (Christopher, Ingrid, Somnia, and Fabiola), Denise Hughes, De Nyago Tafen,

Doug Franklin, Mariame Sy, Ousmane Sene, and Fanta Diamanka.

Thanks to the “Sports in Africa” initiative colleagues, Paul Darby, Martha

Saavedra, Peter Alegi, Jemadari Kamara, Andrew Owusu, and my sports and development professional, Pelle Kvalsund and Judy McPherson.

This dissertation is an edifice built of transnational experiences, advice, knowledge, and support from various places and people in Africa, Europe, and the US. 8

My gratitude to everybody in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, France, and

Senegal who kindly accepted to be interviewed and provided me with very valuable data and information. 9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication ...... 5

Acknowledgments...... 6

List of Tables ...... 13

List of Figure...... 14

Definition of Terms...... 15

Chapter 1: Introduction ...... 17

Background and Purpose of the Study ...... 19

The Problem ...... 23

Research Question ...... 26

Significance of the Study ...... 26

Limitations and Delimitations...... 27

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature ...... 29

The History of Sport in Francophone West Africa ...... 30

Pre-colonial Sport in Africa ...... 32

Colonization and Sport ...... 34

From Localization to Internationalization ...... 36

The Pre-independence Years ...... 37

Independence and Post-Independence ...... 41

Migration of Francophone Footballers ...... 43

Sport and Television in Francophone West Africa ...... 47 10

Television in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa ...... 47

Transnational Television in Sub-Saharan Africa ...... 53

Sport in Television in Sub-Saharan Africa ...... 62

Electronic Colonialism Theory (ECT) ...... 62

Core, Semi-periphery, and Periphery ...... 71

Chapter 3: Methodology ...... 75

Research Sites ...... 75

Research Design ...... 77

Research Strategy ...... 78

Methods of Data Collection ...... 79

Interviews ...... 79

Observations ...... 86

Documents Analysis ...... 87

Content Analysis ...... 87

Validation and Credibility...... 90

Credibility ...... 91

Research Reflections ...... 92

Data Collection Proceeds ...... 95

Data Analysis ...... 97

Chapter 4: Findings ...... 102

Categories of Television Broadcasters and their Specificities ...... 103

Public Television Broadcasters Owned and Run by the Government ...... 105 11

Private Television Broadcasters Owned by Individuals or Media Groups ...... 107

Transnational Broadcasters, Satellite, or Cable Television Distribution ...... 108

Television Broadcasting of Local and International Competitions ...... 112

The Challenges of Televising Local Football in Francophone Africa ...... 113

Local Championships, Competitions, and Television Broadcasting ...... 113

The Special Case of Broadcasting National Teams’ Games ...... 121

National Teams’ Broadcasting Rights and Sportfive ...... 121

The African Cup of Nations Broadcasting Creates Exasperation ...... 123

FIFA World Cup Broadcasting Rights Model ...... 126

International Football Broadcasting by Transnational Television Broadcasters ...... 128

Canal France International and French Football Broadcasting Cooperation ...... 129

CanalSat Horizons Satellite Broadcasting of European Football ...... 131

Samples of Football Content on Television ...... 137

Chapter 5: Discussion and Analysis ...... 145

The Electronic Colonization of the African Cup of Nations ...... 146

Local Football Content Flow and Electronic Colonialism ...... 149

Implications for New Television Broadcasters and Local Football ...... 150

International Marketing Corporations and African Football Broadcasting ...... 154

National Teams’ Home Games Broadcasting and Transnational Broadcasters . 156

Cellular Phone Corporations’ Contribution to Electronic Colonialism ...... 167

Dependency of Football Media Content in Francophone Africa ...... 172

Bartering and Local Advertising ...... 177 12

Foreign Aid ...... 178

Electronic Colonialism by Transnational Television Broadcasters ...... 180

An Individual Dimension to Cultural Proximity ...... 181

Conclusion ...... 197

References ...... 204

Appendix 1: Insitutional Research BoArd Exemption ...... 218

Appendix 2: Inventory of Television Broadcasters ...... 219

Appendix 3: Data Collection Chronology ...... 221

Appendix 4: Samples of Satellite Television Packages ...... 224 13

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Origin of financial and technical aid of television implementation in

Francophone Africa...... 52

Table 2: Fieldwork timeline ...... 97

Table 3: Categories of television broadcasters...... 104

LIST OF FIGURE

Figure 1: Map of Africa: French-speaking Africa and research site...... 28

Figure 2. A schematic view of economic dependency relations ...... Error! Bookmark not

defined.

Figure 3: A schematic view of economic dependency relations ...... 163

DEFINITION OF TERMS

This study references the following terms and acronyms:

Acronyms CAF Confederation of African Football

CAN African Cup of Nations

CFA Communauté Financière Africaine: African Financial Community

CFAO Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale: French retail corporation

for Africa and French overseas collectivities

CONFEJES Conférence des Ministres de la Jeunesse et des Sports des Etats et

Gouvernements ayant le Français en Partage : Conference of French-

speaking Ministers of Sport and Youth

ESPN Entertainment Sports Programming Network

FIFA Fédération of Internationale de Football Association: International

Federation of Football Association

LC2 La cellule 2, transnational media group from Benin

MTN South African Telephone Corporation

Orange French Cellular Corporation

TV5 A transnational television network, broadcasting several channels of

French language programming

UEFA Union Européenne de Football Association: Union of European Football

Association

Terms Cultural proximity: A concept discussed by Straubhaar (1991). It takes into consideration audience-cultural factors in discussing media imperialism. Cultural discount: Concept describing the cultural universality of sports broadcasting. Cultural complexity or hybridity: Post-colonial cultural re-composition due to colonial cultural influences. Football digital divide: Technological gap affecting access to football broadcasting. Foot drain or muscle drain: Migration of athletes from developing countries to the developed ones.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Several authors (Baker & Mangan, 1987; P. Darby, 2002; Deville-Danthu, 1997;

Sugden & Tomlinson, 1998) have reported that European colonial institutions such as the army, schools, and churches introduced the game of football to Africa in the late 19th

century. From its colonial origins, football served as a nation-building instrument from

decolonization to independence (Alegi, 2010). National teams remain an important means

for expressing national identities. However, beyond national identities or nation building,

playing football rooted itself in African culture. Alegi argues that by 1960, football was

an established component of African urban culture. Africans have learned, adopted, and

achieved a noticeable cultural appropriation of the game across the continent. Scenes of

kids and youth playing football on improvised playgrounds as streets and open lots are

very common in Africa. These pick-up games are also a visual testimony of African

children’s and youth’s passion for football. With the era of television broadcasting, the

passion for the game of football has acquired an electronic dimension.

In fact, scenes of television viewers watching football are widespread evidence of

Africans’ love for football. In African cities, people congregate around television sets in

music, DVD, or VCD shops. These shops or kiosks are established in market places or on

neighborhood sidewalks, providing TV programs to the public. The shops’ popularity

show the magnitude of the passion for football in Africa, especially when important

games by African teams or European teams with African football stars are televised live.

An important football game has the effect of emptying the streets by riveting most

residents of cities to the television sets in their own home, in their neighbor’s homes, in 18 bars, kiosks, or at any other television set with open access. Taxi drivers often park their cars near an accessible television set. The collective convergence of a whole city or nation is very perceptible and audible. In fact, the raising of a sudden and loud city-wide clamor during a live broadcast of the national team indicates that the local team has scored a goal. Beyond national teams’ games, transnational television broadcasters provide additional football content that demonstrates an extra level of Africa’s passion for football. Indeed, important European leagues games broadcast by transnational televisions companies enjoy wide viewership in bars or special video theaters. European clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Olympic de Marseille, Inter Milan, and

Arsenal, with their African stars, have become an integral part of African football fan culture.

This study aims to understand the growing role of transnational football television broadcasting in Francophone Africa. McPhail’s (2006) electronic colonialism theory provides the opportune theoretical framework for analyzing transnational television broadcasting of football and its geopolitics in Francophone Africa.

I am from Benin and grew up in West Africa as a student athlete and then international basketball player. My experiences as an international athlete and my relationships with the region, its languages, its history and culture, have all intensified the validity of my data and the process of researching it. My familiarity with West African sports’ socio-cultural connections is valuable in describing my interactions with the data and the field of African sports in this dissertation. Establishing the Sports in Africa conference series and the Interdisciplinary Electronic Journal of African Sport at Ohio 19

University contributed to the relevance of this study as a contribution to the field of

African sports studies in general and more specifically in the US.

Background and Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the global broadcasting system on televised football (called soccer in the US, but herein is given the traditional

European and international name) in Africa’s French-speaking countries. As competition for attracting the best players and also acquiring more airtime and a wider audience span across the world, the relationship between electronic media and football has emerged as a field of particular interest. Economic and technological dependency, labor migration of footballers, and the global politics of broadcasting rights define the socio-economic and political field of studying global television systems and football in Francophone Africa.

In that France held colonial power and post-colonial economic dominance over much of

Africa, theories related to colonialism and neocolonialism lend themselves for use in this study. From this perspective, electronic colonialism provides a relevant framework for studying the relationships among football, transnational television, and Francophone

Africa. This relationship has endured over time through technological and regulatory innovations.

The relationship between sport and media, barely existent in the early 1950s, emerged initially through print media out of a simple need to report sports information, as mentioned by Rowe (2004). Later, the emergence of television and live sport-events broadcasting quickly modified the essence of the relationship between media and sports.

Rowe argues that sport and media supply each other with capital, audience, and content. 20

The amplitude of this interconnection is evident in the size and diversity of audiences of international sport events such as the men’s football World Cup and the Olympics. Toby

Miller et al. (2001) posit that 30 billion people in 188 nations watched the World Cup in

1990 and 35 billion viewed the Olympics in 1996. The 26.29 billion worldwide viewers of the 2006 World Cup, and the 284 million viewers for the final game between France and Italy [as reported on the International Federation of Football Amateur (FIFA) website], is indicative of the significance of television in reaching audiences regardless of distance . Football, the most popular sport in many countries, has a privileged position with television. The European professional leagues and clubs best exemplify the interdependency resulting from the early relationship between football and television.

The money value of broadcasting rights illustrates the magnitude of this interdependency, as well as the strategic importance of football and sport in media global expansion in general. For instance, British Premier League’s current broadcasting contract, which runs until 2010, amounts to £1.7bn for domestic rights and £625m for the foreign counterpart.

Global broadcasting actors openly express the crucial role of sport (and, more

specifically, football) in their ability to reach global markets. Indeed, as mentioned by

Herman and McChesney (1997), TCI calls sport “the universal glue for global content.”

Thussu (2006) argues that Rupert Murdoch, head of News Corporation, understood the

essential and strategic role of sport in building the world’s largest global media empire by

acquiring broadcasting rights to live matches. Building such a media empire, however,

would have been difficult, if not impossible, without the help of new broadcasting

technologies. 21

As indicated by Clarke (2002) and Jeanrenaud and Kensenne (2006), new technologies such as satellite television played a significant role in the transformation of broadcasting rights and their exponential increase since the 1990s in major football nations such as England, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. Along with the European television rights market, new technologies opened national or continental league games to a global audience. The liberalization of broadcasting policies and new technologies gave new local and international broadcasters license to penetrate targeted local markets offering sporting events hosted or produced locally or internationally. But more significantly, these changes provided new opportunities to broadcast geographically local events to a global audience. A noteworthy outcome of new television technologies is the capacity to reach football audiences across the world.

Francophone Africa represents one of the geographical areas covered by international football broadcasting. However, because of the area’s socio-economic and historical particularities, the relationship between football and television in this region is significantly distinct from that found in Europe, though the two are technically connected. Unlike the European football and television relationship, which is characterized by a long-term business partnership instigated in the 1940s, the relationship between African television and football is a recent phenomenon defined by historical and political factors intrinsically related to the colonial and post-colonial eras. Indeed, football as an organized team sport was introduced in many African countries by colonial nations such as France, England, and Portugal. In most Francophone African countries, independent football federations and leagues materialized only with political 22 independence in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Similarly, television appeared in the vast majority of Francophone African nations after independence with the assistance of the former colonialist France, or other European nations such as the former Soviet Union and

Germany. The post-colonial characteristic of both football leagues and television goes hand-in-hand with relatively limited economic and technical development. These historical, political, and economic factors have defined an environment very different from that of Europe and the US where sport leagues and television broadcasting systems have a much older history and partnership. By analogy to Immanuel Wallerstein’s

Modern World-System (1974), European football represents the core of World Football as well as one of the core elements of the global media system. Over time several questions have generated much attention and writing from various scholars. How does the essence of European football affect player football labor migration from Africa? How has global media content since the late 1980s impacted African football, media laws, and democratization?

Other issues also arise that deserve equal attention. The fact that sport is considered a “glue” of global media by News Corporation naturally raises the question of its impact on the “mediascape” of peripheral countries with less maturely structured football leagues and less diversified or technically established local television broadcasters. From a more theoretical and more global communication perspective, the question now becomes whether the relationship between football and global media and its implications in Africa can be explained and analyzed through McPhail’s Electronic

Colonialism theory (2006) and other similar analyses such as modern world systems and 23 dependency theories. In attempting to answer the above question, this research focuses on the impact of global broadcasting systems on televised football in Francophone

Africa.

Such topics (global media, sport and media in the US and in Europe, and media deregulation and democracy) have been widely discussed in the academic literature.

These topics have equally been subject to a great deal of attention from a varied range of scholars: sport in Africa in regards to South Africa and apartheid, women, migration,

Kenyan runners, and the participation of African nations in world events such as FIFA

World Cup and the Olympics, Regardless of the disciplines, the scholarship available, especially in English, more often concerns Anglophone Africa. Less has been done on the particular status of football in Francophone Africa, and even less on the dynamics of the socio-economic, political, and historical particularities of the region as they relate to global broadcasting systems. This study will, therefore, not only contribute to the growing literature on sport in Africa, but also lay the groundwork for a new research on media and football in Francophone Africa.

The Problem

Technology development (coupled with the deregulation and privatization of

broadcasting) during the late 1980s and early 1990s brought critical changes in the

football–media relationship. The economics of football became increasingly dependent

on television broadcasting rights to sustain its living standard. In reference to the

existing literature, the core of available sources describing and analyzing the economics

of football associated with television broadcasting is concentrated in a few European 24 countries such as England, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. The interdependency and flow of large sums of money in football are limited to a few championships from a few, principally European countries. Other non-European regions, such as Asia, Latin

America, and Africa, are described simply as part of the global audience targeted by transnational broadcasting. Located on the periphery of the European football and television broadcasting economics, Sub-Saharan Africa represents a geographic area reached by transnational televisions and European football programming. This is a significant case study of electronic colonialism.

The availability and accessibility of transnational and privately owned local television broadcasters (in addition to government-controlled television broadcasters) has increased the number of television channels viewed by Sub-Saharan African audiences. Accordingly, the increasing number of television channels thus translated into an overall increase in broadcasting hours (and consequently the number of hours of sport programming) in Sub-Saharan Africa and Francophone Africa. Myton and Teer-

Tomaselli’s (2005) analysis of French transnational television programming mentions that sports content represents 6.3% of Canal France International (CFI) programs and

25% of Canal Horizon programs. It is established that sports represent a significant percentage of the content of French transnational television in Francophone Africa. This raises additional questions about the dynamic and role of transnational television broadcasting and sport in Francophone Africa. The following cases provide examples of transnational broadcasting activities in Africa. 25

In 2000, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) signed a contract of $50 million with French businessman (and then head of Sportfive), Jean-Claude Darmon. The contract was for four CAN competitions (2002–2008) (Potet, 2002). Sportfive shareholding and ownership have evolved since 2000. Sportfive is now a sport-marketing multinational agency self-defined as the “global leader in football and one of the biggest agencies in the sports business” (Sportfive, 2008). Sportfive now owns the media and

television broadcasting rights to all tournaments organized by the Confederation of

African Football. The contract of the Confederation of African Football and Sportfive has been renewed and runs until 2016 (SportBusiness International, 2007). This information

(the Confederation of African Football television rights, the attribution and management of broadcasting television rights by both African and non-African broadcasters or marketing companies) bears a strong resemblance to agreements between European leagues and marketing/media corporations. The emergence of private television and new

broadcasting technologies contributed to creating a favorable technological and business

environment for such arrangements, which could not have been imaginable prior to

deregulation of the media landscape of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Additionally, the availability of (and accessibility to) transnational television

through satellite broadcasting—another facet of media law deregulation—has given

African audiences the opportunity to at times watch their national teams on French TV

instead of the local television broadcaster (as mentioned by Vidacs, 2004).

These two examples (the Confederation of African Football competitions

broadcasting rights held by Sportfive and the accessibility to French broadcasting of 26

African football) underlie some aspects of the technical and financial asymmetry of the

competition between local African television broadcasting industry and transnational

television broadcasters or corporations. This study in reference to the history of media,

television, and sport in Francophone Africa poses the problem of football broadcasting

in Francophone Africa as a continuation of the colonial practices that led to dependency.

Research Question

How does football broadcasting in Francophone Africa represent a case of electronic colonialism?

Significant to this study were inquiries in relation to the mediascape of television in Francophone, the relationship between national and transnational television broadcasters, and football-governing bodies and federations in Africa. This study examines the pertinence of McPhail’s Electronic Colonialism in analyzing football broadcasting in Francophone Africa.

Significance of the Study

Although dominated by US-based corporate groups, French Vivandi, the

Brazilian Globo television network, and Indian Bollywood show a form of global repartition of major communication stakeholders from which African media are absent

(McPhail, 2006). Given the role played by sport and football in global media strategy, the significance of this study lies in its focus on the impact of global media on local sport television broadcasting in Francophone Africa. Furthermore, and perhaps more significantly, it will provide a context for global media strategy and its implications in

French-speaking Africa, a region that is markedly understudied. 27

Limitations and Delimitations

Given the diversity of the mediascape in Africa, the first limitations of this study reside in the scope of the field research. This research was conducted specifically in five

Francophone countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.

While these five countries share the colonial legacy (characterized by bilateral cooperation with France, French as the official language, and a visible economic presence), each country has its own particularities and differences.

The geographical area covered by the study is an additional limitation. In fact, the

study is limited to selected countries from Francophone West Africa to the exclusion of

French-speaking countries elsewhere, mainly in North and Central Africa. Consider

Francophone West Africa, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, for instance. Their colonial

history, economic development, and socio-cultural differences represent a different

locale that this study cannot accurately cover. Francophone Central Africa countries

share a similar political economy with Francophone West Africa, but they constitute a

distinct geo-political and economic entity. In fact, Central Francophone Africa (formally

Equatorial French territories) belong to the economic and monetary Community of

Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), distinct from the

Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO). The historical, geo-political, and

economic differences are boundaries that also translate into limitations of this study. 28

Figure 1: Map of Africa: French-speaking Africa and research site. 29

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Academic research and literature studying football and television in Francophone

Africa are limited. Therefore such a study of football and television in Francophone

Africa requires reference to a diverse range of literature as background. Conducting such study requires a multidisciplinary approach. The review of the literature is motivated by the importance of understanding the historical context of Francophone Africa sport and media; the need to isolate the determining factors of media and football in Europe and

Africa; and the relevant theoretical approaches available to conduct the study. As a result, the supporting literature for this study is drawn from research on football in the context of a number of areas of study, namely West African history of sport of media, media study, political economy, and labor migration.

The review of literature unfolds in four parts, briefly:

• The history of sport in Francophone Africa

Darby (2002) posits that football is undeniably a colonial legacy in Africa. In that regard, reviewing the history of sport and football in Francophone Africa is a necessary background for this assignment.

• The labor migration of African footballers in connection with history and

television broadcasting

The broadcasting of games involving African footballers playing in Europe makes these athletes part of the “content” distributed by transnational television. As a result, these footballers potentially play a role in transnational broadcasting in Africa. 30

• The history of media and television broadcasting in Francophone Africa

Unlike football, which has a colonial history, television in Francophone Africa is a postcolonial or post independence media. However, like football, it was introduced with the technical and financial assistance of either the former colonizer (France) or other

Europeans nations. For the purpose of this study, the role of France in the inception of television broadcasting in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as well as the democratization and deregulation of media, are essential factors in comprehending Francophone television.

• The politico-economic context of Francophone countries.

The colonial and postcolonial mark attached to football in Francophone Africa and the globalizing evolution of media as well as football suggests the relevance of framing the study within colonial theories such as McPhail’s electronic colonialism theory (2006) and related theories such as Immanuel Wallerstein’s Modern World-

System (I. M. Wallerstein, 1974).

The History of Sport in Francophone West Africa

Although the existence of some sports such as wrestling, javelin throwing, and board games has been reported in parts of pre-colonial Africa, sports in their current competitive form were introduced into Africa by Europeans. Colonization is acknowledged as the determinant instrument of introduction and diffusion of Western sports in Africa, essentially through colonial armies and schools. Deville-Danthu (1997) argues that colonial administrations used schools and the military, the institutions they 31 controlled best and the most structured, to introduce modern European sports to African populations. Regardless of the initial motive, be it health, discipline, or entertainment, colonial authorities initiated Africans to sport as practiced internationally today. More specifically, Darby posits that football is undeniably a colonial legacy in Africa. John

Sugden and Alan Tomlinson state that “football came to Africa on the wings of empires”

(Sugden & Tomlinson, 1998). As common fact, British, French, and Portuguese introduced football in Africa. However in terms of football’s diffusion, each colonial nation dealt with football in its colonies with respect to its own colonial agenda and philosophy. Darby (2002) argues that the colonial doctrines of France, Great Britain, and

Belgium influenced football diffusion in the territories they controlled. The philosophical contrast found between the French and British colonial doctrines is reflected in the

French direct control of sport and the British indirect involvement in sports and football diffusion in the colonies. In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, an African-controlled football association ran a 16-team league and organized competitions with neighboring cities and townlands (P. Darby, 2002). This contrasts with the French-controlled and centralized sport in place in the French territories. Reviewing the history of sport in Francophone

Africa show how French colonialism and the later post-colonial sport heritage have defined and determined the evolution and development of Francophone African football.

A review offers a politico-historical context and background for studying the media- football relationship in Francophone Africa. 32

Pre-colonial Sport in Africa

Internationally practiced sports such as football, basketball, and track and field were introduced in Africa mainly through the colonial armies and schools. However, though it is widely accepted that colonial powers initiated Africans to internationally practiced sports, they did not initiate Africans to sport per se. Prior to the introduction of modern forms of sport, African populations had developed their own sport and competitive activities. Melik-Chakhnazarov (1970) posits that the discovery of paintings in the desert of Libya, South Zimbabwe, Basutoland in Tanzania, and Congo caverns show the presence of sport in ancient Africa, long before the first Europeans. Javelin throwing, stick fencing, and archery are documented in early Africa. Sigrid notes that, according to travelers’ and missionaries’ reports, many types of ball play, target games, top spinning, foot races, jumping contests, and wrestling were common in pre-colonial

Africa. Given wrestling’s inherent characteristics, namely competition and physical exercise, that sport in pre-colonial Africa closely mirrors contemporary practice of the sport. However, the social environment determined by each society produced numerous uses and implications of activities such as wrestling. Melik-Chakhnazarov states that wrestling was a very popular sport in many African countries with a diversity of rules, pre-match rituals, and dress codes. Wrestling was generally practiced in the dry season and among sedentary societies. Sigrid (1987) states that generally, each gender and age category tended to wrestle within their own gender and age group. Sigrid in his chapter

“The Wrestling Tradition and Its Social Functions,” provides a study of several wrestling traditions in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study points out that wrestling served several 33 social functions for individuals, groups, and communities in pre-colonial Africa. At the individual level, wrestling had a social promotion role. The strongest and most skillful wrestlers benefited from important prestige in their societies. Although women and children are not commonly mentioned as wrestlers, wrestling was not unusual among girls and children. Sigrid states that “Traditionally it served the functions of endowing a person with prestige, establishing his personal rank and ascribing and enhancing his social status.” Beyond the individual level, wrestling also reinforced internal solidarity and a sense of identity within the community. Rituals and beliefs were also integral parts of wrestling traditions in most societies, as shown by Achebe’s (1959) novel entitled

Things Fall Apart (1959). Sport in pre-colonial Africa, far from being a distinct physical activity, was an integral part of the society. Sport was a means to carry traditions, prestige, ritual, education, and much more.

Nevertheless, besides the drawings mentioned by Melik-Chakhnazarov (1970), and sport stories embedded in non-ethnographic research, evidence of pre-colonial sport in Africa is rather limited. Blacking (1987) asserts that studying sport in traditional Africa is challenged by lack of information or a clear definition of what to include as sport, play, or games. The study of pre-colonial sport in Africa represents a challenge not because it did not exist, but primarily because it was (and still is) an under-researched topic.

Nevertheless, reference to pre-colonial sport in Africa contributes to establishing an historical continuum that avoids considering sport (as organized physical activity) as a colonial import. Introducing pre-colonial sport into this discussion puts in context the notion of modern sport that will be defined later. Contrary to the limited pre-colonial 34 research, the study of colonization provided more research related to sport. Available literature has specifically focused on football as a sport and Francophone West Africa as a geographic region.

Colonization and Sport

Before discussing sport and colonization in Francophone Africa, it is important to address the term modern sport commonly used to describe football and other contemporary sports. European sports that were introduced to Africa during colonialism are often referred to as “modern sports” while pre-colonial African sports are predominantly considered “traditional.” Stokvis (1989) argues that modern sports are organized above the local level, with formal, standardized rules. In contrast, traditional sports remain local or regional. Stokvis and Wagner’s (1989) definition can translate modern sport into “internationally practiced and regulated sport.” Although the reasons behind how and why these sports became international are only partially answered by colonization, their internationality is an undeniable. Therefore, the following part of this study will adopt the term international sport for European-practiced sports and traditional African sport for sports rooted in pre-colonial Africa.

Bernadette Deville-Danthu’s (1997) detailed history of Francophone West Africa sport from 1920 to 1965 represents the principal source of data for presenting the colonial history of sport in Francophone West Africa. Deville-Danthu’s (1997) study of the role of

French colonization in introducing and developing international sport to West Africa links colonial ruling to the current state and practice of sports such as football. Bouchet and Kaach (2004), in their study discussing the current model of Francophone West 35

African sport, reinforce the notion of differences connected to the colonizer country.

The history of international sport in Francophone West Africa (AOF) was dictated by socio-political factors in France during the colonial era. Deville-Danthu (1997) argues that the promotion of sport in Francophone West Africa was motivated by two distinct objectives: public health and military troops’ fitness. Guided by economic and military motives, the objective of introducing European forms of sport and physical activities in

French-speaking West Africa (AOF) was essentially to improve the health of the manpower working for colonial industries, as well as the health of the African military personal recruited for the French army. As part of the colonial mission, Catholic missionaries also contributed to the diffusion of international sport in Africa. They introduced physical education in their schools and trained youth in other sports as well.

Although hygiene and health were the primary motivation for having physical education in their curriculum, missionaries contributed to the colonial overall effort of improving the health and fitness of their colonial subjects for their own interests.

Despite this general desire to improve the physical fitness of the African population, the colonial administration resented the practice of team sport or club sport among Africans, or the mixing of “colonized” and “colonizers.” Racial separation of sport activities (which Deville-Danthu (1997) characterizes as “sport apartheid”) was enforced by the French colonial administration. Although Africans practiced international European sports, mixed teams were not common. Colonial football clubs, tennis clubs, and other sports clubs were open only to Europeans. Over time, Africans joined European elite clubs, but in different sections reserved for Africans. While 36 encouraging “sport apartheid,” colonizers also made sure that local organized sports did not develop outside their controlled settings (schools and the army).

From Localization to Internationalization

While this opposition to locally organized African sports was visible on the international sport scene as well, the irresistible interest of Africans in football could nonetheless not be stopped [as noted by Delville-Danthu (1997) and Darby (2002)].

External factors (such as increasing participation and success of African-Americans in the US) influenced both the colonial administration and Africans about organized sports.

Delville-Danthu (1997) maintains that the success of African-American boxers and other athletes provided a second motivation for introducing international sport in Africa. In spite of the racial conditions prevalent in the US at the time, a few African-American boxers were able to win major bouts against White Americans. Harris (1999) provides several stories of Black boxers who won fights over White boxers in the US as well as in

Europe. Jesse Owens, described by Harris (1999) as the brightest of the Olympic stars at the 1936 Olympics, also reinforced the reputation of Black athletes. The successes of

African-American athletes became an incentive for colonizers to recruit athletes from

Africa. France’s colonial policies of integration facilitated the enlisting of the best

African athletes to compete for its national team at the Olympics and other international competitions. Darby, Akindes, and Kirwin (2007) noted that France drafted talented players from its colonies to reinforce its local leagues as well; thus by 1938, there were

147 African footballers playing in the French first and second division leagues. 37

Despite the reluctance of the European colonial administration, a so-called indigenous form of organized sport slowly surfaced, mostly among the évolués. The

évolués (literally “the evolved”) are the elite who have attended colonial schooling and tend to adopt a European style of living. They represent a class of educated administrators, health agents, and teachers who helped the colonial administration rule and control local populations.

The sport development plan targeting the évolués and elaborated by the French colonial administration carried a political agenda. Deville-Danthu (1997) posits that there was political control through sport. He suggests that sport was meant to keep the link between the colonies and France; to improve the relationship between Africans and colonizers; and to monitor the évolués.

The Pre-independence Years

The post-World War II climate transformed the political environment in African colonies. The geo-political transformation confronted France with its political duplicity.

On the one hand, France was a free world liberated from Germany. On the other hand,

France itself was depriving its colonies of freedom. Prior to the end of the war, the United

Nations Atlantic Charter Chapter IX declared the right of all people to choose their governments and leaders (United Nations, 1945). The call for self-governance and the liberation of colonized populations increased after the war. Chandler (1988) mentioned the specific suggestion of American Secretary of State Cordell Hull, advocating for placing colonial empires under international trusteeship. Parallel to the international call 38 for the self-governance of colonized populations, internal protest against French colonial rule became more insistent.

In response to international and local pressure, the free France government was constrained to change its colonial course. Between January 30, 1944 and February 7,

1944, governors representing all of French Sub-Saharan Africa, including French

Somaliland, Madagascar, and Reunion, met in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo, at a conference organized by governor Réné Pleven. Recommendations of governors spearheaded reforms in the French colonial administration. In 1946, a constitutional reform in France created the Union Francaise (United France), a political entity encompassing France, the African colonies and protectorates, Indochina, and French territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean. The official intention was to integrate all these territories with France with access to services such as education and health available in France. The French Union was the symbol of the French assimilation policy.

As mentioned by Deville-Danthu (1997), sport was given a special role in promoting the new image of the France and the French Union by detecting, training, and selecting

African athletes to integrate French teams, and perform with their French White teammates. If exhibiting African athletes was meant to improve France’s image in the world, it did not satisfy Africans. Starting on 1946, social unrest for independence increased. Deville-Danthu states that France then used sport to relieve the pressure and distract African youth from politics and independence.

Change materialized mostly in the attitudes of the French colonial administration with the extension to sport of the French law of “freedom of association” commonly 39 called “loi 1901.” Mélik-Chakhnazarov (1970) argues that the colonizers authorized and even encouraged the creation of local clubs and leagues, in contrast to the pre-World War

II period when administrative constraints and strong control of local populations were in place. This change led to the development of modern international sports such as football, team handball, volleyball, and so forth. African athletes from colonial structures such as schools and the army quickly adopted these sports, though with limited equipment, coaches, and facilities. By 1950, Francophone West Africa experienced an explosion in the number of sport clubs, competitions, and participants. France became more active in organizing sport in the colonies, with “entertaining” African youth as a major incentive.

On May 7, 1946, a law proposed by Lamine Gueye of the Senegalese Parliament declared all populations of the United France to be citizens of France. The political interest of

France combined with increasing participation of the African population (mostly military personnel, civil servants, and students) transformed sports in Francophone West Africa.

With the legal opening of sport associations and practice in Francophone West

Africa, three main organizations represented the core of African sport in the colonies: the army, the schools, and the sport organized around civil servants or colonial enterprises such as CFAO. Poli (2002) cites the Sport Union of Civil Servants of Côte d’Ivoire

(Union Sportive des Fonctionnaires de Côte d’Ivoire, or USFA), and Sport Union of

Indigenous People (Union Sportive des Indigenes, or USI) as pre-independence clubs in

Côte d’Ivoire. ASEC (the Association of Commerce Employees), created in 1947, is the best-known club originating from that era in Côte d’Ivoire. Sport practice reached

African populations beyond the limited circle of évolués in football, track and field, 40 boxing, and basketball. An elite emerged among the increasing population of athletes. In spite of increasing democratization of organized sport among Africans, the roots of the diffusion remained among the educated elite and the army.

In the late 1950s, Francophone West African athletes and populations adopted

European international sport with relative success. However, limitations such as number of participants, facilities, and training of coaches and athletes remained prevalent all across the region. Geographically, territories with a denser urban population and a larger presence of Europeans (such as Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Dahomey—now Benin) performed at a higher level in European international sport. During the same period, in

Francophone West Africa the political set evolved as well.

When France organized the United French games in Madagascar in April, 1960, nationalism and anti-France sentiment were very strong. Africans, regardless of their territory, supported each other when competing against France. Despite growing nationalism and anti-colonial resentment, African athletes and their performance remained the result of French sport engagement in the colonies. France’s role in introducing European international sport, in organizing teams and competitions, and in supplying coaches transcended the end of colonization. The following section will discuss how the involvement of French colonial administration in sport in Francophone

West Africa shaped the nature of sport in the Francophone independent nations of West

Africa. 41

Independence and Post-Independence

As mentioned in the previous section, the newly independent Francophone nations of Africa inherited a specific form of organized sports well-established among the elite, the nature of which was determined by the colonial administration’s policies and direct involvement. The relevance and importance of the French colonial heritage is apparent in the literature that discusses the specifics of the Francophone sport model.

Prior to describing the Francophone sport model, Bouchet and Kaach (2004) argue that there are three main models of sports organization in the world.

1. Countries with total government control of sport and physical education, at every

level of practice and competence.

2. Countries with sport and physical education predominantly run by private

initiative.

3. Countries with a mix: government and private control of sport and physical

education.

Bouchet and Kaach (2004) cite examples of countries for each model. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of formal communist control in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, China and Cuba emerged as the most noteworthy examples of the first model. The US, Italy, and many other Western European countries represent the second model. France is an example of the third model. 42

Bouchet (2004) defines the French model (in which private support goes along with government intervention in sport and physical education) as the model adopted by

Francophone countries after independence.

As described by Bouchet and Kaach (2004), the sport system in Francophone

West Africa is extremely centralized and government-controlled. Furthermore, those authors mention that the centralized characteristic of organized sport is revealed by the emphasis on the government’s role in training, facility building and development, and top management of the overall sport politics. Loum (2004), discussing the specific case of

Senegal, argues that the Ministry of Youth and Sport has the authority to veto the organization of any competition. This mixed structure from the French model and its centralized nature inherited from the colonial era suggest the continuing influence of the colonial organizational model. From another perspective, the literature critiques the elitist orientation of the centralized sport systems. Centralization and the government’s preeminent role in Francophone sports (comparable to the French model) suggests the existence of a “sport model” in Francophone Africa. As suggested by Baba (2003) (in discussing the case of Benin during the Marxist experience from 1972 to 1990), the 1991 political democratization did not change this model. The government kept control over sport. Bouchet and Kaach depict the limited economic significance and diversity of the model as well. This survey of sport in the post-independence period reveals the prevalence of the French model (i.e., the central role of government in sport) in

Francophone Africa. 43

Another aspect of the legacy discussed in the literature is the French heritage in independent Francophone Africa. The effect of such influence is apparent in other areas of Francophone West African sports, such as migration. As a pattern initiated during colonization, the socio-economic and cultural evolution of the migration of African footballers supplies this study with pertinent elements of analysis. The following section discusses the phenomenon of “muscle drain” or “feet drain” as another aspect of French colonization legacy and its contemporary indirect implications in the media. In fact, one aspect of this implication is that the labor migration of African footballers, in addition to providing a context for the study, is a bridge between European leagues and clubs and the

African audiences. The CanalSat Horizons production “Talents d’Afrique” (African

Talents) exemplifies the connection between a primarily European-produced football program and African viewers.

Migration of Francophone Footballers

CanalSat Horizons production “Talents d’Afrique” expresses the desire of a form of localization of the content articulated by Entertainment Sports Programming Network

(ESPN). Entertainment Sports Programming Network’s slogan (“think globally, but customize locally”) is applied to table tennis in East Asia and cricket in India. In Latin

America, in spite of the popularity of football, only 20% of ESPN programs are locally produced (Grove, 1998: A6). The Entertainment Sports Programming Network slogan and strategy in India and Latin American support Straubhaar’s concept of “cultural proximity.” Canal Horizon’s “Talents d’Afrique” shows a variant of cultural proximity.

The global culture of football, its history in Francophone Africa, and the labor migration 44 of African footballers conspire to produce an expanded version of cultural proximity in football broadcasting with its particularity.

Addressing football cultural proximity requires a definition of football, beyond a sport, as a culture. The television broadcasting success of the World Cup in terms of audience demonstrates the extent football can be considered a global culture. Boniface

(2007) states that “More than democracy, market economy and the Internet, football is the archetype of globalization” (p.14). Along the same lines, Bromberger (1998) provides a cultural explanation of the global audience of football, arguing that “Football has become a form of universal reference, one of the rare, if not the only, elements of a world masculine culture, understood by all, transgressing the diversity of regions, nations, and generations.” From a business perspective, Chris Gratton and Harry Arne Solberg (2007) state that “in general, the cultural discount is lower for sports programmes than for many other media products. . . .The cultural discount reflects the reduction in value on media products when they are shown beyond their home market” (p.174). Guilianotti’s (1999)

“football complexity” concept and Bronberger’s (1998) description of football as a universal form of reference support the lower cultural discount of sport broadcasting.

Giulianotti argues that globalization has transformed football in cultural complexity or

“hybridity.” He also highlights the role of technology and football information compressing time–space and transforming the local into the global. Globalizing the local in football provides a cultural duality, or hybridity. In that context, Giulianotti’s cultural duality or hybridity becomes a factor of cultural proximity. African players performing in

European leagues provide the cultural proximity and discount. Broadcasting European 45 local leagues games with African players to African audiences creates a global–local duality, resonating to local audiences in Africa. Although African footballers are not recruited specifically for global broadcasting by transnational televisions, it is relevant to discuss the migration of African footballers as a significant component of transnational football broadcasting.

Nearly 129 African players in France’s first division 61 are from Francophone

West African countries, essentially Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire (Dreyfus, 2007). Deville-

Danthu (1997) argues that Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire’s higher representation is partially attributable to the higher investment of France in sport in these countries during colonization. Neocolonialism is also referred to in analyzing football labor migration in

Francophone Africa. Darby et al. (2007) argue that the neocolonial connections derived from the colonial past continued to be significant in determining the destination of footballers migrating to Europe. However, other factors (such as the “Bosman ruling,” the establishment of the Champion League, and media revenues) have transformed the labor market in Europe and introduced a wider range of destinations for African players.

Poli and Ravenel (2007) provide statistical details of the destinations of African players in European countries. They rank Africa third in terms of the export of players to major

European leagues (after the Europe and South America, primarily Brazil and Argentina).

Despite the history of football labor mentioned earlier (the French colonial contribution to football in Francophone Africa), a drastic increase since the early 1990s is underlined and discussed in the literature. Darby et al. (2007) attribute the increase to improved performance of African teams during various global competitions and the emergence of 46 football academies as export institutions across the continent. From a more general migration perspective, Poli (2004) argues that footballers are comparable to highly skilled personnel. He compares football migrants to workers employed by international organizations, multimedia corporations, scientists of high rank, and militaries affiliated with international alliance military personnel. Despite some similarities, Poli’s analogies of migrant footballers as highly skilled workers do not take into consideration the number of players travelling to Europe without a contract. The failure rate of African migrant footballers mentioned by Faouzi (CONFEJES, 2000) expands on this comparison to the migration of highly skilled workers, bringing it closer to other types of migrations instigated by economic motives. Indeed, economic disparity and the law of supply and demand are among the factors discussed as causes of the migration of African players.

Tshimanga posits that most southern (economic south) teams do not possess the economic means for facilities-building. In addition to discussing the economic distress facing football in Africa, Tshimanga discusses managerial incompetence, the sport agents’ role, and racism in regard to football labor migration. Literature addressing the migration of African football players pertinently discusses the persistence of neocolonialism, economic disparity, football academies, and globalization.

The causes and consequences of the African football players’ migration provide additional elements for analysis for this study. In fact, broadcasting of the performances of African footballers in European leagues is television content accessible to African audiences. Therefore the problems and factors of migration of these footballers discussed by Tshimanga (2001) are relevant to answer the research questions in this study. In the 47 global context of the economic prevalence of television broadcasting, it is equally essential to review what the literature has discussed about television in general, and sport and television in particular in Francophone West Africa.

Sport and Television in Francophone West Africa

Television in Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa

With the exception of Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, where television was introduced by the British before independence, most of Sub-Saharan Africa established their first television stations after independence (Bourgault, 1995). As a true postcolonial media, television in Francophone West Africa provides a suitable means to describe the post-colonial influence factor in sport in the former Francophone West

Africa territories. An historical review of television in Francophone West Africa is essential for understanding the determinism of the French colonial legacy and for grasping transnational television repercussions on Francophone West Africa media.

Government control of television and media of Sub-Saharan and Francophone

Africa was, at its inception, a common characteristic (Ba, 1996; Bourgault, 1995;

Chalaby, 2005; Hydén, Leslie, & Ogundimu, 2002). Nyamnjoh (2005) argues that

France, Britain, and the US were the standard-setters of the rest of world media, including Africa. Moreover, African media inherited characteristics from colonial media, such as language and organization. For instance, the government of Cameroon did not take charge until 1963 of the radio broadcasting put into place by French colonization; that action was almost three years after independence (Nyamnjoh, 2005). Although television emerged as a post-colonial media, it did not derogate to the role of standard 48 setter played by France in Francophone Africa and by Great Britain on the Anglophone side. The postcolonial legacy in Sub-Saharan media translates into a European former- colonizer providing equipment, training, and technical support. Bourgault argues that the management style of Sub-Saharan postcolonial media illustrates the colonial legacy.

Government control of media was justified as a necessity for postcolonial nation- building.

The first television program appeared in 1963 in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo,

Burkina Faso (former Haute Volta), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Bourgault,

1995). These countries represent the first wave of television in Francophone Africa.

Another wave occurred in the 1970s when Benin, Togo, Central African Republic, and

Guinea launched television broadcasting. Cameroon, Mali, and Chad joined the other countries in the late 1980s. The decision varied from country-to-country whether or not to implement a national television.

Bourgault (1995) claims that political considerations and economic constraints set back the launching of television in some countries. Considering the government control of media right after independence, each government justified differently the need for television. Senegal broadcasted only educational programs from 1963 to 1972. President

Senghor resisted the introduction of television from 1962 when the first transmitters were installed in Dakar, Thies, and Kaolak (Ba, 1996). In 1963, in spite of Senghor’s reluctance to broadcasting, educational programming was launched in Wolof, a local language (Ba, 1996). Only in 1972 did Senegalese television move beyond educational programming (after broadcasting the Olympics in Munich). 49

The socialist government in power in Benin preferred to allocate its resources to radio broadcasting, which had a wide coverage in the country. In contrast to radio coverage, television was limited to less than half of the territory (Ba, 1996). This lack of resource allocation delayed the launch of television broadcasting for six years. After the proper infrastructure was built with French assistance, the first programs were aired in

1978. Cameroon exhibited an extreme resistance. Television broadcasting had been planned there since 1963, but president Ahidjo wanted to ensure that it had national coverage and served the masses (Henry & Bertha, 2002). Cameroonian television broadcasting projects started in 1976, but regular broadcasting was delayed until 1986.

Nyamnjoh (2005) discusses the priority given to radio broadcasting as a nation-building instrument by Amadou Ahidjo, the first president of independent Cameroon.

In contrast to Benin, Senegal, and Cameroon, where political resistance delayed the relative penetration of television broadcasting, other Francophone countries and their governments supported the project. Governments in Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, Togo, Mali, and Chad supported implementation of television. Comparatively, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, and the Congo had more economic means and started broadcasting in the 1960s. Only Burkina Faso, with limited resources but strong political will, started broadcasting in 1965. Other countries launched their own television programming as soon as resources and technical assistance became available.

Television broadcasting was often associated with modernity and national prestige.

Bourgault (1995) notes that in most countries, implementation of national television was a sign of national status. The same argument is presented by Nyamnjoh (2005), who 50 mentioned that Paul Biya, the president of Cameroon, presented television as a sign

Cameroon’s desire to enter modernity.

Educational programming contributed to supporting the introduction of television.

Bourgault (1995) suggests that the appeal to governments of providing education via television played a role in justifying television. UNESCO responded to the call and was very instrumental in the start of television broadcasting in Senegal as well as in Côte d’Ivoire. Indeed, Côte d’Ivoire’s distance education through television speeded up television broadcasting development and geographical coverage (Tudesq, 2004).

In general, economic and political parameters determined establishment of television in Francophone African countries. However, factors such as technology and human resources were a bigger challenge for all the countries. Ba (1996) writes that technical, trained personnel and financial aid were simultaneously needed everywhere.

These countries had to gather, at once, the necessary materials, infrastructure, and human resources. He also states that “contrary to Europe and the U.S.A. African television was not the result of the development of movie production. African countries could rely neither on the same economic base nor on the same popular culture production experience with industrialized countries” (p.36). The continent’s know-how of electronic media was limited to radio production. Television appeared in all the Francophone countries without any technical or production prerequisites. Ba’s statement highlights the limited capacity of Francophone television, which translates into the role played by the former colonial government in supplying content. 51

France, as the former colonial power, provided equipment and training at the initial stage of television development (Ba, 1996). The contribution was primarily in technical equipment or/and financial assistance. However, based on political connections, other countries added to France’s assistance by providing training, programs, and additional transmitters (see

for a list of countries that contributed to media development in Francophone

Africa). As mentioned by Bourgault (1995), at the time, there was more of an emphasis on hardware assistance than on lending human resources. Indeed, cooperation and aid supplied the hardware and some training. The software required more resources, knowledge, and a culture of video production. However French cooperation filled the content gap by supplying hours of cultural programming to its former colonies (as well as to former Belgian colonies and, more recently, to Portuguese colonies). Although other countries contributed to television implementation in Francophone Africa (see Table 1),

French financial support, technical assistance, and cultural content was predominant in implementing and running Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa’s early-stage television.

Television broadcasting as a government initiative and enterprise in Francophone Sub-

Saharan Africa was government-controlled as well.

At the inception of the media, government control was common throughout Sub-

Saharan and Francophone Africa. Although television emerged as a postcolonial media, it did not reduce the role played by France in Francophone Africa to that of a mere standard-setter. In Sub-Saharan African media, postcolonial involvement manifested itself in equipment supply and the training of technical support personnel by European 52 former-colonizers. Bourgault (1995) argues that even the management style throughout

Sub-Saharan postcolonial media reflects colonial legacy.

In general, economic and political parameters have determined the establishment of television in Francophone African countries. However, technological and human resources factors were a bigger challenge for all the countries. Ba (1996) relates that trained personnel and technical/financial aid were needed everywhere. France, as a former colonial ruler, was instrumental in providing in the initial stages of television development equipment and training, as well as technical equipment or/and financial aid.

However, based on other countries’ political connections, other nations augmented

France’s assistance by providing training, programs, and additional transmitters. (See

Table 1 for a list of countries that contributed to the implementation of television in

Francophone West Africa.) France provided 300 hours of free programming, such as sport programs and ten minutes of daily news reporting.

Table 1: Origin of financial and technical aid of television implementation in Francophone Africa.

Country Financial Aid Origin Material Aid Origin Benin France France, Germany Burkina Faso France, Libya France, Germany Côte d’Ivoire France France, US Guinea Libya France, Germany, Brazil Mali Iraq France, Great Britain Mauritania France France Niger France France Senegal France France Togo France France Source: Paraboles et Democratie en Afrique Noire, by Ba (1996). 53

Table 1 illustrates to what extent Francophone West Africa television broadcasting introduction benefited from both financial and technological foreign aid.

From the inception of African television broadcasting, the media was dependent on assistance from France and other industrialized countries. Moreover, as with many other countries, Francophone countries’ first television broadcasters were controlled and directed by governments. Ba (1996) asserts that all Francophone televisions were regulated by structure and laws that were copied from France. Two models were adopted: public institutions directly controlled by the Ministry of Communication (and/or

Information) or independent corporations. The structure established after independence remained in place until the late 1980s, when technological and regulation changes modified French media policies and strategies with direct repercussions on Francophone

West African television broadcasters. (A later discussion in this work will center on the role of France in providing equipment and training, an important fact in the theoretical discussion of this study.)

Transnational Television in Sub-Saharan Africa

As in many other countries, Francophone countries’ first television broadcasters were controlled and directed by governments (Ziegler & Asante, 1992). State control was displayed in the news structure. Bourgault (1995) posits that African television in the

1970s served as the president’s (or ruling party’s) “personal address system” or as an inexpensive entertainment-provider. Strong government control of media in Sub-Saharan

Francophone Africa continued until the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, in the early 54

1990s, several factors initiated a transformation of the African mediascape. These factors included the deployment of satellite broadcasting, changes in media regulation and laws, and the political democratization of Sub-Saharan Africa (Ba, 1996; Bourgault, 1995;

Chalaby, 2005; Eribo & Jong-Ebot, 1997; Hydén et al., 2002). Myton and Teer-Tomasell

(2005) note that African space for transnational television broadcasters became open due to television technology, telecommunications, and information technology, coupled with the liberalization of media. Although new technologies’ role in the change in the Sub-

Saharan African mediascape is acknowledged, political democratization in the early

1990s is seen as the most influential. Hydén (2002) describes the 1990s political change as the second wave of democratization (considering the first 30 years of independence as the first wave). Recent studies of Sub-Saharan African media discuss the consequences of the democratization process on media ownership, media freedom, and the overall transformation of the mediascape. More specifically in Francophone Sub-Saharan

Africa, the “national conferences” initiated in Benin in February 1990 and emulated in several other Francophone countries instigated political democratization (Hydén et al.,

2002). Peal Robinson (1994) describes national conferences as political forums regrouping the political class and the educated elite of civil society. Robinson (1994) posits that the political outcomes varied. In some cases these outcomes led to a change of regime; in others, the incumbents succeeded in retaining power by manipulating either the conference or the multiparty elections following the conference. Liberalization of media laws and regulations did occur in most of Francophone Sub-Saharan African countries, despite the mix of outcome, regime change, democratic election, or 55 manipulated elections in favor of former authoritarian (or one-party) regimes. Hydén

(2002) argues that the 1990s political transformation in Africa highlighted freedom of speech and facilitated the development of privately owned media in most African countries. As with the national conferences, outcomes of media law and regulation changes induced a diversity of results. Nyamnjoh (2005) states that “in December 1990, competition in broadcasting was legalized in principle, but government vacillated for ten years in setting the criteria for obtaining a franchise” (p. 151). In Benin, new private radio stations did not start broadcasting until 1997–1998, seven years after the national conference (Hydén et al., 2002; Tudesq, 2002).

Despite resistance or slow response by governments to an effective liberalization of electronic media, radio, and television, Sub-Saharan African countries’ broadcasting has never been totally limited to a government’s own media. In fact, the tight control of media by governments has led to the popularity of international short-wave radio stations such as Voice of America, Radio France International, and the British Broadcasting

Corporation in most of Sub-Saharan Africa (Bourgault, 1995; Hydén et al., 2002).

Besides illustrating the relative limits of government control over the electronic media, international short wave radio demonstrated very early how broadcasting technologies were already capable of reaching audiences across borders in spite of official government control over national media. Vicky Randall (1993) argues that in Africa, given the cost and ineffectiveness, jamming the signal was not an option. Similar to short wave radio, the development of new broadcasting technologies, cable, and satellite television limited the effectiveness of government control over international television broadcasting. 56

Myton and Teer-Tomasell (2005) posits that in July 2002, some 250 channels were transmitted by 22 satellites over Africa. As result, these satellite channels were potentially accessible with the appropriate receiver, decoder, or satellite dish. Moreover, these satellite channels could cover geographic zones that local television broadcasting could not reach. In fact, as Bourgeault (1995) notes, in terms of local television broadcasting, Africa is the continent the least covered by television transmitters. The de facto competition introduced by transnational television had to be addressed by governments. Consequently most of them rewrote their regulations on media and removed the monopoly of state-owned media. In time, private radio and television were encouraged: in Gabon, in 1988; in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, in 1991; in Senegal,

Mali, and Benin, in 1992 (Ba, 1996). By the late 1980s, more than 30 satellite television stations were broadcasting all over Africa (Ba, 1996). Governments’ control over the air was challenged by satellite television broadcasting and made the state-owned television broadcasting monopoly less appropriate. The development of new television broadcasting technologies were also reflected in the early technical cooperation established between

France and Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa countries. The effects of new television broadcasting technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa occurred within a broader context of the global transformation of television broadcasting. Given the technical relations between

France and television broadcasting in most of the Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa countries, it is necessary to understand how new television broadcasting technology effects in France reflect on Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa. 57

Until 1982, only three government-owned television broadcasters (TF1, Antenne

2, and France Regions) were broadcasting in France. Prior to the 1990s’ Sub-Saharan

African mediascape transformation, private radio and television were allowed to compete with the government-owned media (Vines, 1991). With the so-called “le Paysage

Audioviel Francais (PAF),” the French mediascape went through a rapid transformation of private deregulation and privatization. In 1984, Canal+, the first cable pay-per-view television, was launched, followed by La 5 and M6 in 1985. In 1986, the first government-owned television (TF1) was privatized (Vines). Although the domestic transformation of PAF did not directly affect French international broadcasting, PAF highlights a period of transformation in French media strategy. Indeed, as argued by

Mytton, Teer-Tomaselli, and Tudesq (2005), the domination of international satellite television by English-speaking countries pushed France to reform its international media system. The creation of TV5 in 1983 and then Canal France International (CFI) in 1989 provided France the international component needed to supply programs to Francophone television via satellite (Ba, 1996). Ba also mentions that Canal France International’s aim was to replace (by satellite broadcasting) the taped system initially used to deliver French programs to Francophone Africa. To ensure delivery of Canal France International programming, France paid the fee for satellite transmission and the ground-air-ground fee and offered the reception material as well (Bourgault, 1995). Between 1989 and 1990, numerous countries (Ba) were equipped to received Canal France International: Benin,

Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central

African Republic, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, and other Lusophone countries such as 58

Cape Verde, Mozambique, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea. Canal France International provided programs only to state-owned television stations that rebroadcast part (or all) of the hours recorded. Ba surmises that 20% to 80% of Sub-Saharan African government- owned TV programs are from Canal France International. But this trend has evolved as

Canal France International has extended the beneficiaries of its program to some privately-owned television broadcasters in several African countries, Francophone, and

(increasingly), Anglophone and Lusophone. Canal France International is a major supplier and partner of most government-owned television broadcasters in Francophone

Africa. The Canal France International website (Canal France International, 2008a) states that “Francophone Africa is the first market of CFI; 27 Francophone televisions channels use about 50 hours of programming a month that represent the heart of their programming.”

Canal France International initially developed a double approach for the African television audience:

• A “bank of images” delivering, via satellite, hours of encrypted programs

to Francophone African television.

• Direct broadcasting of Canal France International TV (CFITV) programs

via cable of MMDS or satellite dishes.

Thierry Lancien (2004) argues that Canal France International should opt for a form of Voice of France to present a French perspective of international news and compete with CNN and BBC. The bank of images supplies content to government-owned televisions while, since 1992, Canal France International TV (CFITV) has carried its own 59 programs to the audience via cable and satellite reception. However, as part of French cooperation with Francophone Africa, Canal France International also supports African production and helps to broadcast African-produced news from different countries; CFI also collaborates in coproduction projects (Lancien, 2004). Canal France International as a television channel stopped broadcasting in December, 1993 (Lancien, 2004). Initially,

TV5 Europe joined the air in Francophone Africa in 1992. TV5 televised programs as

TV5 International (TV5I) and was a patchwork of France, Quebec-Canada, French

Belgium, France and Switzerland. TV5I (under the leadership of France and in agreement with other industrialized French-speaking countries) grew out of the desire to extend TV5 to Africa (Ba, 1996). Lancien posits that the TV5 concept surfaced from the French

Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982 and was motivated more by diplomatic affairs than by business concerns. Ba confirms the political aspect of TV5 and notes that TV5 was established to reinforce France as a cultural entity and to counterbalance the English (US) cultural influence. In 1994, with the development of satellite broadcasting (and the satellite Stationar covering the whole African continent), TV5 Afrique was launched in

Senegal (Ba, 1996). New technologies, such as the Multichannel Multipoint Distribution

Service (MMDS), facilitated access to African viewers in 51 French-speaking countries.

The same satellite technologies already adopted by Canal+ in France and Europe opened the African market to CanalSat Horizons, which followed TV5 Afrique in supplying

Francophone Africa with French or Francophone programs. CanalSat Horizons (the international branch of Canal+, the France first pay-per-view television in France), became the first in Francophone Africa. CanalSat Horizons started broadcasting in 1991 60 in Senegal (Dioh, 2009). In 2002 it launched the first “bouquet” of more than 20 radio stations and television channels that could be received by satellite dish in Côte d’Ivoire

(Ba, 1996; Teer-Tomaselli & Tudesq, 2005). Today it is available by subscription throughout Francophone Africa, as well as in some Portuguese-speaking and English- speaking countries. CanalSat Horizons is received by antenna, MMDS, or RDS (satellite dish). The satellite dishes needed to receive TV5I and CFITV are becoming more available and affordable in major cities. Francophone Africa had more that 50,000 satellite dishes in 1992, only four year after their introduction (Ba, 1996).

Today Canal France International remains the only bank of images that also supplies Anglophone and Portuguese-speaking countries. CFI displays a clear intention to expand to every country of Africa (Francophone or not) and defines itself as a media- development agency that favors the emergence of African local media (Canal France

International, 2008a).

The French media reforms—and transformations of the PAF—affected

Francophone Africa more for political and diplomatic motives (and later, business motives) than for communication or audiovisual aims. New broadcasting technologies have been critical in facilitating the transition. For example, TV5 Afrique, CanalSat

Horizons, and free hours of programming by Canal France International significantly increased the supply of French-produced content to Francophone Africa. The conjunction of the French audiovisual foreign policy and the political transformation and media reforms in Francophone Africa contributed to the shaping of a new mediascape unlike the one existing prior to the 1990s. Although the changes in mediascape are often discussed 61 from a democratization perspective, the changes in mediascape in Francophone Sub-

Saharan Africa were also instigated by technology changes in television broadcasting and the transformation of French international media strategies. The satellite dish needed to receive TV5I is becoming more available and affordable in the major cities. As initially mentioned by Ba (1996), after the adoption of satellite television, Francophone Africa grows exponentially, just a few years after the technology’s introduction. Paterson

(Paterson, 1998, p. 547) mention that the merging of the French conglomerate Canal+ with South African Multichoice, and in partnership with Nethold, placed the group in a dominant position in Africa satellite broadcasting. South Africa’s Multichoice and Africa

TV are the two main suppliers of television packages to Anglophone Africa. Myton and

Teer-Tomasell (2005) note that most of Multichoice and TV Africa program providers are outside Africa. Since the time of Paterson’s study of satellite television, broadcasting in Africa has continuously evolved over the years. In fact, Lenoble-Bart and Tudesq

(2008) acknowledge the frequent changes occurring in African mediascape.

Besides the penetration of African television air by foreign satellite television broadcasters, Canal+ and local private television broadcasters emerged as a result of political democratization and broadcasting deregulation. Paterson (1998) argues that private local broadcasters have strong connections with governments, officials, and ruling parties. He provides the example of a former football player, Christian Laginde, who held a ministerial position after creating La Cellule 2 (LC2), a private broadcasting station in

Benin. This station, in addition to being a good illustration of the private television 62 broadcaster-and-government connection, also became a player in the connection between football and television in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sport in Television in Sub-Saharan Africa

Myton and Teer-Tomaselli (2005), in their analysis of French transnational television programming content, argue that sports content represents 6.3% of Canal

France International (CFI) programs and 25% of Canal Horizon programs. The sport proportion in Canal Horizon and Canal France International’s content broadcast in

Francophone Africa supports the argument that sport is the glue of global media made by

News Corporation.

From technical assistance for training and hardware to content supply, French television has been a constant partner and provider of sport content in Francophone television. The history of sport in Francophone West Africa, the colonial and postcolonial migration of African athletes, and the role of France in television demonstrate the constant intervention of France in Francophone West African sport and television. These facts call for reference to a theoretical framework with a perspective that addresses neocolonialism, transnational television, and sport, such as Thomas McPhail's electronic colonialism theory (2006) .

Electronic Colonialism Theory (ECT)

Addressing European colonialism, McPhail (2006) defines global colonialism as an empire built by colonizing other nations or populations. He establishes the four epochs of global colonialism, as follows: 63

1. Military colonialism, BC–1000 AD–Greco-Roman Empire: Most modern

Europe and North Africa

2. Christian colonialism, 1000–1600: Christian crusades with Catholic Pope

3. Mercantile colonialism, 1600–1950: Industrial revolution, European powers

(Great Britain, France, Spain, etc.)

4. Electronic colonialism, 1950–present (2006)

The fourth epoch, electronic colonialism, is defined as follows:

Electronic colonialism represents the dependent relationship of poorer regions on the post-industrial nations established by the importation of communication hardware and foreign-produced software, along with engineers, technicians, and related information protocols that establish a set of foreign cultures, habits, values and socialization processes. From comic books to satellites, computers to fax machines, CDs and DVDs, to the internet, a wide range of information technologies makes it easy to send and thus receive information. (McPhail, 2006, p.19 )

According to McPhail (2006), electronic colonialism represents the most recent form of colonialism. Although most African countries gained their political independence in late 1950s and early 1960s, McPhail believes that electronic colonialism started in the

1950s and still exists. This theory suggests that as a form of colonialism, electronic colonialism has survived political decolonization. Defining and discussing electronic colonialism theory raises the question of how the media relationship between developing countries and Western post-industrialized countries carries colonial characteristics. The following discussion includes postwar geopolitics (and other theories or concepts such as cultural imperialism dependency and modern world-system theory) and thus provides a necessary framework within which to discuss McPhail’s electronic colonialism concept. 64

The first two epochs, military and Christian colonialism, presented military and religious motives for the domination of a limited geographic area, often in the proximity of the colonizer. McPail (2006) associates mercantile colonialism with the industrial revolution in Europe and resulting expansions for mineral and agricultural material. The first three epochs of colonialism are related to controlling land for religious reasons or agricultural and mineral resources. McPail connects electronic colonialism to the post-

World War II era, which coincided with the rise of developing nationalism while the

West was transforming into service-based information economies. The prevalence of telecommunications and computer technology in service economies has rendered national borders obsolete and transformed the military, religious, and mercantile colonialism of the past into electronic colonialism (2006). Mind control of the colonized people is, through values and purchasing patterns, another characteristic of electronic colonialism as seen by McPhail. Such control occurs through values and purchasing patterns, in contrast with the military, religious, or mercantile control from the previous epochs of colonialism.

The post-World War II transformation of colonialism and the stakeholders in telecommunication and media are determinant factors for understanding how mercantile colonialism evolved into electronic colonialism. Important factors such as the emergence of the US as an economic and military power and the development of telecommunications and media technology contribute to the shaping of electronic colonialism. 65

Indeed, the question of electronic media as an international political instrument became visible and significant when national government electronic media services [such as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Voice of America (VOA), or Radio

Canada International] established multi-lingual broadcasting to counter communist strategy while promoting Western-designed democracy, free press, and free speech

(2006). Herman and McCheney state that “it was in the postwar years that the contours of the contemporary global media system became apparent (1997). Most of African territories, still under European colonization, did not have their own media systems and could not be part of the shaping of the global media system” (p.23).

The inception of electronic colonialism coincides with the emergence of decolonization movements in Africa. In fact, the post-World War II climate transformed the political environment in African colonies. Prior to the end of the war, the Atlantic

Charter and later the United Nations Title IX declared the right of all people to choose their governments and leaders (Coquery-Vidrovitch & Goerg, 1992). The call for self- governance and liberation of colonized populations increased after the war. Chandler

(1988) mentions the specific suggestion of the American Secretary of State, Cordell Hull, who advocated the placing of colonial empires under international trusteeship. In parallel, the international call for self-governance of colonized populations became more insistent.

Although the push for decolonization in most African countries increased after War

World II, the end of mercantile colonialism and the military and religious role in colonized societies in Africa continued beyond 1950. Clearly McPhail’s chronology is not absolute (implying the end of mercantile colonialism a few years after World War II 66 and the beginning of electronic colonialism). The progressive emergence and increasing prevalence of the electronic media added new forms of colonization to the contested and declining mercantile colonization. Indeed, after World War II, the emergence of the US as a “dominant and imperial center” (Raghavan, 1993) and the increasing importance of media shaped a new system (“the global media system”). The US as a dominant center and its push for the free-flow of information became important factors in the shaping of contemporary global media. Schiller (1976) says, “As we look back, it is not evident that the historical coincidence of these two phenomena—the policy of free flow of information and the imperial ascendancy of the United States—was not fortuitous” (p.1).

Schiller, in his analysis of these two factors (the free-flow of media and US imperial ascendancy), introduced and then defined the concept of cultural imperialism. This concept became one of the common references in studies of the political economy of global media. Media flow became, then, a post-colonial or post-independence international concern. Roach (1997) posits that the concept of cultural imperialism emerged in the late 1960s and was placed on the international agenda by the Non-Aligned

Movement in the early 1970s. Along the same lines, Herman and McChesney (1997) argue that by 1970s, a global media system (profit-driven and dominated by advanced capitalist nations) was increasingly visible. “For the first time, global politics dealt with the social implications of the emerging global media system” (p.23). Media and communication then integrated the post-world-war global political stake as well as debates about imperialism and anti-imperialism. Herman and McChesney state that “at its strongest, the Movement of Non-Aligned Nations (NAM) critique of global media was 67 linked to a critique of global capitalism and economic imperialism; the global media were seen as working primarily to serve Transnational Corporations (TNC) and advertisers, thus reinforcing inequalities of the global economy” (p.24). Their statements describing the debate about media and communication in the 1970s provide a political economy argument—an argument that the McBride Commission report confirmed with its attempt to create a New World of Information and Communication Order by reducing global media inequalities.

The Non-Aligned Movement rationalized the necessity of the New World

Information and Communication Order by an imbalanced flow of media content indicative of cultural imperialism. In other words, McPhail (2006) argues, the final New

World Information and Communication Order is to give less-developed countries (LCD) greater control over their cultural “systems” (media, information, economy, culture, and politics). The good intentions of the New World Information and Communication Order nevertheless fell short after the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) withdrew from the proposal and both the US and Great Britain withdrew from UNESCO (1997) in 1985. The partisan debate that took place at the

UNESCO illustrates the political significance of media in international relations, development, and politics.

It is interesting to see the comments generated by the International Commission for the Study of Communication Problems Report [also known as the McBride Report

(UNESCO, 1980)]. One can also look at the reactions to the attempt to establish the New

World Information and Communication Order. The reactions to these two events 68 demonstrated the political and economic importance of media and communications.

Further, these reactions illustrate the technological and economic asymmetry between industrialized, predominantly European countries (and the US) with predominantly

African Asian and South American developing countries. The New World Information and Communication Order deliberations and cultural imperialism debate demonstrate the domination over media flows that the US, Great Britain, and other developed countries

(such as France and Japan) have established since the 1950s.

This domination, which McPhail (2006) named electronic colonialism, connects two concepts linked to European colonization: dependency and the economic dichotomy of poor and rich nations or regions. Furthermore, McPhail clearly expresses how a

Modern World-System provides the concepts, ideas, and language for structuring international communication (as well as the dependency theory). In addition to McPhail’s references to the Modern World-System, the literature contains other references to this system. There are regular references in the literature to factors such as capitalism, core, semi-periphery, and periphery. The literature discusses the political economy of transnational or global media, emphasizing the significance and pertinence of Immanuel

Wallerstein’s Modern World-System (1974) and providing an analysis of the electronic colonialism theory.

The Modern World-System as developed by Immanuel Wallerstein (1974) provides the necessary elements for a better understanding of the relationship between world system theory and electronic colonialism theory. European colonial expansion (in association with the Modern World-System) was initiated during the 16th century. This 69

expansion logically connects European colonialism and the Modern World-System. Adda

(1998) posits that European global expansion began in the 16th century, often acquiring

areas by force. Adda used the term European Modern World-System, which equates to

Wallerstein's term Modern World-System.

As previously noted, Wallerstein (1974) asserts that the Modern World-System,

as a worldwide economic system, originated in the 16th century; but the era is counted from 1450 to 1640. The era was referred to by Fernand Braudel as the “long 16th century” (1979, p. 63). In fact, situating this “long century” into McPhail’s various colonialism eras requires putting it between Christian colonialism and mercantile colonialism. Braudel’s (1979) “world-economies” (les economies-mondes) promoted the idea behind Wallerstein’s Modern World-System by describing the historical birth of world-economies, their fundamental structure, and their geographic and temporal evolution. Nevertheless, Braudel acknowledged the existence of world-economies even prior to the “long 16th century.” Like Braudel, Andre Gunter Frank (1992) also mentioned the prevalence of world-systems prior to the long 16th century. Gunter Frank states that “the hegemony in the world system did not begin in Europe after 1500, but that it shifted to Europe in the course of hegemonic crises and decline in the East of the same world system.” Philipe Norel (2008), in discussing the Eurocentrism of Wallerstein’s

Modern World-System, posits that Janet L. Abu-Lughod was the first scholar to establish the existence of a world-system in Asia between 1250 and 1350. Both Gunter Frank and

Norel criticize the Eurocentrism of Wallerstein’s Modern World-System, the inception of which coincides with the socio-economic transformation of Europe from feudalism to 70 capitalism. To the contrary, critics such as Skocpol (1977) and Bremmer

(1997) mentioned the lack of explanation for the emergence of Europe as the core group. Skocpol (1977) states that the model is based on a two-step reduction: first a reduction of socio-economic structure determined by world market opportunities and technological production possibilities; and second, a reduction of state structures and policies determined by dominant class interests. Skocpol raises historical issues and criticizes the Modern World-System theory for not providing rational explanations about what that led Europeans societies to evolve from feudalism to capitalism. Skocpol also is critical of an unsatisfactory historical evolution of capitalism. Skocpol also claims that the Modern World-System is static and that the theory does not explain how capitalism evolved, once established. As mentioned by Giovanni Arrighi (1997), Skocpol criticizes the Wallerstein Modern World-System for not emphasizing the role of strength and the politico-military competition of nation-states. She further faulted Wallerstein’s Modern

World-System for overlooking the internal dynamic of European nation-states constituting the core. Bremmer’s critics [mentioned by Arrighi (1997)] points out the absence of a social class dynamic in the construction of the Modern World-System. Most of these critics underline historical and structural disagreements and limitations of the

Modern World-System from a Marxist and Eurocentric analysis of Wallerstein’s depiction of the capitalist system. These critics suggest that Wallerstein’s theory may require being more specific in describing the world-system and its components. Adda

(1998) partially addresses this concern, as previously mentioned, by instead labeling the

Wallerstein’s Modern World-System the “European Modern World-System.” Adda thus 71 implicitly acknowledges the existence of other world-systems and the European specificity of the one developed by Wallerstein.

In conclusion, the 16th century, followed by colonial conquests, modified the geography of the Modern World-System by necessarily integrating colonized economies.

Although the theory was built with Europe as the center, Wallerstein's Modern World-

System incorporated a global dimension shaped and structured by French, Spanish,

British, Dutch, and Portuguese colonial conquests.

The derived structure as described by Adda (1998) has a strong hierarchy that defines and characterizes a world-economy system (as elaborated by Wallerstein since

1974). These hierarchical entities, labeled core, semi-periphery, and periphery, are defined by multiple related factors (history, geography, economy, and politics).

Core, Semi-periphery, and Periphery

From an historical perspective, as previously discussed, Wallerstein (1974)

defines the Modern World-System as a single system structure. This structure is made up

of a core, a semi-periphery, and a periphery. It emerged from the mercantile expansion

of Europe during the “long 16th century” and the colonialism era that followed. Adda

(1998) explains that to Wallerstein, any system including division of labor and

transnational is defined as a world-system. Shuurman (1993) defines the system’s core as

industrialized countries, and the periphery as the agricultural and mineral export

countries. Wallerstein (1974) details other factors such as wages and value-added to

define core and periphery, and hegemony of the core. The periphery generally has lower

wages and periphery citizens need to work more hours to afford products from the core. 72

From the same perspective, Amin (1997) [as cited in Martinyssen (1997)] describes the periphery economy as dominated by an “over-developed” export sector with a small manufacturing sector for mass consumption. By contrast, the core is characterized as manufacturing; it controls the means of production and goods for mass consumption. Furthermore, Amin says that the capacity to compete in the world market determines nations’ positions in the world-system. Consequently, in order for the center to maintain its hegemony, the center uses five monopolies. These monopolies include technology, media, and communications. Amin’s reference to technologies, media, and communications as among the important monopolies of Wallerstein's core-periphery structure in the modern world-economy reinforces the association between McPhail’s electronic colonialism (2006) theory and Wallerstein’s Modern World-System (1974).

Yet challenges raised by the emergence of the Southeast Asian tigers and the Brazilian economies (and more specifically, in the world media), the emergence of networks such as Al Jazeera, Al Arabia, and Multichoice in South Africa force us to consider differences and readjustments in applying the Modern World-System within the contemporary development of world media.

So initially, the theory explained a simple dichotomy of industrialized versus agricultural- and mineral-export countries, associated with a simplified image of a core and a periphery. Since, the theory has generated a continuous discussion of readjustments from Wallerstein and many other authors. Wallerstein’s semi-periphery is the category that encompasses newly industrialized nations in his world-economy system. The factor of capital was added to wages, production, means, and goods to theorize about the semi- 73 periphery and explain the differences among the core, the semi-periphery, and the periphery. Amin (2004) argues that the post-World War II period (1940–1990) has shown the erosion of the old core-periphery model with the industrialization of part of the initial periphery in Asia and Latin America (which established a semi- periphery). Furthermore, Amin (2004) explains that the erosion of the present world- system is due to two new elements: erosion of the auto-centered nation-state, and erosion of the divided industrialized/non-industrialized regions with the emergence of new dimensions of polarization. Amin (2004) claims that countries’ competitiveness in the world market defines their position in the new hierarchy. One aspect of this new polarization is the notion of two peripheries: the active periphery and the marginalized periphery (Wallerstein, 2004) . Amin’s division of the periphery as an active periphery and a marginalized periphery provides a more comprehensive delineation of global and transnational media with Africa in the framework of McPhail’s electronic colonialism theory. Amin suggests that analysis of the five monopolies exercised by the

Europe/USA/Japan triad defines the distinction between core and periphery. Furthermore, he states that in fact all the regions of the world (including so-called “marginalized”

Africa) are equally integrated into the global system. He explains (2004) that they are integrated into the system in different ways. To Amin, the concept of marginalization is a false concept. Instead of asking to what degree the various regions are integrated, Amin would ask, “In what way are they integrated?” One of the ways electronic colonialism depicts the terms of countries’ integration into the world system is dependency, a factor that links the poorer nations to richer ones. The history of television in Francophone 74

Africa (discussed previously in the section, “Television in Francophone Sub-Saharan

Africa”) shows aspects of the dependency addressed by McPhail in defining electronic colonialism.

In fact, as presented by Ba (1996), the content and hardware assistance received by all Francophone countries to start their television broadcasting (see

) demonstrates the initial dependency upon countries defined as core countries by the Modern World-System. The content was supplied by Canal France International and

France. The predominant language, training, and technology was supplied by France or other core countries. These facts show the ways Francophone African countries were dependent upon France and the relevance of approaching this study of the electronic colonialism theory as the theoretical framework.

The research methodology discussed in following sections builds on the review of literature that did not address or discuss several themes necessary to answer the research question. Several themes in the literature contribute to the framing of this study’s research methodology: the relationship between football-governing bodies and existing broadcasters; local, continental, and European football broadcasting; political economies; and the role of African football labor migration. 75

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This study seeks to show how the transcending of borders and regulations by transnational football television broadcasting illustrates electronic colonialism in

Francophone Africa. The research question is simply this: “How does broadcasting of football and transnational television contribute to electronic colonialism in Francophone

Africa?” This section explains the methodological strategies employed in collecting the necessary and relevant data to respond to the research question. As an exploratory and descriptive study, this research examines how football federations in Côte d’Ivoire and

Senegal collaborate with national or transnational television broadcasters. Numerous factors determined and influenced the elaboration and methodology of the research and how the study was conducted. Among these factors were the following: the inherent cultural and socio-economic environment; the mediascape; the football broadcasting rights acquisition by public and local private television broadcasters; local media and marketing groups.

Research Sites

This section discusses the choice of research sites for this study. Sites were chosen to discover facts about the history of sport and football in Francophone Africa; the contemporary performance of football teams; migrant players in various European clubs; and countries’ economic characteristics. Although Francophone Africa involves 17 countries (among which are 14 former French colonies), the number of cases encompasses some aspects of the diversity of Francophone Africa football in relation to national and transnational television broadcasters, economic size and football teams, and 76 players’ performances. The research sites cover five countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal,

Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon.

Selection of Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal as research sites for this study is critical in several ways: because of their history, their current economic preeminence in comparison to the other African Francophone countries, and the post-independence performance of their football teams and players. As explained by Deville-Danthu (1997), Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal were the primary beneficiaries of French colonial investment in sport development in Francophone West Africa. Additionally, Côte d’Ivoire football clubs and the national team’s performance have been the most consistent among Francophone West

African countries. According to statistics by Dreyfus (2004), Côte d’Ivoire is the only country in this category that has participated in all major African football competitions since independence (pp. 413–417). Moreover, ASEC Abidjan is the only Francophone

West African club ranked among the top ten clubs in Africa from 1964 to 2003 (pp. 413–

417). The television aspect in Côte d’Ivoire is limited to the national government-owned

Radio Television Ivoirienne (RTI), one of the first Francophone television broadcasters in

Africa. Côte d’Ivoire is among the largest Francophone economies, with the second largest GDP and GDP per capita in the region (UNDP, 2009).

Unlike Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal does not enjoy an exceptional football club or national team success in Africa. Nevertheless, the important presence of Senegalese players in various European championships and the national team participation at the

FIFA World Cup in 2002 demonstrate the importance of Senegal in African football.

Senegal has more football players in European first and second leagues than any other 77

Francophone African country (Dreyfus, 2007). Senegal also presents an interesting mediascape because it has a national government-owned television broadcaster and several privately run television broadcasters and media groups. Further, Senegal is the fourth-largest economy in Francophone Africa in regard to its GDP and GDP per capita.

Like Senegal, Cameroon is in the same category of a comparatively large economy and notable football performance. Undeniably, Cameroon is comparable to

Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal in terms of football performance and economic size. It was chosen as a research site because Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Cameroon are the first three suppliers of players to European leagues (Dreyfus, 2007). Cameroon has the largest GDP and GDP per capita in Francophone Africa. Collecting data in Cameroon, Senegal, and

Côte d’Ivoire is a valid and noteworthy choice.

Benin and Burkina Faso have different football performance and economic profiles compared to Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon. Benin and Burkina Faso are included as research sites of this study to provide economic and sport-achievement balance. They are smaller economies with less football achievement in regard to their clubs and national team performance. Each country has a limited number of players in

European leagues. Including Benin and Burkina Faso in this study provided the possibility to answer the research question in countries with different economic profiles and football achievement in Africa.

Research Design

This study has parameters determined by the research question, the research sites, the gaps identified in the existing literature, and the research process. A combination of 78 qualitative research tools provided and discussed by several authors (M. E. Amin, 2005;

Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2007; Creswell, 1994; Wimmer, Dominick, Kerlinger, &

Lee, 2003) supplied the necessary instruments to design the study. The study’s purpose defined the research design; as Cohen et al. have noted, “the purpose of the researcher determines the methodology and the design of the research” (p. 78). Furthermore, Amin argues that the researcher must be prepared to adapt the design as the research progresses

(p. 46). The purpose of this study required a research design that remained flexible enough to adjust to the diversity of the field. Indeed, given a research question that solicits knowledge from different organizations (football, television) and countries

(Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon) the research strategy selected allowed the researcher to adapt to various political, cultural, and organizational settings as well as to the logistics in place in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.

Research Strategy

Although covering several countries, the fieldwork concentrated specifically in

Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. In regard to the discussion by several authors (M. E. Amin,

2005; Cohen et al., 2007; Creswell, 1994; and Wimmer et al., 2003), this project is a case study research strategy. Marshall and Rossman (1999) state that “studies focusing on society and culture, whether a group, a program, or an organization, typically espouse some form of case study as an overall strategy” (p. 60). Furthermore, Yin (1984) explains that a case study format is “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidences are used” (p. 79

13). More specifically, according Michael Bassey’s (1999) case studies typology, this study can be considered a “story-telling and picture-drawing case study, intrinsic case study, or descriptive case” (p. 62). Case studies have a unit focus and also sub-units. In this study, Francophone Africa as a geographic focus is the unit; and Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire are the sub-units of the case study. Conducting this research as a case study involved a research strategy encompassing multiple data sources.

Methods of Data Collection

The research question, the object of this study, and research progress in the field suggested a combination of data collection methods. These methods included in-depth interviewing, observation, document analysis, and media content analysis. Such a combination of methods is referred to as triangulation, which allows one to take advantage of each method’s strengths while compensating for its weaknesses. Thus using triangulation ensured the validity and reliability of the data collected from various sources.

Interviews

The study aimed to understand local and transnational television broadcasting, and the relationship with football in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and other Francophone

African countries from different perspectives. For this reason, the interview method was chosen as the way to collect the data. Jensen (2002) argues that interviewing is one of the most-used methods of data collection in media and communication. Additionally, the interview as “a conversation” for data collection allows sharing and acquiring knowledge

(Kvale, 1996). The conversational characteristic of interviews in qualitative research is 80 described by Marshall and Rossman (1999): “Qualitative, in-depth interviews typically are much more like conversations than formal events with predetermined response categories.” In-depth interviewing of the various categories of participants was selected according to their roles in television broadcasting, football management, and sport media.

Two interview approaches defined by Patton (2002) were used: informal conversational interviews and a general interview guide approach (p. 342).

Structured interviews were necessary to collect such systematic information as demographic and professional information on responsibilities, and organization-related data. As Patton (2002) suggests, an interview guide is necessary, which lists the questions or issues to be explored during the interview (p. 243). The guide includes the subjects and topics defined by the research question. The structured component of each interview goal was to collect data primarily as information.

The objective of the nonstructured informal information conversation interview was to record opinions and personal analyses of interviewees. The informal conversational interview (unstructured interviewing) was not predetermined. Kwale

(1996) notes that many methodical decisions and analyses have to be made on the spot while conducting such type of interview (p. 13). This interview method allows for more flexibility, which is potentially conducive to opinion and perception expression. Patton

(2002) suggests that a nonstructured informal conversational interview offers flexibility, spontaneity, and responsiveness (p. 243).

As the interviewer, I resorted to nonstructured informal conversation in numerous instances during the data-collection process. I looked for and used every opportunity, 81 such as watching the live game of the semi-final of the European “Champions Leagues” competition between Britain’s Chelsea and Spain’s FC Barcelona. An unplanned lunch in the cafeteria of the national television in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire provided a data- collection opportunity. While waiting for scheduled interviews at the Walfadjiri media group headquarters in Dakar, Senegal, I was able to conduct an informal interview with a journalist. Participation in Senegal in a roundtable on basketball, organized by the nonprofit organization Sport for Education and Economic Development (SEED), gave me the opportunity to talk informally with journalists attending the press conference. As suggested by Patton (2002), informal conversation and discussion during my fieldwork provided opportunities for valuable data collection triangulated by formal interviews and other methods involved in the study (p. 243). In order to take advantage of each type of interview, informal conversational interviews and the general interview guide approach were consistently involved in the data-collection process.

Interviewing

Interviewing constituted the most-used method of the data collection process.

This process occurred at five distinct sites: Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon. The fieldwork in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal involved face-to-face in- depth interviews, while phone interviews were employed for Benin, Burkina Faso, and

Cameroon. Although France was not considered one of the study’s research sites, the dispersal and explanatory characteristics of the study led to additional interviews with participants in Paris. 82

All interviews and conversations occurred in formal French, the official language of instruction in all former French colonies. As a French-speaker, I faced no language barrier. A network of former basketball teammates, former classmates from Senegal and

Côte d’Ivoire contributed immensely to ease access to interviewees.

The geographic scope of the data collection strongly influenced the instruments used to conduct the interviews. In addition to the face-to-face interviews conducted during the fieldwork in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, phone interviews allowed for interview participants in scattered geographical locations. Once I returned to the US,

Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) was used for some interviews with respondents in

France, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso.

The facilitating role of communication technology in the field was significant.

Cellular phone use in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire has become widespread. Having a cellular phone and number at the very beginning of my field research facilitated communication with respondents and made all scheduling and rescheduling flexible and adjustable. One interview that had been rescheduled several times in Senegal was finally conducted by phone.

In addition to purposeful sampling, the so-called snowball qualitative research sampling techniques supplied the study with additional participants. Contacts with purposefully selected interview participants for interviews were negotiated through colleagues. Once in the field, this purposeful list snowballed into additional participants in scheduling the meetings. With a few phone calls, later meetings could be scheduled.

Only a few meetings were cancelled, delayed, or rescheduled by the interviewees. 83

Selection of Study Participants

The research question formed the categories of participants selected for this study.

The fundamentals of this selection are emphasized by Marshall and Rossman (1999) who state: “well-developed sampling decisions are crucial for any study’s soundness. Making logical judgment and presenting a rationale for these decisions go far in building the overall case for a proposed study” (p. 72). Overall, the participants were at various levels affiliated with newspapers or television, or with football: management players, referees, former players, coaches, or fans. The respondents were selected or recommended with respect to the purpose of the study and the resources available. Review of the literature related to European football and transnational television directed the sampling towards a diverse range of respondents.

Television managers from local private and public television broadcasting were knowledgeable about their organizations’ collaboration with national or international football and their competitive relationships with local and transnational competition (such as the CanalSat Horizons satellite package or TV5). Television managers also were able to explain their position vis-á-vis the broadcasting rights owned by transnational marketing and media firms and the increasing implication of cellular phone corporate sponsorship in football broadcasting.

Sports journalists from television broadcasting or newspapers were interviewed to provide a field description and understanding of football broadcasting in their organizations as well as their perspectives and rational for selecting football content to broadcast. They also provided their views about the implications for local football of 84 transnational television broadcasting of international competitions. Their knowledge offered an opportunity to discuss plausible solutions to address any negative impact.

Interviewing Football Federations’ management provided a different facet of the relationship between football and television broadcasters. These managers were familiar with the broadcasting rights’ negotiations with local or transnational television broadcasters. National football managers provided their personal perspectives about the impact of transnational television broadcasting on sport and their opinions or suggestions for the upcoming years.

The study used purposeful sampling in its selection of directors of television broadcasting organizations, heads of sport sections of national or private television, and heads of football federations. Gaining entry to such interviewees constituted one of the main challenges to this study. Once my traveling dates were confirmed (but prior to my arrival on site), a network of friends, former college classmates, or basketball teammates established preliminary contacts and arranged appointments with selected participants in

Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. Other arrangements, appointments, and meetings were organized once I was in the field. The following participants were purposefully selected:

• Three Senegal National Radio and Television (RTS) senior administrators

• One Benin National Radio and Television (ORTB) senior administrator

• Three National Radio and Television of Côte d’Ivoire senior sport

journalists

• Three Walf TV and media group in Senegal sport journalists

• One Canal Info in Senegal senior sport journalist 85

• A senior journalist and administrator from SuperSport, a sport newspaper

in Côte d’Ivoire

• Senior administrator of the Football Federations in Burkina Faso, Benin,

and Senegal

• Two sport journalists in Burkina Faso

Although predetermined, the categories of interviews remained open and flexible throughout the study. As described previously, opportunities and unplanned encounters can complement the predetermined list of purposefully selected participants.

The second category of respondents was determined by snowball sampling. The nature of snowball sampling led to participants included in the categories established prior the field research but not initially contacted. For example, in Senegal where I was only scheduled to meet the director of national radio and television, three additional participants were recommended to me. Overall, each visit to every television broadcasting facility snowballed into additional participants. The concentration of the media in one building or compound facilitated access to new participants by recommendation or a simple phone call. Snowball sampling was more difficult with federation management participants. Potential participants were often less accessible in the federation facilities or were engaged in sport activities and meetings (and thus were out of their offices). Although football federations have headquarters, the federation chairs or managers are not always full-time employees and often have other professional activities in the private or public sector. Consequently, their demanding schedules and 86 mobility often make arranging interviews a challenge. It took persistence, multiple phone calls, and missed appointments to finally have meetings.

Anecdotally—one of my meetings in Côte d’Ivoire was cancelled at the last minute due to the Chelsea – FC Barcelona match mentioned earlier. The federation vice president I was supposed to meet apologized for missing the meeting. explaining that he had to be home in time to watch the game. We finally managed to reschedule the meeting. Although sometimes I had to reschedule meetings, being in the field provided the opportunity to collect data from observations.

Observations

Yin (2003) states that “by making a field visit to the case study site you are creating the opportunity for direct observations” (p. 92). In fact, being in the field in

Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire provided such an opportunity and the need to collect data from direct observations. Yin characterizes observations as either formal or a casual collection of activities. Observations as a data-collection method in this study were casual, often concerning facts and examples instigated by interviews or conversations. As Yin points out, “observational evidence is useful in providing additional information about the topic being studied (p. 93). In the context of this research, observations were as diverse as live games on television, market displays with European clubs’ and national teams’ merchandising, advertisement bulletin boards, street or bar scenes prior to (or during)

European league games, and sports shows on various television channels. Observations, often triggered and made relevant by information or data from various interviews, provided additional examples of the interrelation of football and local (as well 87 transnational) television broadcasters. My observations supplied additional elements of understanding or illustrated facts initially discussed or commented upon by various participants. Casual observation as a data-collection method, providing a supporting method for triangulating other data-collection methods, applied directly to the research question.

Documents Analysis

Yin (2003) explains that “documentary information is likely to be relevant to every case study topic” (p. 85). Glesne and Peshkin (1992) hold that documents can enrich what you see and hear by “supporting, expanding and challenging your portrayals and perceptions” (p. 54). The relevance and the supporting role of documentation in this study emerged from interviews and conversations. For example, I collected samples of newspapers during fieldwork in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire. Specialized sport newspapers or sports pages and other newspapers, along with official policy documents on media, provided additional data to corroborate or complement interviews, observations, and television content. The increasing Internet versions of many newspapers contributed to a wider sample of newspapers not only from Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, but from other

Francophone countries as well. Websites dedicated to African sports and television web sites also supplied relevant documentation.

Content Analysis

Authors discussing mass-media research methods provide literature on the appropriateness of content analysis in mass-media studies. Bernard Berelson (1952) defined content analysis as “a research technique for the objective, systematic, and 88 quantitative description of the manifest content of communication” (Berelson, 1952).

Hansen et al. (1998) state that content analysis is one method for the systematic analysis of communications content, but that such analysis is by no means the only method for studying media content. More specifically, Wimmer (2006), in presenting the five purposes of content analysis, provides examples of a study used in the traditional descriptive manner (which is to identify what exists). Identifying and describing what exists in terms of television broadcasting and football represent the main rationales for using content analysis for this study. Content analysis is relevant to this study as a method for examining media output and flow. This study looks at the role of international media flow and the content and review of the literature related to the New

World Information and Communication Order. In fact, Hansen et al., referring to

Sreberny-Mohammadi (1997), note the growing use of content analysis as a media research method in studies related to international media flows within a broader discussion of New World Information and Communication, cultural imperialism, development communication, globalization, and traditional and image flow.

The content recording as mentioned by Wimmer (2006) contributes to an inventory of television broadcasting in the selected countries, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal,

Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon. The geographic boundaries as well as the type of broadcasters define what Wimmer and Domminick (2003) consider to be the universe of the boundaries of the content. The boundaries (language, geography, and politics) established by the study define the universe of the boundaries of the content to record.

Nevertheless, a distinction within this universe is necessary for such study. In fact, it is 89 important to distinguish local television broadcasters from satellite or cable broadcasters

(which have no local production infrastructure). Defining the universe in the study emerged from mapping. The study’s mapping consisted of an inventory of television broadcasters and cable or satellite channels accessible as free-to-air or pay-per-view in the selected Sub-Saharan African Francophone countries. This distinction categorized and influenced the timeframe of the content recorded. Although foreign-owned broadcasters are a part of the mediascape of all Francophone African countries, these broadcasters (such as CanalSat Horizons group channels and TV5) with a content principally produced outside the geographic boundaries are considered a different universe by this study.

While content analysis as a method for media output study has advantages, the pertinence and significance of systematic collecting of television content appeared less critical as a method in regard to the research question and the mediascape in various

Francophone African countries. The content analysis is given an illustrative role through the use of several data-collection methods, the significance of discovering and mapping the mediascape in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, tempered by the extent of the qualitative method that complements the content analysis in this research. The main objective of content analysis was to show examples of content to support interviews and qualitative notes. Similar to the illustrative use of television content, samples of specialized sport newspapers are also integral to this study. Although paper media were not the focus of this research, I did analyze sample issues of daily newspapers (such as Wafadjiri in

Senegal) and specialized sports newspapers (such as Walfadjiri Sport and Stade in 90

Senegal, and Supersport in Côte d’Ivoire). Thus some paper media were added as complementary content samples.

Data collection for the media output analysis consisted of sport program recordings. Practically speaking, recording television content posed a technical challenge.

The increasing diffusion of DVD as a video media has supplanted VHS tape players in most households. The initial attempt to make a content recording was confounded by the unavailability of recorders. I envisioned alternative options, such as acquiring television archives from television stations and digital recording through computers. Nevertheless, content recording remained a challenge because of the limited diffusion of home computers with video recording capability and the unavailability of archives from various television stations.

Media content analysis, initially defined as the study’s main research method, occurred but on a smaller scale than anticipated. My collecting of media content from television stations in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon encountered major technical challenges, as did my accessing of limited or unobtainable television archives.

Validation and Credibility

This study makes use of two forms of validation: internal and external validity. As presented by Creswell (1994), internal validity is how a study addresses the accuracy of the information. Multiple methods of data collection and the diversity of participants discussing the same topic (football on television) provided numerous opportunities to validate the information. An additional aid to validation was the use of the triangulation 91 method, utilizing interviews, observations, newspapers, and television output

(specifically in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire). Because my field presence was limited or nonexistent in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon, the secondary data that was collected contributed to providing data for external validity.

As described by Cresswell (1994), external validity means the possible transferability of the findings from a study (p. 158). In the specific case of this research, internal validity represents the transferability of the findings from Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire,

Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon to other Francophone countries. The review of literature on the history of media and sport in Francophone Africa contributes to the triangulation for external validity of this study.

Credibility

Patton and Patton (2002) state that “in qualitative inquiry, the researcher is the instrument. The credibility of qualitative methods, therefore, hinges to a great extent on the skill, competence, and rigor of the person doing fieldwork—as well as things going on in a person's life that might prove a distraction” (p. 14). Additionally, to address the

credulity and neutrality of research, they suggest that the researcher engage in research

with no pre-established result to support, but rather with a dedication to understand (p.

51). My competence and skill level as a researcher were aided by my review of the

literature about how to design research. Further, I initially conducted smaller-scale

research projects on football academies (P. Darby et al., 2007) and sport and international

development (Levermore & Beacom, 2009), experience that also contributed to

improving my competence and skill level as a researcher. The desire to learn and gain 92 the best knowledge possible (with no pre-established results in mind) induced a triangulation of data sources which contributes an additional factor of credible trustworthiness to this research. Indeed, the context of this study of understanding national and transnational television and football in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, and

Francophone Africa in order to answer the main research question has consistently led the research process.

Research Reflections

I will reflect here on my status as a “research instrument.” I am French-speaking, a former athlete originally from Benin, with work/living experience in Côte d’Ivoire. I have had the opportunity to visit several Francophone countries. My affiliation with the region, its culture, language, and history have all contributed to intensify the validity of my data collection. Friends, relatives, and former teammates often made the preliminary contacts, scheduled some appointments and meetings, or provided email addresses or phone numbers for direct contact. This networking helped me bypass potential gatekeepers, especially with high-level interviewees such as national television directors or managers.

Nevertheless, other challenges remained. Given the limited time available in the field in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, my attempt to average two to three interviews a day was a logistical constraint. In fact, the size of African cities such as Dakar, Senegal, and

Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, and limited public transportation presented a challenge exacerbated by time constraints with fieldwork in each country. An active and helpful network of friends and former teammates in the two countries eliminated the need for 93 public transportation and taxis. Nonetheless, traffic jams caused some difficulties in reaching back-to-back interviews. When transportation uncertainties were overcome, punctuality of the participants was sometimes a concern. Some interviews occurred only after one to three reports or missed appointments; others were simply delayed one to two hours for reasons varying from traffic jams to change in plans or unexpected meetings.

The European Champions League semi-final game between Chelsea (England) and

Barcelona (Spain) led to the last-minute cancellation of a meeting in Abidjan. This cancellation prevented my watching the first half of the game but gave me a unique opportunity to observe the street reaction to the game in Treichville, a working-class neighborhood of Abidjan.

Although building trust in this study was as critical as it could be [in what

Marshall and Rossman (1999) refer to as long-term ethnographies requiring sustained and extensive presence], trust remains an important element of the interviews. The role of acquaintances in establishing preliminary contacts and appointments contributed a favorable environment of trust. Nevertheless, it was important to introduce myself as an academic researcher with no journalistic investigative intentions. Moreover, by briefly presenting my experience as former athlete who has played in several West African countries (and who has met players from many other countries) was substantial in building trust with most of my interviewees. From there, recording the conversation was always accepted, but requests that interviewee sign the consent form were consistently ignored or rejected. Despite the a priori trust, formal, purposefully selected, or snowball- sampled interviewees were often reserved at the beginning of the conversation. However, 94 that initial reserve disappeared once football and sport issues became part of the discussion. Football as a common interest played a role in building trust. However, despite the trust displayed during the interviews, the researcher’s ethical concerns as a researcher remained to be raised.

Conducting a qualitative research raises an ethical responsibility for the researcher. Because the interviewees are human subjects, the Ohio University

Institutional Review Board (IRB) was the first ethical compliance I had to address. The ethical concerns related essentially to the interviews and the four fields traditionally considered as guidelines for researchers: informed consent, confidentiality, consequences, and the role of the researcher (Kvale & Brinkmann, 2009, p. 68).

In the interviews, informed consent was addressed in an initial paragraph as a trust element and systematically presented to all participants. This study primarily explores structural patterns and uses very limited personal or biographical data. Although no participants had any reservations about their names being mentioned in the study, the confidentiality implying non-disclosure of participant identity remained an ethical concern. Any potential harm to the participants in this study was carefully considered in order not to transgress the ethical concern about the consequences of the research. As the researcher, I have the responsibility to take into consideration the ethical concerns. I must also guarantee the trustworthiness of my research data by publishing, as Kvale and

Brinkmann (2009) suggest, ”findings that are as accurate and representative of the field as possible” (p. 74). The responsibility of trustworthiness was emphasized when a respondent, a producer at national Côte d’Ivoire television, inquired about reading the 95 results. He insisted on having a French translation of my analysis published for a nonacademic audience.

The following section presents a narrative of the field research and data collection conducted since receiving the waiver of the Ohio University Institutional Review Board.

Data Collection Proceeds

With the assistance of acquaintances, phone and email contacts were established prior to the fieldwork in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. An attempt to organize and schedule as many appointments as possible before traveling to the field contributed to the optimization of the time actually spent in the field.

Some interviews were scheduled prior to my arrival. Others were scheduled once

I was in the field, at locations and times selected by the respondents. Interviews lasted from 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the amount of information the respondents were willing to share, their availability, and how much study-relevant data they actually possessed. Personal opinions and analyses of the respondents often generated a more conversational interview-process and longer interviews. Questions were asked about individuals’ involvement in football, football media production, and their perception of the football content available to viewers with regard to the origin of production. The questions were taken from themes emerging from review of the literature (such as the role of France in football and television), as well factors affecting football television broadcasting in Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Cameroon. The interviews were recorded on a voice/audio recorder. Phone interviews in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal were audio-recorded as well. In the field in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, all of 96 the interviews were face-to-face but one. Once I was back in the US, the phone was the preponderant means for interviews in France, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Cameroon. These interviews were conducted and recorded with the Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) with audio recording software and a voice/audio recorder.

Once the IRB document was signed, a few days prior to my trip, I had official permission to collect my data. My field trip was initially scheduled to focus on Côte d’Ivoire, with a short stay in Senegal for a forum with a youth sport academy, Sport for

Education and Economic Development (SEED), and mapping of the Senegalese mediascape.

When on Friday evening I arrived in Dakar, the capital city of Senegal, I connected with the forum and started making various contacts and confirming previously made appointments. On Saturday my data collection started. The timeframe was divided in two parts: field research (consisting of a trip to Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal), and the follow-up time and additional data collection with electronic technology, email, phone and VOIP. Collection of data from Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon occurred mostly by phone and VOIP. The data collection and fieldwork were conducted in four steps (see

Table 2). 97

Table 2: Fieldwork timeline

Collect potential participants’ phone and email information From February, 2009

Initial contact for appointment and preliminary discussions From April 10, 2009

*Fieldwork in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal: April 24–May 13, 2009 On-site interviews and phone interviews • observation • documents • content recording *This process started in early April while I was waiting for the IRB approval and the fieldwork in Senegal once the approval was received.

Follow-up and additional data collection in Benin, Burkina May 14–September 30, Faso, and Cameroon: 2009 • phone interviews • content recording, documents

Additional research methods (document analysis, media content analysis, and

observations) complemented the interviews for triangulation purposes. (See Appendix 2

for details of the chronology of the data collection

Data Analysis

Marshall and Rossman (1999) define data analysis as “the process of bringing

order, structure, and interpretation to the mass of collected data” (p. 50). In other words,

analyzing data entails organizing and making sense of what the researcher has heard,

seen, and read (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992, p. 130; Giulianotti & Williams, 1994). The

process of analyzing data collected for this study, therefore, consisted of organizing, structuring, and interpreting data collected from interviews, observations, documents, 98 newspapers, and television content. The multiple methods of data collection required careful organization to conduct an accurate and relevant analytical procedure.

My data analysis was based on Marshall and Rossman’s (1999) seven steps of analysis: (1) organize the data; (2) become immersed in the data; (3) generate categories and themes; (4) code the data; (5) test the emergent understandings; (6) search for alternative understandings; and (7) write the report (or other format) for presenting the study (p. 152). The various types of data involved in this study required adapting, in the following fashion, each of the seven steps.

1) Organizing the data

Organizing the data required preliminary logistical arrangements. All interviews were conducted in French, requiring a French-speaking transcriber. Initially all voice recordings were identified with a code combining the last name of the respondent and his or her organization. Recordings were organized in a folder for each organization for easy identification. Recording and the naming codes were changed to numbers. This change was accomplished before material was sent to the transcribing service, in order to preserve the confidentiality of the respondents. Interview data collected in digital format were then sent to a transcription service in Senegal and returned as text files in a word processing software. Other data, such as observation notes, video content, and documents, were organized by type and origin.

2) Becoming immersed in the data

Listening to the interviews was the first phase of the immersion. Having them in audio format (mp3) facilitated the listening, which was possible in various locations with 99 a portable audio player. Multiple listening to each interview after transcription assisted in elaborating on the coding of the transcriptions.

3) Generating categories and themes

The data collected from the interviews were categorized in relation to the research questions and the structured interview questions. The following areas determined the coding system used for the interviews:

• Various stakeholders’ relationship with football television broadcasting

• National and international football competitions and events broadcasting

management by local television broadcasters

• Broadcasting rights and sponsorship management by national and

international federations and television broadcasters

• Transnational television broadcasters (TV5, CanalSat Horizons, and Canal

France International) and their position in broadcasting football

4) Coding the data

As defined by Kvale and Brinkmann (2009), coding means “attaching one or

more keywords to a text segment in order to permit later identification of a segment” (p.

201). The audio immersion of the interview facilitated identification of the keywords being used for the coding. Keywords in relation to the categories and themes assisted the coding process. The main themes were determined by the interview questions and listening to the audio recordings. Sub-themes and categories emerged in part from listening to the interviews, but mostly from reading the transcripts. Word coding was accomplished using Nvivo, a qualitative software for data analysis. 100

Different coding methods were applied to the newspaper content, as well as to the recorded television samples. The coding used was a deduction from the interview data.

The main element of the newspapers’ coding was the proportion of European league content on sports newspapers’ front pages in comparison to the local competitions.

5) Testing the emergent understandings

Testing the emergent understandings is important because the data collected were geographically dispersed. Data relevant to television broadcasting or strictly related to football and federation organization were naturally part of the data collected. Their relevance to the relation of television and football needed to be carefully clarified to make sure that only useful data are exploited in this study.

6) Searching for alternative understanding

The various sources of constituencies involved in this study (such as football federation, media, and data from observations and other independent participants) occasionally provided alternative understandings. The literature discussing television and football (or sports in general) in Europe and the US provides an additional framework for an alternative understanding for this research.

7) Writing the report (or other format) for presenting the study

The report was written and the study’s findings were summarized in relation to this research question: “How does broadcasting of football and transnational television contribute to a situation of electronic colonialism in Francophone Africa?” The discussion was framed in relation to McPhail’s (2006) theory of electronic colonialism. 101

As previously mentioned, the chosen study type was qualitative, due to the nature of the research questions. This qualitative study needed a data collection method that included structured and unstructured in-depth interviews, media output sample analysis, and observations. The geographical scope of the study required my presence in the field, as well as consistent use of communication technology such as email, Voice over Internet

Protocol (VOIP), and cellular phones. The participants were selected by two selection methods: purposeful and snowball. Regardless of the method of selection (purposeful or snowball), the 32 participants interviewed during this study supplied a significant amount of relevant and diverse information to present, discuss, and analyze in order to answer the main research question. The following presentation reveals the findings extracted from the data collected for the study. 102

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS

This discussion on the study’s findings describes the various television broadcasters in the countries covered by the study; the football content they broadcast; and their relationship with football federations and the viewers. The television broadcasting landscape in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Senegal was an indispensable prerequisite to the specifics of the football and television broadcasting that is currently a problem in Francophone Africa. In fact, Lenoble-Bart and

Tudesq (2008) suggest that because of the frequent changes occurring in most countries, when studying media it is important to specify the date when a situation is described and analyzed (p. 10). The first part of this chapter presents the active television broadcasters in each country at the time of this research and the characteristics in terms of ownership, broadcasting technologies, and access. These characteristics contribute to understanding their relationship and their position towards other actors involved in the business of football broadcasting in Francophone Africa.

The research question can, in part, be answered by examining the interaction and relationship between television broadcasters and the national/international football federations (as well as the competitions they organize), along with marketing organizations. The following material explores three themes (types of competitions) that emerged from all the data collected:

• Broadcasting of local club competitions

• Broadcasting of national team matches

• European football broadcasting and transnational television 103

The following material details the arrangements (or agreements) and relationships among the various stakeholders, television broadcasters, national and continental federations, and marketing and media corporations. Also discussed is the broadcasting of the aforementioned three types of competitions. These descriptions, explanations, and specifics are crucial to answer the main research question: whether transnational television and football in Francophone Africa are democratization or electronic colonization.

Categories of Television Broadcasters and their Specificities

My research began with discovering and inventorying the television broadcasters in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon. Triangulation of data from interviews, the Internet, and, most recently, published studies by Dioh (2009) and

Lenoble-Bart and Tudesq (2008) led to Table 3, which summarizes the current types of television broadcasters, satellite, or Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service

(MMDS) packages available.

categorizes television broadcasters in Senegal and Benin (the target countries) by ownership and access. The characteristics of broadcasters are necessary to know to determine their role in football broadcasting. Characteristics studied include type of ownership (private versus government), broadcasting technology, free-to-air access

(versus pay-television), and territorial coverage.

Several significant factors distinguish the television broadcasters from each other: type of ownership, broadcasting technology involved, type of access available, and geographical coverage. These characteristics are significant in football broadcasting and 104 in establishing the inventory of the television broadcasters active at the time of the study.

Furthermore, the television broadcasters active in Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon at the time of this study all have comparable television broadcasting landscapes. There are three types of broadcasters:

1. Public television broadcasters (the oldest form) are owned and controlled by their respective governments. They are all free-to-air, with a broadcasting signal that covers the whole national territory. Except for Benin, all public broadcasters were accessible by satellite at the time of this study. They locally co-habit with private television broadcasters.

2. The local private television broadcasters are owned locally by media groups or individuals. They are also free-to-air, but within a limited geographic section of the country to which they broadcast. Some have a satellite presence.

3. Transnationals are the third type of television broadcasters in the air in

Francophone Africa. They are, essentially, pay-television (such as CanalSat Horizons).

TV5, however is free-to-air. Satellite technology, made for transnational television broadcasters, works across all countries and borders.

Table 3: Categories of television broadcasters. 105

Broadcaster type Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Côte d’Ivoire Senegal Public 1 channel 2 channels 1 channel 2 channels 2 channels Private local 4 channels 3 channels 4 channels 0 channels 5 channels Private CanalSat; CanalSat; CanalSat; CanalSat; CanalSat; transnational Horizons; Horizons; Horizons; Horizons; Horizons; TV5 TV5 TV5 TV5 TV5; Deltanet

Table 3 summarizes the existing television broadcasters at the time of this study.

(See Appendix 1 for detailed descriptions of these television broadcasters.)

Public Television Broadcasters Owned and Run by the Government

Government-owned (and controlled) television, also present as public television broadcasters, were the first broadcasters to be established in all the study’s countries.

Established years before private and transnational television, public television broadcasters benefit from government subsidies. They are free-to-air and cover their national territories. Remember that sports broadcasting is an increasingly competitive environment. So public television is a significant entity in sports broadcasting, first because it is free-to-air and second because its signal reaches a considerable extent of national territory. These are crucial elements of a competitive advantage over local, privately owned television broadcasters.

In fact, in the late 1980s, with the first political democratization and media deregulation, television broadcasters lost their initial monopoly and today television

broadcasters face private free-to-air or pay-television competition in every Francophone

African country except Côte d’Ivoire. In this study only Radio Television Ivoirienne

(RTI) (with two channels, RTI and TV2) retains a public broadcasting monopoly. To be 106 sure, a law was passed in 2004 by the parliament (2007) establishing the National

Council for Audiovisual Communication, the media regulatory agency in Côte d’Ivoire and its legal framework for private television broadcasting. Despite this fact, as of 2009 there was still no private television broadcaster in Côte d’Ivoire.

Most government television broadcasters are adopting digital and satellite broadcasting technology. The first channels of Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and

Cameroon national television are currently hosted by geostationary satellites owned by satellite communication corporations such as Intelsat, Eutelsat, and NSS7. At the time of this study, no Benin national television broadcaster was yet on any geostationary satellite.

Nevertheless, according to a Benin radio and television senior administrator who was interviewed during this study, “We will be available by satellite very soon” (JA, interview, June 10, 2009). In addition to expanding the geographical range of national television signals, satellite broadcasting provides the opportunity to be part of television channel packages offered by satellite television distribution companies in Africa. As a result, African television channels are among those offered by pay-television packages such as CanalSat Horizons. Because of government financing, free-to-air access, and national coverage, public television broadcasters have a unique position in the football broadcasting business in Francophone Africa. The combination of these factors sustains the competitiveness of public television broadcasters in spite of competition from private and transnational television broadcasters. 107

Private Television Broadcasters Owned by Individuals or Media Groups

Privately owned television broadcasters operating in Benin, Burkina Faso,

Cameroon, and Senegal have existed for a few years in a mediascape initially monopolized by government-owned television. Although they are all free-to-air, they have only partial terrestrial coverage, limited to the capital city. Nevertheless, some private television broadcasters have embraced satellite technology. According to a journalist at Walf TV (one of the first private media group and television broadcasters in

Senegal), they broadcast programs by satellite before receiving official authorization to be on the air in Senegal (OG, interview, April 28, 2009). In fact, some private television broadcasters, after just a few years of activity, have a satellite presence and are included in pay-television satellite packages. CanalSat Horizons packages for Sub-Saharan Africa include 2STV (Senegal), LC2 (Benin), and Canal 2 International and Equinox TV

(Cameroon), as well as national television. Delta Net TV, a satellite package distributed in Senegal, encompasses several Senegalese private television channels such as Walf TV,

Canal Infos from Senegal, and STV1 from Cameroon.

Satellite technology has also contributed to the emergence of a few French- speaking pan-African television broadcasters such as 3A Telesud, Africable, and (more recently) Africa24. These broadcasters are not confined to (or defined by) national boundaries. Africable operates from Mali and is available free-to-air with the appropriate equipment and by satellite. Africa24 and 3A Telesud are part of pay-television satellite packages in Africa, Europe, and North America for 3A Telesud, but they both operate from France. Though 3A Telesud is already involved in football broadcasting, the other 108 channels offer essentially news and culture. They are not yet competitive actors in football broadcasting, but their satellite presence and their cultural connection to African audiences position them as potential players in the Francophone television football broadcasting mediascape.

Despite having just a few years of operation and air presence, privately owned television broadcasters targeting national or transnational Francophone audiences have transformed the television broadcasting landscape in Francophone Africa with significant consequences in sport and football television broadcasting. The character of television broadcasters in Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire illustrates the increasing diversity of these countries’ television space. The ownership type, the broadcasting technologies used, the scope of the geographical coverage of their signal, and financial resources are among differentiating factors that determine the role played by television providers in football broadcasting and their capacity to compete with each other.

Transnational Broadcasters, Satellite, or Cable Television Distribution

The broadcasting and media group CanalSat and Canal+ Horizons is the most prominent (if not the only) pay-television satellite television distributor in all the countries of this study. CanalSat Horizons marketing is apparent on street billboards in all capital cities, on banners at local cultural events, in local television commercials, and in newspaper advertisements. Under the umbrella of CanalSat Horizons, Sub-Saharan

Africa is an established sub-entity of the multinational branch of the conglomerate

CanalSat Horizons Canal+, Canal Overseas (2009). As spelled out on the Canal Overseas 109 web site, they “edit the channel Canal+ Horizons specifically for the African continent”

(Canal+ Horizons, 2009). The presence of a few Francophone African television channels and the prevalence of French channels and radio in CanalSat Horizons packages distributed in western and central Africa show evidence of purposeful editing of the packages. In particular, African television channels (mostly the national television ones) are available in the edited packages of CanalSat Horizons present in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The chief of Canal Overseas posits that 12 African channels from various Francophone countries are available in all the packages distributed by CanalSat Horizons in

Francophone west and central Africa (Aït-Hatrit, 2009). CanalSat Horizons provides a transnational relative capacity to African broadcasters.

CanalSat Horizons is French-dominated, with a substantial presence of French channels, completed by the 12 Francophone Africa channels. Francophone Africa channels are limited to African packages edited for Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa and other packages in Europe, North Africa, the Indian Ocean, or the Caribbean. The various packages, called “Access, Evasion, Privilege, Prestige, Excellence” and á la carte options are identical in Senegal, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon. CanalSat

Horizons in Sub-Saharan Africa supplies a range of packages priced from $12 (8€) to $97

(65€) per month (Canal+ Horizons, 2009). As mentioned earlier, promotional documents collected at the time of this research list the cost of the five different packages as $10 to

$77 in each country. The initial value, including a decoder and a satellite dish, is about

$118. 110

The price, relatively high by Sub-Saharan Africa living standards, limits dissemination of CanalSat Horizons to the portion of the population with sufficient revenues. In countries where 40% to 80% of the population lives on less than two dollars a day (UNDP, 2009), $10 a month for satellite television is not possible. An informant in

Benin stated that “despite all the promotions and the slow drop of the price, I consider that CanalSat Horizons remains expensive for us” (AK, interview, June 15, 2009). Cost and language of the broadcasts of most channels available on CanalSat Horizons packages keep CanalSat Horizons accessible only to the French-speaking educated elite who are capable of paying for the subscription.

CanalSat Horizons’s penetration statistics in Africa are not available.

Nevertheless, the total of distribution representatives for subscription and equipment acquisition can be a measure of the geographical spread of the broadcaster’s subscribers.

As mentioned by Dioh (2009) and illustrated by the CanalSat Horizons list of authorized distributors, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal have the largest distribution. Côte d’Ivoire, with

47 distributors, and Senegal, with 38, are more than half of the 111 distribution points in

Francophone Africa. These facts demonstrate a penetration beyond the capital cities.

CanalSat Horizons has a deliberate plan to reach a wider audience by gradually lowering the subscription price; and it has penetrated the African audience beyond official subscription figures. In fact, between pirate subscriptions and the collective viewing of television sets in most African households, the actual number of viewers reached by

CanalSat Horizons is probably much larger than any official figure. The increasing level of penetration (combined with football content from France, Spain, Germany, and Italy) 111 make CanalSat Horizons a significant player in football broadcasting in Benin, Burkina

Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. Being the only satellite pay-television broadcaster in most Francophone African countries reinforces the leadership position of

CanalSat Horizons in pay-television and satellite television broadcasting.

CanalSat Horizons has limited (or no) competition in most Francophone African countries in pay-television distribution. Alternative pay-television options are available in

Senegal and Cameroon and, to some extent, in Benin and Burkina Faso. As mentioned by the online newspaper AllAfrica.com (2008), Canal Satellite has two competitors, Delta

Net TV and Excaf-Tellelcom. The Delta Net TV promotional folder shows a wide range of African televisions in addition to North African and Arabic channels. It covers

European channels such as Al Jazeera, 2M Maroc, Saudia, TVE (Spain), RAI (Italy), and

RTPA (Portugal). French-language channels are not dominant in this package. Several privately owned local channels available on Delta Net TV packages are not available on

CanalSat Horizons. Delta Net TV offers three packages: Diaspora, Famille, and

Diongoma. These packages are priced from $10 to $26. With similar packages and lower prices, Delta Net TV enriches the Senegalese satellite television landscape with non-

French-speaking broadcasters; but dominating the programming is content other than

African or Senegalese.

Burkina Faso has an additional TV package distribution, Multi TV Afrique, which simply edits and distributes CanalSat Horizons in Africa. In Cameroon, the chief of Canal

Overseas states, “A country like Cameroon has several hundred thousand households subscribing to our competitors, compared to our 15,000 subscribers” (Aït-Hatrit, 2009). 112

The proximity of Nigeria favors access to pay-television by satellite (such as hiTV in

Benin). Another package, TVCom, built of Eurosat satellite television channels, competes by broadcasting five channels by MMDS technology in Benin and with (KA, interview July 15, 2009). CanalSat Horizons is the main pay-television and transnational television available in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. It is the only one available in each country. In summary, CanalSat Horizons is the main transnational broadcaster, with production and content dominated by French-produced sport content and movies. Its dominant position in the pay-television section of the

Francophone Africa mediascape will be examined later in the discussion about how football and broadcasters relate in Francophone Africa.

The changes in television broadcasting in most Sub-Saharan countries since the early 2000s have, without a doubt, transformed football broadcasting by introducing new actors such as marketing and media organizations, as well as private and transnational television broadcasters. Changes in broadcasting have redefined the relationship between existing public broadcasters and football governing bodies.

Television Broadcasting of Local and International Competitions

To describe the television landscape of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal is also to describe the television broadcasters and potential contenders for football competition broadcasting. The ownership, technology, and financial resources characterizing the various types of broadcasters determine their strategies in negotiating with football governing bodies such as national and international football federations. In fact, Benin, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon 113 national federations organize national and international football competitions. The

Confederation of African Football (CAF) is in charge of continental tournaments.

Because all competitions are specific in terms of target audience, and due to emotional and national implications, television broadcasters’ interest fluctuates with the type of competition, tournament, or game at stake. The following discussion elucidates how local or multinational television broadcasters and national/international football federations deal with local, African, European, or broader international football broadcasting to the

Francophone audience.

The Challenges of Televising Local Football in Francophone Africa

All the countries of this study have local or national competitions composed of first and second division championships and the national cup. They are the most common national competitions organized locally by national federations in Francophone countries.

The national team and continental club games are the other types officially organized by the national federation. [However, most of the official games played by the national teams and continental club competitions (such as the African Champions League and the

Orange Confederation Cup) are under the management of the African Fooball

Confederation (CAF) and as such these games are discussed later in a separate section.]

Local Championships, Competitions, and Television Broadcasting

Local championships and competitions involve only games between local teams competing for national trophies or championship titles. In contrast to most European countries where broadcasters acquire the national leagues’ competition broadcasting rights, rights do not exist in any national competition of the countries studied except Côte 114 d’Ivoire. Nevertheless, various forms of agreement are negotiated in each country, a situation that presents its own specificities and arrangements between television and football federations. The arrangement stakes and conditions are presented from two perspectives, the federation and the broadcasters, mainly government-owned televisions.

The Public Television Broadcasters’ Stand on Local Football Broadcasting

In Benin, the national television has no form of arrangement or agreement to broadcast local competitions. As the director of the Benin national radio and television states:

We would like to produce and broadcast the local championships but we do not have any formal agreement with the federation. We cover the whole territory and will soon have satellite coverage that will give us the capacity to show local competitions everywhere in the country and beyond. (JA, interview, June 10, 2009)

The reality of the relationship between football and television in Benin clearly translates into the intention to be involved only in local competition broadcasting. Other factors further explain the reason for the limited broadcasting of local games in Benin. A technician and producer at one television station states, “We do not broadcast local competitions. It is too expensive; we cannot have a production team in Natitingou (north

Benin) as well as Cotonou (south Benin). We, instead, capture some clips here and there for news and sports programs” (AK, interview, June 15, 2009).

Benin represents an extreme case of no formal agreement with local federations in regard to local competitions. Having television coverage for local games is either the choice of television broadcasters or a call by federations. Federations can request television broadcasting for their events when they want to use it for public relations. In 115 fact, during a conversation, members of basketball and handball federations and a local club manager mentioned that it is common to pay a television team to cover a sport event.

Such payment was confirmed by a journalist from Benin who led a media committee at an international competition. He recounted:

At the beginning of the competition we had two attitudes, televisions and journalists from Benin who logically stated the coverage of the event and other who refused to cover it, hoping to be paid. We refused to pay, since it was a continental competition with international media such as BBC and RFI. After three days the reluctant group finally came to do their journalistic work. A similar situation happened during an African team handball competition organized by Benin. I saw some television reporters and journalists put pressure on the organizing committee by saying, “If you want us to cover your event, you have to pay us” (GA, interview, June 15, 2009).

National football, and sport competitions in general, are pursued by journalists and television reporters as content that promotes local federations and their sponsors.

Consequently, the media must be paid to report and broadcast the events. Similar anecdotes, from a different perspective, emerged in interviews with a media coordinator covering a cycling tour in Senegal, and a sport journalist in Côte d’Ivoire. The media coordinator complained about the request for financial compensation by a national television team in exchange for live coverage of arrivals for the cycling tour. The national television journalist, therefore a civil servant, claimed the compensation was to pay for transportation of the television crew to cover a sporting event. These facts illustrate some aspects of the relationship between television broadcasters and local football broadcasting. The perception by television personnel that local sport and football broadcasting is public relations material for local federations and clubs helps to determine their relationship in all the countries of this study. Therefore, negotiation or acquisition of 116 broadcasting rights is not part of the media relationship with football in Burkina Faso and

Benin. There are other influencing factors more closely related to local politics and football management.

Local competitions on television are limited to highlights captured by individual cameras and a few national competitions such as the National Cup. The National Cup final involves the President, who attends the game and presents the trophy to the winner.

The game thus becomes a national event involving the President and other political figures, which national television has a duty to cover. There is a visible lack of common interest between the local federations and television broadcasters in televising local games in Benin and Burkina Faso. According to several informants, the limiting factors of showing local events are the playing level at local competitions and the quality of the facilities. Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Cameroon present more nuanced circumstances. In fact—in contrast to Benin and Burkina Faso—Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Cameroon have live broadcasting of their local championships. In Côte d’Ivoire, there is an explicit agreement between the national television broadcaster and the national federation of football. A senior sport journalist stated, “We are a governmental organization; the federation does not make us pay. But it is a trade-off. During games production, we have to show the federation sponsors’ bulletin boards placed around the field. But, honestly, we have reached a point where we will have to pay” (FK, interview, May 8, 2009).

Although broadcasting rights are not directly negotiated between the federation and a national television broadcaster, there is a contract that allows televising of as many games as possible. The counterpart is providing an advertising platform for the federation and its 117 sponsors during the games. Local football benefits from live broadcasting of the most important games and highlights of the championship games. Every Sunday, the television show Maxi Foot provides highlights of the first league games played over the weekend.

National football in Côte d’Ivoire benefits from consistent coverage by national television. Unlike in Senegal, where private television companies compete with the national television broadcaster, in Côte d’Ivoire there is no need to secure national competitions with broadcasting rights contracts. Nevertheless, national television broadcasts several league games during the regular season.

In Senegal, increasing competition between private and national television broadcasters makes broadcasting rights’ contracts a more common practice. National television has a dominant position in acquiring broadcasting rights. A private television journalist confirmed that the control of most of major sport events by RTS’s exclusive broadcasting rights excludes all private television broadcasters from live broadcasting of important sport events. The head of the sport section of Walf TV stated,

The national television locks down every important live event. For instance, for wrestling (our most popular sport in Senegal), the national television RTS and the private 2STV have all the rights, excluding us. We cannot cover any live event; RTS has locked down everything. (DK, interview, April 28, 2009)

These comments refer essentially to wrestling and the football national team games. Reference to local football league games was generally limited. Inquiries about the relationship between football and television often led to a discussion of the national team competitions. One reason, stated by the Walf TV sport journalist, “Currently a local 118 league game does not generate much appeal for live broadcasting” (IF, interview, April

28, 2009). His statement is illustrated by an anecdote by a 2STV sport journalist:

The communication director of the Senegalese interim football league called me the day before the opening of the 2009-2010 season to have live coverage of the inaugural season of the Senegal professional league. He told me that the national television had no intention to cover the event. Unfortunately I had not planned for it and it was impossible to gather a team for live coverage. There was, then, no live coverage of a supposedly historical event, the inaugural game of the Senegalese first professional league. (MK, interview, April 30, 2009)

In fact, as in Benin and Burkina (where the final game of the National Cup with the President of the country is present), local competitions are considered invaluable for live broadcasting by all television broadcasters. The lack of professionalism of clubs, poor federation governing, quality of the games played, and low turnout are among the reasons commonly presented by journalists and television managers to defend the lack of interest in local league games. The limited coverage of domestic competitions by local televisions is obvious and accepted by private and public television broadcasters alike.

However, national federations responsible for organizing the games for television present the lack of television’s interest from a different perspective.

National Federations’ Perspective on Local

Competitions’ Television Broadcasting

National football federations present their relationship with television from a different perspective. Their rationale is different from the one described by television broadcasting personnel. In Senegal, the national federation was an interim organization that had not negotiated any broadcasting rights with local television broadcasters.

However, prior to the interim football administration, a former marketing and 119 sponsorship administrator of public television recalled that initially the federation had to directly solicit television stations to cover the federation’s competitions. At the time, the federation had to pay for broadcasting or share its sponsoring revenues with the broadcasters (AN, interview, April 27, 2009).

As in Senegal, the other football federation officials interviewed for this study argued that there are no broadcasting rights, formal agreements, or contracts between public or private television. Nevertheless, it had been an attempt at partnership between the football federation and public television for local competition broadcasting in Côte d’Ivoire. The vice president of the federation in charge of the first league in Côte d’Ivoire described the contract as follows:

For the 2006 to 2008 seasons we signed a contract with national television to broadcast the first league games. In return, television had to pay us a certain amount of money that the federation had to share among the league clubs. This did not work because the television could not generate enough revenues. We established a marketing organization to generate sponsorship revenue but it did not work. The revenues may not have been enough and the overall financial difficulties of the television probably pushed to use the money elsewhere. Finally, we converted the money due us into services such as advertisement on TV. Since 2008, we have not signed any contract with public television. We just authorized them to televise some games in agreement with the sponsor of the first league. Now in 2009 we have a league-wide contract with a cellular phone company. The broadcasting is then negotiated between the cellular phone company and public television to broadcast the games. As a result we do not have any direct broadcasting contract with public television. (SD, interview, May 7, 2009).

The need for visibility beyond local competitions makes television broadcasters inevitable partners of the sport federations for selling sponsorships for their competitions.

In fact, several countries have named their local league championship after their main 120 sponsor (a cellular phone company). Examples of this obvious cell-phone sponsorship include the following: in Benin, Glo; in Senegal, Orange; and in Côte d’Ivoire, MTN.

The sponsorship amounts are substantial, compared to uncertain to nonexistent broadcasting rights. Television has no financial negotiation weight when facing cellular phone companies. Nevertheless, because of the national coverage, public television broadcasters are significant subcontractors for the cellular phone companies, which have local competition rights as main sponsors. As a result, the television broadcaster’s role remains primordial, even without broadcasting rights ownership. The vice president of the Côte d’Ivoire professional league maintains that media visibility is a critical component of the search for sponsors and that television broadcasting is very important in providing visibility (SD, interview, May 7, 2009). Each federation member I interviewed mentioned the visibility argument in different terms. The federation in Benin confirmed the limited role of television in their league communication strategies; but at the same time the Benin federation acknowledged the importance of television broadcasting. In Benin, the federation plans to organize a weekly football program in collaboration with a public television broadcaster (MA, interview, July 3, 2009).

In all the countries of this study, the television–local football game relationship, although inconsistent and limited, does exists. All the television administrators, journalists, and producers interviewed expressed the need to be involved in local football broadcasting. However, financial and technical limitations are consistently invoked as handicapping factors in televising football. The quality of the games and the level of competition are also common arguments raised by television broadcasters for not 121 investing more time and resources in local league television broadcasting. Nevertheless, game highlights and live broadcasting of selected games provide content for sport programs and news. Because of the proximity of local football competitions and the absence of formal broadcasting rights’ contracts, local football competitions continue to be reachable and affordable content for all television broadcasters. In contrast to the local league competitions, national teams’ games and competitions involve more formal contracts or agreements between public television broadcasters and federations.

The Special Case of Broadcasting National Teams’ Games

Asking subjects about the relationship between television and football regularly led to discussing the national teams’ competitions. Football television broadcasting is frequently associated with these competitions. In fact, broadcasting national teams’ games in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Senegal represents the main interest for television, federations, and sponsors. Contracts or agreements among these stakeholders have evolved with time. There has been a remarkable transformation in the transactions between television broadcasters and federations for the national teams.

Currently, a third party, the transnational sport marketing company Sportfive, is a prominent stakeholder in the relationship between television and football in all the countries of this study. There is, therefore, a pre-Sportfive period similar to the local leagues’ competition arrangements and the Sportfive era.

National Teams’ Broadcasting Rights and Sportfive

In Benin, prior to the business arrangement with Sportfive, the national team was an important source of revenue for the federation. National television was forced to pay 122 to broadcast the team’s home games. As stated by a national radio television administrator, “Previously we had to pay 15 to 20 million CFA Franc (32,500 to 43,100

USD) to the football federation” (AJ, interview, June 10, 2009).

The direct agreement between the national television system and the federation for national teams’ games was the most common broadcasting arrangement in place.

Only national television broadcasters were capable of paying the federation’s price.

Nevertheless, in countries with private television, national television broadcasters sign exclusive contracts with the federation and their marketing unit subsequently generates revenues from advertisement to recover the cost. In Senegal, principally, under pressure from private television, the national facility makes sure to gain exclusive access to live broadcasting of the national team games. However, Côte d’Ivoire is an exception. There was no broadcasting rights agreement for national team games between national television and the federation. A federation official explained it this way:

Initially, we generated no revenues from television. However, when we took charge of the federation, we signed a marketing contract with a French marketing firm, HAVAS Media International (HMI), which therefore has to negotiate with national television for broadcasting the national team games. From no revenue, we started making about $10,000 a game. (ID, interview, May 2009)

The introduction of a third party into the initial federation national television agreement in Côte d’Ivoire is a new trend in national team broadcasting. The current situation was summarized by a television official in Benin, “Now the federation sold the national teams’ games to a private corporation, Sportfive. We don’t pay any money, but we have the obligation to produce the home games for the national audience” (AJ, interview, June 10, 2009). 123

The circumstances are similar in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and

Cameroon. Public television broadcasters do not pay for Sportfive or local federation broadcasting rights. In exchange for producing the national team’s games at no cost for the national audience, national television broadcasters have to upload the games on a designated satellite for Sportfive international distribution. The national television broadcasters then own the signal in the national territory and have the right to generate revenues through local advertising, but within the limits prescribed by the contract signed between the federation and Sportfive.

In fact, Sportfive, as a media and marketing partner of most African football federations, has all rights over the national teams’ games. In that context, public television broadcasters deliver technical service by producing the home games as a counterpart to domestic live broadcasting. The broadcasting of a national team playing on the road involves different arrangements. Television broadcasters pay $30,000 to broadcast national teams’ away games. In Burkina Faso, the national team’s road games are simply not broadcast live (MS, interview, August 22, 2009). In addition to national teams’ games, Sportfive’s involvement in African football and broadcasting is prevalent in the African Cup of Nations broadcasting.

The African Cup of Nations Broadcasting Creates Exasperation

The African Cup of Nations, the most popular football competition in Africa, is broadcast exclusively on national television. The French television producer Canal

France International (CFI) long played a prominent role in supplying the event to national television broadcasters at no cost. As Benin radio and television administrator stated, 124

“Initially CFI used to send us the games for free. We did not know how much Canal

France International was paying, but it was free for us” (JA, interview, June 10, 2009).

Free broadcasting, supplied by Canal France International, lasted until the African Cup of

Nations in 2000.

In 2000, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) signed a $50 million contract with French businessman and Sportfive chief executive Jean-Claude Darmon for four African Cup of Nations (CAN) competitions (2002–2008) (Potet, 2002). Since then,

Sportfive has had a media monopoly over Confederation of African Football competitions. The contract is to run until 2016 (Sportbusiness.com, 2007). It displays a strong similarity to other long-existing agreements between European leagues and marketing and media corporations. However, although similar to the “rights pooling by the league (RPL) model,” the Confederation of African Football broadcasting rights arrangement presents its own specificities. The most significant particularity is that

Sportfive granted the broadcasting rights for Africa to LC2. As a result, all television broadcasters wanting to broadcast the African Cup of Nations (CAN) have to negotiate with LC2 until 2016. The consequences of this arrangement are described by various national television administrators and sport journalists as follows.

Benin

“LC2 bought the rights to resell them at a very high price. Although the

company owner is from Benin, he is not philanthropic. He is from Benin and

African but first of all he is a businessman. We bought the last CAN (2006) for

1,200,000 Euros (1,674,444 USD). We, as television, could not pay from our 125

budget. If the government, who graciously offer the competition to the nation, did

not pay, we could not afford it.” (JA, interview, June 10, 2009)

Senegal

“We used to have the African Cup of Nations with Canal France

International, with bartering. We used to complain about the bartering. Now it is

an African, Christian Lagninde, who has the rights. It is not only with bartering,

but we have to pay 1,000,000 Euros.” (BD, interview, April 28, 2009)

Cote d’Ivoire

“In 2006 we had to pay 700,000,000 Francs CFA (1,400,000 USD) for the

rights to broadcast the African Cup of Nations. We tried to go to the headquarters

of the African Fooball Confederation to negotiate the rights directly, but we could

not do anything. Not only do we have to pay LC2 but we also have to put up with

the bartering for that. It is a terrible restriction, limits our capacity to generate

advertisement revenues to offset our investment.” (MC, interview, May 6, 2009)

Burkina Faso

“Burkina Faso is lucky to have a president who loves football. Without

any official announcement he pays for the rights. Nothing is officially stated but

we all know that our national television cannot afford the price of the African Cup

of Nations and for the past six to seven editions we always had the games on

national television.” (MS, interview, August 22, 2009)

Once the African Cup of Nations broadcasting rights for Africa were assigned to

LC2, Canal France International discontinued delivery of the competition to Francophone 126

Africa television broadcasters. Consequently, networks were suddenly confronted by

LC2’s setting the price with bartering—thereby, limiting local marketing opportunities for national broadcasters. As indicated by all informants, the African Cup of Nations became unaffordable for all. Only governments or the personal commitment of presidents keeps the competition free-to-air on national television. The social importance of the

African Cup of Nations was frequently cited, so there is a political incentive for governments or presidents to acquire the broadcasting rights, especially when their national teams qualify. As marketing manager of national television in Senegal explains,

“We will have a riot if our national team is playing the African Cup of Nations and television does not broadcast it” (AN, interview, April, 27, 2009). Several television managers and journalists commented about the sociopolitical necessity of broadcasting their national team playing in the African Cup of Nations competition. Because the broadcasting rights are paid by the government or the president, public television broadcasters automatically inherit the broadcasting exclusivity. Due to the cost of the

African Cup of Nations and the limited territorial coverage of their signal, private television broadcasters remain excluded from any broadcasting rights. There is, therefore, no difference between Côte d’Ivoire (with only one public television supplier) and other countries (with several private ones). The African Cup of Nations and national team games coverage are de facto public television broadcasters’ exclusivity.

FIFA World Cup Broadcasting Rights Model

For the same reasons, broadcasting rights cost and government financial contribution, public television broadcasters remain the main networks of other 127 competitions involving national teams such as the International Federation of Football

Associations (FIFA) World Cup. Additionally, cooperation agreements between the

European Broadcasting Union and African countries contribute to the prevalence of public television broadcasters in the broadcasting of football and other international sports events. According to a television professional from France who has been involved with African football, in the early years African countries did not have to pay for events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. These global events were supplied through the European Broadcasting Union and Canal France International to African public television broadcasters at no cost. But ever since the FIFA World Cup in 2006,

African countries have had to pay for broadcasting rights. (DP, interview, May 20, 2009).

For the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa there has been a collective bargaining by the African Union of Broadcasters (AUB) for the rights. A senior administrator of the public radio and television broadcasting in Benin stated:

FIFA decided give to AUB the rights for the 2010 World Cup. The World Cup will be much cheaper than the CAN. FIFA wants a football celebration which is going to be on the African continent for the first time to be seen by all Africans. The broadcasting rights will be much cheaper.

Initially we bought the rights individually. Now that we are more organized, FIFA recognizes our organization and decided to negotiate directly with us with no middleman. Consequently, there is a chance that the whole continent will be able to watch the FIFA World Cup. (JA, interview, June 10, 2009)

Under the African Union of Broadcasters auspices, African public television broadcasters were able to negotiate for the FIFA World Cup rights in 2010 at a more affordable cost than that for the African Cup of Nations. An administrator of Senegal public television broadcasting states, “It’s easier to negotiate with FIFA than with the 128

African Football Confederation. It is a paradox” (AN, interview, April 27, 2009). The easier access to the FIFA World Cup was acknowledged by informants from other public television broadcasting organizations.

Unlike the African Cup of Nations, broadcasting the World Cup for countries that did not qualify is less critical. Nevertheless, for governments, presidents, and national television, broadcasting a global event such as the FIFA World Cup is important. The qualification of a national team for the World Cup is a source of important sponsorship and advertisement revenues for the relevant public television broadcaster. Otherwise, as argued by a Senegalese television manager, World Cup games without a country’s national team generate limited sponsorship interest. (AN, interview, April 27, 2009). The

World Cup generated stories of limits and passion from all the informants. For private television broadcasters, the limited national sponsorship opportunities combined with systematic control of events such as the World Cup by national television were basically out of reach and of limited interest.

International Football Broadcasting by Transnational Television Broadcasters

CanalSat Horizons, TV5, and Canal France International are the main suppliers of transnational television content to the Francophone African countries. However, as a pay-

TV satellite distributor, a free-to-air TV, and a content supplier, respectively, they make a diverse contribution to the television and football space in Francophone Africa. My understanding of their contribution in regard to football is a result of observations, secondary data such as programs and statements from the websites of each, and informants' opinions. 129

Canal France International and French Football Broadcasting Cooperation

Canal France International, unlike CanalSat Horizons and TV5, is a partner and content supplier for public television broadcasters and, increasingly, private ones. It provides training to partner television broadcasters but does not locally broadcast any programs itself. Canal France International states, “CFI is active in every region of

Africa, constantly seeking to strengthen partnerships with public service television networks while supporting rapidly growing private television networks.” (Canal France

International, 2008a). The partnerships include supplying television programs. According to Canal France International, “CFI’s TV partners can access all of these programs— purchased by CFI from French producers for that purpose—free of charge” (Canal France

International, 2005, 2008b). All Francophone public television broadcasters have permanent access to Canal France International television content. The director of the public radio and television organization in Benin stated, “Canal France International television provides us with TV content 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have full access to CFI content. We can just record what we want of what they send us” (JA, interview, June 10, 2009). A sport journalist in Côte d’Ivoire gave a similar account of how Canal France International supplied content to their respective television programs.

The Canal France International website states that “CFI collaborates closely with partner channels over sports programmes, which generate high ratings across audience groups.”(Canal France International, 2008b). As mentioned earlier by a Senegalese public television broadcasting official, African countries were accustomed to receiving the African Cup of Nations games from Canal France International through bartering 130 with African public television broadcasters (JA, interview, June 10, 2009; BD, interview,

April 27, 2009). In 2000 Canal France International stopped acquiring the rights for the

African Cup of Nations, but is still involved in supplying other live football programs.

Canal France International mentions that their television broadcaster partners were able to watch 51 games per season of the UEFA Champions League (Canal France

International, 2008b). Canal France International supplies the European club competitions live to all Francophone countries. During this study, I watched the broadcasts of the two semifinals for the European Union of Football Associations

(UEFA) champions’ league games on national television in Côte d’Ivoire. The national television commentators introduced the game and commented at halftime and at the end.

Bartering affects the number of advertising minutes available before the game and at the end of each half.. French marketing is then broadcast to the African public.

The supply of European Champions’ League games from Canal France

International is increasingly creating a broadcasting rights conflict with European broadcasters. African television’s free-to-air programming via satellite is potentially accessible everywhere the host satellite can be reached. The public television broadcasting officials and journalists in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal discussed this rising conflict, suggesting that they scramble the signal outside the national territory. (BD, interview, April 27, 2009; FD, interview, May 6, 2009). To avoid any conflict, Senegal national television broadcasts the UEFA Champions’ League games on its second public television channel SN2, which has limited territorial coverage and no satellite upload. In

Côte d’Ivoire, although the concern exists, a decision to broadcast the games only on 131

TV2, the second national television channel, also with limited territorial coverage, was not mentioned.

The role of the second national television channel is not limited to providing a venue for live sport content. In both Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire it is necessary to have a second channel with cultural and sport focus. A sport journalist of Côte d’Ivoire public television broadcasting stated, “We are a national television, a public service with constraints. The only way we can change the news hour for a live game is to negotiate.

We have to have a sport channel to have programming room” (FD, interview, May 6,

2009). A similar rationale was expressed in Senegal. Introducing a second channel in

Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire is prompted by the need of more air time for essentially imported football content.

Other European competitions, such as European league championships, are either supplied by Canal France International or through other marketing agencies. Public television broadcasters in Côte d’Ivoire broadcast the Spanish league. In Benin, Senegal, and Burkina Faso only satellite television supplies these competitions. CanalSat Horizons is one of the main broadcasters of European league live games.

CanalSat Horizons Satellite Broadcasting of European Football

CanalSat Horizons was the first satellite package available in Francophone Africa and is the most evident, if not the only, satellite television distributed there. However, it remains accessible only to social classes with sufficient income to afford the almost $200 in equipment and installation fees and a minimum of $10 to $13 per month for “Access.”

An “Access” package is the minimum available for subscribers, offering 33 television 132 and radio channels. The number of subscribers and the penetration level of CanalSat

Horizons are difficult to evaluate. CanalSat Horizons does not provide statistics on number of subscribers by country. However, the head of Canal Overseas argues that the company is experiencing rapid growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a subscription increase of 35% in 2008 for the basic ”Access” package (Aït-Hatrit, 2009). The number of distributors in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal also indicates wide geographical distribution covering most of the main cities of each country. In Benin, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon the distribution reaches only one or two cities each.

Satellite dishes printed with the CanalSat Horizons name and perched on housetops are the most evident sign of the existence of CanalSat Horizons in households. However, the number of viewers accessing the signal goes beyond the rooftop satellite dishes and subscription statistics. In fact, according to several informants in Côte d'Ivoire, pirate CanalSat Horizons access is common in low- income neighborhoods. Three of the informants acknowledged having pirate access to

CanalSat Horizons channels for $6 per month without having to pay for a decoder and a satellite dish. Bars with CanalSat Horizons subscriptions represent another segment of viewers with no subscription access but who are reached by CanalSat Horizons. In reality, pirate subscriptions and bars increase the population that watches football programs on CanalSat Horizons. According to a Burkinabe journalist, “There are more than 50 'video clubs' in Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina Faso) where you can watch all European league games” (TT, interview, July 30, 2009). Video clubs are rooms with widescreen, high-definition TVs with satellite subscriptions where mostly young 133 adults meet to watch European league games. The clubs charge a small entrance fee of

100 to 200 F CFA (0.20 to 0.40 USD) and sell snacks and drinks. In addition to the video clubs, bars in restaurants with widescreen TVs subscribe to CanalSat Horizons and show European football.

A CanalSat Horizons package with Canal and other French channels shows

French first-league games, European Champions Leagues games, and other European games. A senior public television broadcaster bragged, “Saturdays I do not need to leave home or go to the stadium to watch football. I sit at home in the comfort of my house and watch all the major European league games by pressing the buttons of my TV remote control to switch channels” (MD, interview, May 6, 2009). This comment, made by a local television professional who is also a former first-division football player, indicates the extent of football games provided by CanalSat Horizons to local audiences in various countries. Another informant, currently a referee in the Côte d’Ivoire second league, pointed out a similar situation—the choice to watch several European leagues live while seated in home (AC, interview, May 4, 2009). The local league games were not mentioned as an option. When asked about the local games on television, the referee said he considered the local leagues’ production and the national television football programs unprofessional, with inferior games, poor production, and presenters with limited competence. An informant in Senegal who watches several public television broadcaster offerings on CanalSat Horizons packages felt, “The quality of studios and the presenters are not worth wasting time. I occasionally watch public television channels in Côte d’Ivoire, RTI, and the design of the studios has not changed since I left like back in the 134 mid-1980s” (MA, conversation, April 26, 2009). These comments indicate that local private or public television, when compared to CanalSat Horizons, is not football viewers’ first choice. CanalSat Horizons can, therefore, be considered the biggest competitor of local channels in the football arena.

The way the competition between CanalSat Horizons satellite and local television broadcasters and football broadcasting is perceived varied according to the country. In

Benin, all the informants, journalists, television administrators, and federation officials saw CanalSat Horizons not as competition but as a complement to local football broadcasting. Consequently, the audience did not have to choose but could simply watch both. For the media professionals, international football broadcasting compensates for the lack of local football on television, and CanalSat Horizons production quality should be a model to emulate. For the local federation official, European football on satellite television is a model to learn from for the level of the game and its television production.

In Burkina Faso, CanalSat Horizons is not a factor of competition. An informant stated,

In Burkina Faso there is no local competitor. Except for our national team’s home games there is no football on television. Our local league does not generate any interest in comparison to a ‘Barca’ (FC. Barcelona in Spain) playing ‘Real’ (Real Madrid in Spain). Furthermore, CanalSat Horizons has production power our local television does not have. (TT, interview, July 30, 2009)

In Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, before becoming a competitor, CanalSat Horizons was also pursued for having more resources and higher quality production. Nevertheless, public television broadcasting officials and journalists acknowledge CanalSat Horizons’ potential to compete for their local sport broadcasting. Without domestic television 135 competitors, Côte d’Ivoire national television focuses more on competing with CanalSat

Horizons by offering European league live football games and domestic league shows on the same days Canal Horizon football is shown. A senior sport journalist said:

We share prime hours with CanalSat Horizons. Canal Plus’ program l’equipe du dimanche (The Sunday Team) is one of their prime-time programs on Sundays. In response, we started a program at about the same time on Sundays, Tout Foot (All About Football), to compete with CanalSat Horizons. We are not afraid of CanalSat Horizons or any other competition in general. It is our responsibility to attract the audience. The quality of the games played in Europe is on their side; however, the audience still wants to know what is happening in their local competitions, especially if it is well produced. (FK, interview, May, 8, 2009)

Competing with CanalSat Horizons for the local audience and for audiences unable to afford satellite equipment and reception is an objective defined by the national television in Côte d’Ivoire. To attract and retain their football audience and compete with

CanalSat Horizons, Côte d’Ivoire national television increased the number of football and sport broadcasting hours. In addition to special weekend programs intended to compete with CanalSat Horizons programming, a second channel is dedicated to sport and culture.

The aim is to have more flexibility for sport programs without having to compete with other programs such as national news. The head of the sport department of public radio and television broadcasting in Côte d’Ivoire and the director of the Senegalese public radio and television broadcasting also expressed the need to have a sport channel. They said it is very difficult to postpone the evening news for a game, and totally out of the question when head-of-state political activities are scheduled. (FD, interview, May 6,

2009; BD, interview, April 26, 2009). 136

Television professionals as well as football program viewers consider CanalSat

Horizons to be a supplier of quality European and international football programs. Its football productions are also the model of reference for local television broadcasters.

Comparing the content of CanalSat Horizons football programs and national television programs confirms the production and technological gap often mentioned by the informants in Benin, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire. The television producers interviewed in Benin and Côte d’Ivoire explained that they operate with four to six cameras for the games, whereas European productions have 16 or more.

(AK, interview, June 10, 2009; MD, interview, May 6, 2009). Jacques Blociszewski

(Blociszewski, 2007) confirms that Canal+ operates between six and 18 cameras with three buses of ultra preferment digital equipment for French ligue 1 games (p. 33).

Beyond the technological and production comparison of CanalSat Horizons with local television broadcasting, the quality of the football competitions and the football programs available on CanalSat Horizons are much appreciated by the audience. CanalSat Horizons is effective in broadcasting French and European football which is distinct from local games and competitions. Informants other than sport television professionals do not perceive CanalSat Horizons as competition to local television broadcasters for televising football. Instead, its viewers see its quality and diversity as an asset.

The following overview of television football content in Benin, Burkina Faso,

Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal exemplifies and complements various information and observations regarding CanalSat Horizons and local television football broadcasting.

137

Samples of Football Content on Television

An informant, a sport television professional from France who conducted an audit of national television in Côte d’Ivoire, stated, “In Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal, television facilities I have recently visited are poorly maintained. Archive tapes are not shelved or organized. Most African television organizations do not manage their archives well” (DP, interview, May 20, 2009). This was confirmed when I attempted to gather football and sport program archives to analyze. An official of the Senegal public television broadcasting offered another explanation for the difficulty in accessing program archives. He argued that only live events are archived. The programs they support are not kept (BD, interview, April 26, 2009). A detailed content analysis of archives appeared unrealistic and confirms the technological and structural challenges confronted by most television broadcasters. Regardless of the reasons cited by various television administrators, it was impossible to access recorded archives for this study. As a consequence, the television content analyzed originated from notes taken while watching sport programs on television during the fieldwork and from recording done by acquaintances in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso. This provided relevant content for a qualitative analysis of the various programs watched and recorded.

Each country included in this study has one or two multisport programs a week, with a football section. In addition, football programs are broadcast in Côte d’Ivoire,

Senegal, and Cameroon. Every country consistently has one or two weekly locally produced multisport programs with the results of local competitions and clips from 138 international sports. The content recorded confirms the oft-mentioned lack of technical and financial resources and the extent of international content supplied by Canal France

International.

Local football competition highlights, including a few interviews, constituted the main content of the football portion of these programs. The international football section had highlights of European leagues, mainly France, England, Italy, and Spain. The international content lies in showing highlights from European leagues, with an emphasis on the performances of African players in the Diaspora. According to various informants and the samples recorded from each country, the percentage of local content varies between 60% and 80% of the overall content on public television sport broadcasts.

Essentially, private television broadcasters offer local content and international clips recorded from various free-to-air satellite sources. Journalists and football fans interviewed consider private television broadcasters not to be important actors in football broadcasting. Limited resources and lack of access to Canal France International sport content and national teams’ games diminish the capacity to have attractive live football content in the sport programs. In Senegal, an informant from national television argued that private television broadcasters do not have the means to purchase any broadcasting rights. However, their production crews attend important events and try to record. (AN, interview, April 27, 2007). National television broadcasters’ grip on all the important live events pushes private television broadcasters away from live football events. Private television broadcasters, therefore, have developed different strategies besides live events to create local content. This was confirmed by a journalist who presented his alternative 139 to the quasi monopoly of national television broadcasters over the most popular events and competitions as follows: “Instead of live games, we produce programs with interviews of players in their social environment, with their families and with other facts about their daily life” (AK, interview, April 30, 2009). The objective is to focus on stories not yet sewn up by national television broadcasting rights. Private television broadcasters’ sport programs present more local content than do internationals’ programs.

They emphasize less popular sports that are less controlled by broadcasting rights monopolies. Private television broadcasters’ sport programs watched live during the fieldwork and the recordings made essentially show local and multisport programs.

Except for Senegal, which has exclusive local wrestling programs on national as well as private television broadcasters 2STV and Walf TV, programs focusing exclusively on one sport seldom show anything but football. Exclusive football programs on national television exist in several countries.

In fact, in addition to the multisport programs, Senegal, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire have football-specific programs, such Maxi Foot in Côte d’Ivoire, Fou Fou Foot in Cameroon, and Temps Fort in Senegal. Additional football programs feature live broadcasts of local league derbies, national cup finals, and national team games. Only in

Côte d’Ivoire does the national television broadcaster have rights for a European league, the Spanish first league La Liga. The head of the sport department of the national radio and television states, “Because there is a demand for European football, broadcasting

European leagues is essential. We also tried to purchase the rights for the British Premier

League from an independent broker, and the French first league from Canal +. 140

Unfortunately, for scheduling reasons we could not acquire these rights. The British

Premier League games, for instance, start at the same time as the news. We cannot move the news for a football program. We are a pluralist television; football cannot take too much programming room” (FD, interview, May 6, 2009). With the Spanish league live games on Saturday, Côte d’Ivoire is the only country with European league games live.

In other countries, only pay television offers live European football—CanalSat Horizons, other satellite television packages, or TV5.

TV5 is a noncommercial, transnational Francophone television network that has a program, Foo (football), on French first-league competition. “It highlights the French first league championship games. TV5 has the distinction of having an exclusively online section on African football leagues’ goals, Afrogoals. TV5 also broadcasts the

African Cup of Nations from the quarter finals, France national team official and friendly games, but not the French first-league games live. The broadcasting rights to those are controlled in France by Canal + France.

CanalSat Horizons, as part of Canal + France, broadcasts the French first-league games, as well as Spanish games and the German Bundesliga. As mentioned by several informants, European football is available in the comfort of one’s living room. CanalSat

Horizons broadcasts several European league games live, in addition to a Sunday program with commentaries, highlights, and interviews related to the weekend games in

France, England, Spain, Italy, and Germany. The program l’equipe du dimanche

(Sunday’s Team) is extremely popular with the football fans interviewed during this study. Both the senior producer of national television and the football referee referred to 141 this program as very popular compared to national television’s program Maxi Foot (MD, interview, May 6, 2009; AC, interview, May 4, 2009). The comparative popularity of these programs remains difficult to establish without audience research. However, first- hand experience with the live semi-final of the European Champions League between

Barcelona and Chelsea offered an extraordinary opportunity to appreciate the popularity of European football in Abidjan.

Several hours before the scheduled eight pm game, the rush was visible on the streets. Even a meeting with one of the vice-presidents at five pm was cancelled at the last minute. When we finally met a few days later, he explained that he could not have taken the chance of being caught in traffic when the game started. I, too, had to watch the game. While waiting for a friend to pick me up to watch the game, I had an opportunity to observe the streets emptying as game time neared. An extremely popular Côte d’Ivoire player, Dider Drogba, was on the Chelsea team, and Yaya Toure, also from the Ivorian national team, was playing in Barcelona. For Ivoirians this meant their country was represented in the European Champions League semi-final. One had to get home or find a television set. According to friends with whom I watched the game, “We see comparable situations only on days when the national team is playing an important game.” The enthusiasm and passion generated by Ivoirians playing on these two European teams and in European leagues were palpable during the game. An official of the national federation argued that all Ivoirians supported the British club, Chelsea, because of Didier Drogba

(ID, interview, May 8, 2009). 142

In Burkina Faso, a football coach mentioned the special interest a few French teams generate because they have Burkinabe players on their rosters (MS, interview,

August 22, 2009). Although it is difficult to generalize, the role and popularity of

European football channeled through African players is undeniable. The significance of content with African players in European football also appears on the Canal + program from CanalSat Horizons, Talents d’Afrique (African Talents). This program is defined by the Canal Overseas president as proximity content (Aït-Hatrit, 2009). Other than Talents d’Afrique, Canal+ programs do not offer any regular African football content. French and

European football dominate Canal + and other French channels available in CanalSat

Horizons satellite television packages.

Football content on television available in the countries of this study confirms the omnipresence of European football content, either live or as highlights. Although local television broadcasters of sport programs offer a significant proportion of local football, live local or African competition games are limited to those of the national team, the

African Cup of Nations, and the FIFA World Cup. Given that the national teams play only a few games a year, weekly live football is dominated by European league games supplied by transnational television networks such as Canal+, CanalSat Horizons satellite packages, and TV5.

Analysis of football content and the relationship between football and the various types of television in the countries studied illustrates asymmetric access to live football.

The list of television broadcasters in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, and

Burkina Faso shows a mix of national government-owned television broadcasters, 143 privately owned television providers, free-to-air satellite, and pay-per-view satellite television broadcasters.

Despite the liberalization of the media sphere and increasing diversification in all the Francophone countries of this study, several observations appear significant. First, local private television broadcasters handicapped by limited signal coverage and fewer resources are not major actors in football broadcasting. Private television broadcasters are a very recent phenomenon, and their financial and technical resources are too limited to compete with government-owned and -run television organizations. Their role in broadcasting rights negotiations for local or continental competitions or for European league competitions remains insignificant. Second, public television broadcasters remain the preponderant broadcasters of free-to-air sport and football content, benefit from government subsidies, and have national coverage. Third, this study revealed that the government, national television, national federations, national teams, international marketing firms such as Sportfive, transnational television, and CanalSat Horizons are the main stakeholders of live football broadcasting in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,

Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. Fourth, only broadcasting of the African Cup of Nations, the national teams’ games, the European leagues’ games, and the UEFA Champions League games generate substantial interest from public and transnational television providers or transnational marketing and media corporations. Fifth, despite decreasing interest in football played by local clubs, there is a rising investment as well in local league broadcasting rights acquisition by cellular corporations. This adds to the omnipresence of 144 cellular phone corporate sponsorship and advertising in all football events and broadcasting.

The findings of this study report the landscape of television broadcasting and the relation between broadcasters and football governing bodies. Post-democratization, deregulation of television broadcasting in Francophone Africa transformed the mediascape with new entrants in addition to public television broadcasting. The new entrants, locally owned private television broadcasters and transnational television broadcasters, transformed the overall mediascape and the media flows of football media broadcasting, as well as the relationships among football, television broadcasters, and local viewers. In countries with a strong cultural passion for football, the increasing number of television broadcasting companies in Francophone Africa presented more options for watching football games. However, as presented by the findings, the main players in football broadcasting in Francophone Africa are limited to transnational broadcaster CanalSat Horizons, public television broadcasters, and Canal France

International. In addition to the Confederation of African Football and national federations, transnational media and marketing groups Sportfive and cellular phone corporations are important stakeholders in football broadcasting in Francophone Africa.

In the overall findings, and more specifically the examination of football media flows, transnational televisions broadcasters, football content diffusion, transnational media and marketing groups’ role in broadcasting rights acquisition and distribution of African football, French cooperation, and the position of the various international and national stakeholders within the modern world system led the analysis and discussions. 145

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

This chapter analyzes and discusses how electronic colonialism theoretically frames football television broadcasting in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal. The television–football nexus in the context of the economic and geographic structure defined by the modern world system contributes to establishing schemes of transnational television football broadcasting that constitute the path to electronic colonialism. The components and dynamics of sport and media in the core assist in analyzing how transnational television broadcasting of football contributes to electronic colonialism in peripheral Francophone Africa.

Rowe (2004), in discussing developed countries’ sports and media relations, argues that sport and media supply each other with capital, audience, and content.

Furthermore, Nicholson (2007) labels the commercial dimension of the relationship the sport and media nexus that inextricably binds media and sport. Nicholson’s nexus has three main components: the flow of sport content, the flow of money, and the consumers.

Football federations, television broadcasters, advertisers, and sponsors represent the components determining content and money flows that will reach the audience. Although

Rowe’s and Nicholson’s descriptions relate to developed countries, the findings of this study describe a similar relationship and nexus with various national and international stakeholders and actors in less-developed areas. The nexus in Francophone Africa and the structural model core, periphery, and semi-periphery of the modern world system provide the necessary theoretical arguments to establish how transnational television broadcasting may constitute electronic colonialism. 146

The discussion and analysis are developed from related findings, the control component in ownership of broadcasting rights to African national team competitions, control of televised football flows produced in Africa or from Europe, sponsorship of

African football by cellular phone corporations’ television, and the dependency of football television broadcasting on French media and marketing groups in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso.

The Electronic Colonization of the African Cup of Nations

The Confederation of African Football, with the 2000 sale of the African Cup of

Nations to multinational Sportfive, triggered an unprecedented inflation of broadcasting rights. In fact, as mentioned by senior administrators of public television broadcasting in

Senegal and Benin, the African Cup of Nations had been available from Canal France

International at no cost up until 2000. Since then, with the rights held by Sportfive and their distribution controlled by LC2 in Africa, broadcasting the African Cup of Nations is out of reach for all public and private television in Francophone Africa. Despite being government-subsidized entities, most Francophone African public television broadcasters are today unable to buy the broadcasting rights to the African Cup of Nations for their geographical territories. Only governments can do this now. The government of every country of this study—Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Burkina Faso—has been forced to pay the redistributors LC2 for the broadcasting rights.

Although public television broadcasters in Francophone Africa benefit to some extent from national or political privilege to broadcast their national teams’ home games, they have to compete with multinational media, marketing corporations, or agencies for 147 rights to broadcast the African Cup of Nations within the modern world football model called by Giulianotti (1999) the “football global market.” The soccer global market, as

Giulianotti defined it, indiscriminately replicates the modern world system—core, semi- periphery, periphery structure. Giulianotti’s football global market system defines

Europe’s richest clubs as the core; the outer core or semi-periphery consists of smaller clubs and clubs from smaller sport markets such as Belgium and Portugal; and the geographical and economic periphery is Africa and poorer South American countries.

Additionally, Giulianotti argues that the transfer of players from the periphery to the core generates revenues which favor financial dependency and create a vertical integration of peripheral football to the global football market. This study and the Confederation of

African Football broadcasting rights schemes illustrate an additional dimension of the dependency core–periphery described by Giulianotti and additional forms of electronic colonization.

In fact, the first aspect of similitude resides in the location of the main players controlling the broadcasting rights. Although the Confederation of African Football is the primary owner of the broadcasting rights to its competitions, it has no control over the commercialization of those rights. Acquisition of the broadcasting rights by Sportfive established the vertical integration of the global football market. For instance, by reselling the African Cup of Nations broadcasting rights to Al Jazeera and European broadcasters, Sportfive opened the global football broadcasting market to African football. A division of labor does not provide a core–periphery analogy to describe

Sportfive and the Confederation of African Football business partnership. However, their 148 role in the modern football market positions Sportfive as a core nation and the

Confederation of African football (CAF) from the periphery. Sportfive technological and financial capacity controls the electronic flows of the most popular and marketable

African competition, the African Cup of Nations. Once the rights were ceded to

Sportfive, the Confederation of African Football became a marginal player at the periphery of the modern football market where financial profits occur. Moreover, the revenues generated by the CAF contribute to continuing integration and also establish the dependency of the CAF. An informant in Senegal accurately depicted the financial significance of the broadcasting rights for the Confederation of African Football and other competitions as follows: “They (the Confederation of African Football) are condemned to speculate over the African Cup of Nations because it constitutes their main source of revenues, and African countries are forced to pay the price” (AN, interview,

April 27, 2009). By commodifying its competition broadcasting rights, the Confederation of African Football has subjected its competitions to the football global market dominated by core corporations and established financial dependency. Local television broadcasters are then left with secondhand rights from transnational broadcasters or speculative intermediaries such as LC2.

The Confederation of African Football’s dependency on broadcast right revenues led the football global market to create an environment conducive to electronic control by transnational broadcasters and to marketing and media groups’ interest in African football competitions. The induced control leads to other aspects of electronic colonization such as vertical media flow control, profits through resale, and bartering. 149

The decreasing capacity of national television broadcasters to play an active role in determining cost and rules of the African Cup of Nations tournament demonstrates a peripherization assisted by vertical integration through broadcasting. New broadcasting technologies facilitate this vertical integration of African football to the modern football market and economy while creating favorable circumstances for electronic colonization of African football by core corporations.

Peripherization of local television broadcasters contrasts with the vertical integration of African football. Although competitions such as national championships or qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup or the African Cup of Nations tournament generate only horizontal media flows and remain peripheral, their progressive integration into the football world market are progressively producing similar peripherization of national broadcasters and opening new paths to electronic colonialism through control of the broadcasting flows by core corporations Similar to the broadcasting arrangements of national teams’ matches, the form of electronic colonialism in place for the broadcasting of the African Cup of Nations is control of media flows from Africa for immediate financial gains. The same economic rationale explains the increasing implications of transnational corporations in broadcasting local football competitions in Francophone

Africa.

Local Football Content Flow and Electronic Colonialism

The discussion concerning local football media content flow is strongly determined by the concept of broadcasting rights. In fact, Francophone television broadcasters confront the economic reality of broadcasting rights defined by Gratton and 150

Solberg (2007) as “the right to broadcast from a specific event, normally within a restricted geographical area” (p. 93). Prior to dealing with football broadcasting rights in

Africa, it is important to recall that in Francophone Africa, in spite of the presence of private television broadcasters, public local free-to-air television broadcasters, with government subsidies, remain the preponderant local element in football broadcasting in terms of broadcasting rights acquisition.

One implicit repercussion of acquisition of broadcasting rights by broadcasters, media, or marketing groups, is a monopoly to broadcast a sports event regardless of the geographic location of that event. Generally, the rights are acquired by the company that pays the highest price to the sport’s governing body for the event. Therefore, financial power is decisive in determining broadcasting rights.

Implications for New Television Broadcasters and Local Football

Because the government ministries in charge of national sports contribute to national team financing and management as well as to public television broadcasters, national team broadcasting rights, and to some extent club competitions, national championships by default used to belong to the free-to-air national public television broadcasters. These broadcasters produced local games and had a de facto monopoly on local football live broadcasting with no broadcasting rights involved. They did not exist.

However, with media democratization as well as the emergence of private television broadcasters and new broadcasting technologies in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the public television broadcasters’ monopoly over national football was confronted with a challenge similar to that faced by European television broadcasters such as BBC and ITV 151 in England when News Corporation with BSyB entered the British football broadcasting market. For identical reasons, the cartel model described by Downward et al. (2000) and represented in England by BBC and ITV could not resist the combined effect of media deregulation and new broadcasting technologies. However, from the Modern World system perspective, new television broadcasting entrants affected BBC and ITV differently than how they impinge on public television broadcasters in Francophone

Africa. In fact, when privatization and deregulation applied to BBC and ITV, the competitor was BSkyB. The competition involved core media corporations with access to comparable technologies, know-how, and finance. To the contrary, in Francophone

Africa, as revealed by this study, similar liberalization and deregulation politics confronted everyone from public television broadcasters to transnational corporations.

Transnational television broadcasters were essentially from France, the European core, benefiting from technological and financial advantage. The advantages in play here support Amin’s (1997) argument about financial, technological, and communication monopolies detained by the core. As a result, in Francophone Africa the political broadcasting rights long held by public television broadcasters had to compete with new broadcasting agents. Economic broadcasting rights with transnational players and entities from Europe (here France), challenged the local political rights. An informant mentioned facts illustrating the coexistence and, at times, confrontation between international production and public television broadcasters. He stated,

For a qualifier game between our national team and Malawi, there were two production teams in the stadium, Sportfive production and the RTI production bus (the public television broadcaster). It went well—we share the space. But in Togo their national television team had to fight for 152

access to the stadium. Only the international team had the broadcasting rights. Togo public television broadcasting claimed national sovereignty in order to broadcast the game. (AN, interview, April 27, 2009)

The above story was a transnational broadcaster’s attempt to apply its monopoly over the broadcasting production and flow of a Togolese football game. Beyond the above story, the implications of new entrants from the core with economic and technological power were multiple. In fact, one direct implication of the new international entrants on the national football broadcasting rights in Francophone Africa is the new bargaining position national and international federations gained. Negotiating broadcasting rights of their leagues’ and teams’ games became a commercial reality. As a result, national and international federations acquired the capacity to sell their games and competitions to television broadcasters, but from a monopoly position. This position of the federations benefited from two simultaneous but unrelated factors—the transformation of the Francophone African media landscape by satellite broadcasting technologies, and the high profile acquired by African players in European leagues.

African national and international football federations, therefore, had a football game internationally recognized and marketable to supply the transnational marketing and media corporate sport scene. Local television broadcasters, public or private, were then confronted by international competition with superior financial and technological leverage for the broadcasting rights of competitions they used to access at little or no cost.

Along with the broadcasting rights argument and struggle, there is a territorial symbol: a Togolese stadium colonized by a foreign corporation production team for a 153 game period. Beyond the symbolism, the monopoly of media flow by a transnational television broadcaster is more significant in arguing electronic colonialism by televised football in Francophone Africa. The broadcasting rights of a Togolese game retained by a transnational broadcasting corporation supports Amin’s argument about one of the five monopolies distinguishing core and periphery. The monopoly over production and football media belongs to transnational corporations in the core. This illustrates one of the contemporary displays of the persistence of the core–periphery dichotomy through media, finance, and technology, three of Amin’s five monopolies. Peripheral

Francophone African countries confront the reality of control of their own national teams’ media flow through two neo-liberal policies, broadcasting rights and media deregulation, which lead to inevitable monopolies by core corporations.

Yet in Francophone Africa, when national teams are at stake, the acquisition of these monopolies also has a political dimension that generates some resistance. In fact, the core–periphery power structure is at play but is tempered by a level of governments’ implication. Despite the new entrants and competition, for technical or political reasons public television broadcasters kept a form of broadcasting rights over some aspects of national football broadcasting. Even though national television broadcasters have no economic broadcasting rights for the diffusion of national teams’ games, they remain important in broadcasting national football. Yet the economic and social rationales of broadcasting rights for sport events have become a reality for local television broadcasters, confronting the various transnational and national interest groups and stakeholders. 154

International Marketing Corporations and African Football Broadcasting

The geographical television signal restrictions of football broadcasting are among the direct consequences of international marketing and broadcasting corporations’ controlling broadcasting rights to African international competitions. Public television broadcasters in Francophone Africa, from their national television monopoly standpoint, were accustomed to producing the national teams’ competitions with no restrictions.

They also shared their production with African public broadcasters from other countries, a form of agreement facilitated by the African Union of Broadcasters (AUB). After losing their monopoly following media democratization and deregulation of broadcasting rights by international agencies, African broadcasters kept their access to national football broadcasting, but as subcontractors.

In order to have free access to broadcast their own national teams’ games, local

African Francophone public television broadcasters now must produce the games and upload their production for international satellite distribution. As a result, they are confined to their national territories and excluded from any other geographical space controlled by the broadcasting rights owner. The prohibition against broadcasting across national borders demonstrates the peripheral status of the local television broadcasters. In fact, as argued by Amin (1997), the capacity to compete in the world market determines nations’ positions in the modern world system. African television broadcasters belong to the marginal media periphery. Moreover, the Sportfive monopoly over the broadcasting of African national teams’ matches articulates Amin’s argument about the use by the core 155 of the media and communications monopoly to maintain its hegemony. The result contrasts with the desire mentioned by McPhail (2006) for less developed countries to have greater control over their media, information, economic, cultural, and political systems.

Beyond the national borders, the price for the rights to broadcast their national teams playing on the road is another consequence for national television broadcasters.

International marketing and media agencies resell the broadcasting rights in Africa and anywhere else in the world where there is a demand for live African football games.

African television broadcasters have to pay for various international competitions taking place in Africa. This inflation in African football is similar to the one in economically developed nations. Gratton and Solberg (2007) argue, “Sports rights have become an expensive part of sports broadcasting in recent years” (p. 92). The inflation mentioned by

Gratton and Solberg simply exacerbates the core–periphery dissymmetry in place and demonstrates the extent of the weakness of Francophone countries’ control over their football broadcasting economic systems. The access of international media and marketing corporations to the broadcasting of African football adds a geographic peripherization of

Francophone African television broadcasters. The peripheral public of private television broadcasters cannot compete against Sportfive, the transnational media and marketing group from the core nations favored by technology, finance, and communications which established a monopoly over African national teams’ football broadcasting. This is an additional implication of electronic colonization. African television broadcasters producing their national teams’ games have no control over the resulting media flow. 156

Although electronic, this implication of football broadcasting in Africa is similar to other forms of colonialism, with geographic and territorial control of media flows for immediate economic gain.

National Teams’ Home Games Broadcasting and Transnational Broadcasters

African television broadcasters still offer their national teams’ games, but the broadcasting rights are increasingly integrating the football world market and attracting either intermediaries or resellers. The main organizations controlling the broadcasting rights, however, are European-based. This supports McPhail’s (2006) argument that all multinational corporations, as well as major marketing and media agencies, are based in the core. European Sportfive, a football marketing and media organization from the core, controls the peripheral African national teams’ football media content. Corporations such as Sportfive, with their disproportionately superior financial and technological capacity, confirm the increasing control of the electronic flow of African football by transnational broadcasters. Although the games are played by Africans in Africa, the media flows resulting from broadcasting them are increasingly controlled by core-country media and marketing groups. The competitive effect generated by new broadcasting technologies and democratization of media in Africa has allowed transnational media groups to bid for and gain control of sport content in Africa. Although the media flow, periphery-to- periphery and periphery-to-core, is not like the core-to-periphery flow often debated in discussions of electronic colonialism and cultural imperialism, controlling football content produced by African media and players is a form of colonization favoring the technological and financial ascendance of core corporations. In the specific case of 157 football broadcasting, the financial and technological capacity of a core company such as

Sportfive translates to a monopoly of African national teams’ football content with the labor of local television broadcasters.

Commodification of Broadcasting Rights and Dependency

The subcontracting of national television broadcasters to produce African football games and then reselling the broadcasting rights to local intermediaries or other African broadcasters, presents a colonial or neocolonial production and trade model often observed in commodity trade. For instance, although coffee and cacao are produced by

African farmers, the processing and global distribution are controlled by core-nations through transnational or national corporations. Nestlé, the Swiss transnational corporation, one of the two largest coffee purchasers in the world with 22% of global market coffee distribution, buys coffee from farmers in Africa (Nestlé S.A., 2005, p. 17).

Although produced by African farmers, the transformation of the coffee for local consumption is essentially in the hands of Nestlé. Instant coffee is simply called

“Nestcafe” in Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and other Francophone countries. The coffee produced by Africans is purchased, transformed, and resold by Nestlé in Africa and around the world. Although produced by Africans, coffee, cocoa, and many minerals are transformed by core corporations and resold when needed in peripheral markets.

In comparison, African games are produced by subcontractors, the local television broadcasters, and then resold to other African television broadcasters by Sportfive.

According to an informant, “The production of football matches is out of the hands of local television broadcasters. Local television broadcasters do not own any advertisement 158 space. Only Sportfive can sell sponsorships and advertisement” (SS, interview, April 25,

2009). This demonstrates the level of control of Sportfive over the media content generated by African national teams’ games. In additional to the control, the part played by the commodification of television broadcasting rights is the most pertinent aspect of

Sportfive‘s role in managing African football television broadcasting. In fact, without being a television broadcaster, Sportfive, by owning the television rights of the

Confederation of African Football competitions and several national federations, proves the extent of the commodification of football television broadcasting in Africa. This commodification supports analogies between the economics of television broadcasting rights and the economic cycle initially described for coffee. In fact, Jessel and

Mendelewitsch’s (2007) description of the international financial intricacies of broadcasting rights acquisition, cession, purchase, and reselling supports the association of broadcasting rights to a commodity (pp. 315–323). Television broadcasting conglomerates and marketing and media groups generate revenues by not selling advertisement for live games broadcasting but also by simply reselling the broadcasting signal to other television broadcasters or businesses. As a commodity, broadcast rights economics in the context of African football, with the implications of core transnational corporations and peripheral games, actors, and media content, can be viewed through a dependency lens like other commodities such as cocoa, coffee, or minerals.

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Figure 2. A schematic view of economic dependency relations Source: McGowan & Smith (1978). “Economic Dependency in Black Africa: An Analysis of Competing Theories.” International Organization, 32(1).

McGowan and Smith (1978) describe the economic dependency model between tropical African states and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

(O.E.C.D) countries. Although it is a simplified model of the trading between African peripheral economies and the European core, it summarizes a structure characterized by the profits made by European countries as a result of an asymmetrical trade schema established since integration of African societies to the European World System. Along the same argument, Frank (1979) posits that corporations such as Compagnie Francaise de l’Afrique de Occidentale (CFAO), a colonial corporation still active in most West

African Francophone countries, were effective in extracting economic surplus from

African countries where they operate (Frank, 1979).

Similarly, the commodification of broadcasting rights and the high profile of

African migrant players in major European leagues gave an electronic dimension to 160

African integration into the football global economy comparable to the role of colonization in integrating African economies to the European modern world system.

Corporations such as Eurosport contributed to integrating the broadcast of African football in the football world system. The founder of Eurosport, a specialized European sport television broadcaster, states:

I launched Eurosport on May 2, 1991. One of the first contracts I signed the following two months was with Jean-Claude Darmon, who was an advisor of Issa Hayatou [Issa Hayatou at the time of this study was still the president of Confederation of Africa football] and was in charge of media contract. I bought the broadcasting rights for ten years. At that time there were only around thirty African players in European leagues. African football was then discovered in Europe through Eurosport…All Europe discovered then African football offense oriented with skillful players. (DP, interview, May 20, 2009)

Eurosport introduced African football to the European football market through television broadcasting of the African Cup of Nations to European economic players. The simultaneous increase of African players’ presence in European championships, combined with the exposure of Europe to the African Cup of Nations, created new interest in African football in Europe. Consequently, African football became an exportable media content that appealed to transnational corporations such as Sportfive.

However, contrary to Eurosport’s broadcasting to European audiences, Sportfive, by acquiring all the rights from the Confederation of African football and selected national federations, established a de facto monopoly over the television broadcasting of African national teams’ games. The resulting control over production and distribution of African national teams’ competitions establishes a dependent power relation similar to the one 161 established by colonial and neocolonial economies and the extraction, transformation, and commercialization of peripheral economies’ raw material and minerals.

Understanding a few examples of the economic relationship between Sportfive, national federations, and local television broadcasters explains the extractive dependency that the commodification of broadcasting rights in the context of this study has created in football broadcasting in Francophone Africa.

Money and Profit Flows Because national television broadcasters have to pay for the content produced by their national team playing on the road, the money flow from the periphery to the core is a net outflow to the core. Although national federations receive broadcasting revenues, net gains and profits belong to Sportfive. Moreover, the games are produced by local television broadcasters. They pay the broadcasting rights by producing the games at no cost. Subcontracting local broadcasters for games production is a form of division of labor where local broadcasters ensure the production at lower cost than a production team transported from the core, Europe. The end product, the live game, is commercialized and exported by Sportfive. Although this study shows that this model of division of labor is not always in place, it represents a simple case of extraction of football media content from the African field for commercialization for profit by core corporations. The division of labor and extraction of raw material, as discussed by dependent theorists such as Frank, has a direct application in the relationship between

Sportfive and the Confederation of African Football, as well as national federations.

Content Flows Although national teams’ games are played by African teams, the media output they generate with local television broadcasters through broadcasting rights 162 intricacies are controlled by Sportfive, a transnational corporation. Controlling content flows also equates to controlling any economic return they can generate by selling it to national or international broadcasters across the world. The role played by Eurosport in the early 1990s in introducing African football to European audiences and the presence of

African players in all major football leagues in Europe, amplified the extent to which controlling the flow can translate into economic gain and money flows control.

Money and media content flows illustrate aspects of the dependency contributing to uneven economic gain, benefiting the development of the core and causing underdevelopment of the periphery. In fact, governments of national television broadcasters have the constant need to purchase the broadcasting rights of their national teams. Given the limited resources of many governments, away games are simply not shown live. In Burkina Faso, an informant confirmed that “we just don’t watch live games of the national team. It’s just not available on TV” (MS, interview, August 22,

2009). The national television of Burkina Faso depends on paying Sportfive to watch live games of the national team. The model of a transnational translates the international economic dependency by direct penetration, as described by Christopher Chase-Dunn

(1975). He states that “the most direct economic penetration by core nations of peripheral areas is through private investment by transnational corporations which directly own and control the process of production” (Chase-Dunn, 1975, p. 721). Sportfive’s direct investment for acquiring national teams’ game broadcasting rights creates a control of games production and distribution, creating dependencies. In addition to the electronic dependency, national federations for selling the broadcasting rights of the national team 163 games to Sportfive established a dependent business relation. Although tempering the money flow control and benefit by the core, the financial flow core-to-periphery revenues create new forms of dependencies. From both angles, media flows and money flows, broadcasting rights implications in Francophone Africa characterize forms of dependencies contributing to electronic colonialism. The electronic colonialism established through football emulates an extractive economic model with no or limited return to African countries. The economic value added of African football broadcasting resides at the core. The periphery prepares and produces the show, then pays to watch it under the control of transnational broadcasters.

Figure 3: A schematic view of economic dependency relations

The cycle (Error! Reference source not found.) in place contributes to increased core corporations’ revenues and economic control. Local media then become dependent 164 on transnational media corporations’ technology for satellite feed and rights to broadcast.

By referring to Frank’s (1979) argument, this study shows that broadcasting rights economics provides effective mechanisms for extracting economic resources from

African governments or local broadcasters to Sportfive.

Paradoxically, despite the visibly increasing control of African football by

European multinational sport marketing companies such as Sportfive, most television administrators and journalists interviewed during this study do not yet perceive the colonization aspect. Only one former marketing and sponsoring administrator in the

Senegal public television broadcasting office expressed concern. He said, “The danger of seeing our local clubs’ competitions owned and controlled by international firms is real and already there” (AN, interview, April 27, 2009). His argument is supported by the attempt by a British-based media and sport marketing company to acquire several African local championship broadcasting rights (Rice, 2007). Even though the contract was cancelled because of bankruptcy, it reveals how the financial and technological capability of an international company could monopolize for profit domestic sport production and content in African countries. At best, local television broadcasters are confined to a subcontractor position with no control over content distribution. Transnational marketing and media groups append an additional level of control over media flow, which had been initially denounced by the Nonaligned Movement when attempting to negotiate a New

World of Information and Communication Order (NWICO) with core nations.

Appropriation of African national team competitions’ broadcasting rights by transnational media and marketing groups illustrates facets of electronic colonialism 165 shaped by contemporary discussions of Modern World Systems such as S. Amin’s (2003) five monopolies of the capitalist core, among which are financial, technological, media, and technological elements. In fact, the financial capacity to outbid local television broadcasters and satellite capacities to broadcast games across the world allows transnational media and marketing to exert a de facto monopoly. Beyond the horizontal flow of the content of African football, the African Cup of Nations is vertically broadcast from Africa to Europe and other regions of the world.

African national teams’ football competitions are broadcast to a non-African audience by Europeans and Arabs and transnational television broadcasters. The combined factors of the migration of African players and Eurosport’s pioneering broadcasting of the African Cup of Nations in the 1990s (DP, interview, August 15,

2009) have led to demand for the African Cup of Nations in Europe. The increasingly high profile of many African players performing weekly with prestigious European football clubs has contributed further to putting African football and the African Cup of

Nations on the European football map. In 2006 the African Cup of Nations final was live on the first private French television TF1 (Afriquechos.ch, 2006). The Saudi Arabia- based Arab Radio and Television Network, with its international satellite distribution, broadcast the African Cup of Nations as well. The finals are broadcast by TV5 international to a global audience.

This international distribution shows how African footballers and the national teams have gained attention and interest beyond Africa’s borders. The African Cup of

Nations final tournament, with increasing international distribution, has become a 166 revenue generator. Through the mechanism of broadcasting rights, Sportfive is the primary beneficiary, and the Confederation of African Football and the national teams and federations participating in the tournament benefit only secondarily. Control of the

African Cup of Nations media flows translates into financial and economic gains for core-located corporations. The schema in place is an illustration of the Modern World

Systems structural and economic description in the context of African football broadcasting. Although the $30,000 per African Cup of Nations and 2010 World Cup qualifier game paid by African television broadcasters to transnational media groups may seem like a peripheral commodity generating only marginal direct revenues compared to the millions of dollars in broadcasting rights for the African Cup of Nations, the economy of scale provided by the size of the African continent is lucrative. In fact, 60 games were played by African national teams in the second round of the African Cup of Nations and

2010 World Cup qualifier from March 28 to November 14, 2009. Hypothetically, if the countries of all visiting teams paid Sportfive $30,000, the broadcasting rights revenues would be $1,803,600.

Beyond the direct broadcasting rights, a main stake in controlling the horizontal flow of African football broadcasting is the indirect revenues from advertising. In fact, in the nexus of media and sports economics, indirect revenues generated by advertisements are the main incentives for media or marketing groups seeking to control broadcasting rights. In the African context, bartering presents two challenges. The first is reduction of advertising space and thus the capacity for African broadcasters to generate their own revenues when acquiring the rights from a transnational corporation. Local television 167 broadcasters can only advertise in spots left by the bartering. The second facet is the origin of the bartered advertisements and its implications. Bartering creates an advertisement flow defined and controlled by transnational broadcasters or their intermediaries. Although the football media are distributed horizontally, advertisement flows have a vertical component determined and controlled by broadcasting rights owners. By controlling the broadcasting rights of live football games played by African national teams, transnational media marketing and advertising corporations from the core supply advertisements to the peripheral audience. Advertisement flow is an additional element to consider in discussing cultural imperialism. Although one-way flows of news, films, and TV series produced by the core media industry are the most-suggested indicators of cultural imperialism, advertisement flows carried by bartered live football programs support a similar rationale. Nevertheless, unlike films or TV series produced in

Europe or the US that have no cultural connection to the African audience, products advertised are in local markets. Cellular phone providers are the most significant local players in the relationship between sport and television in Francophone Africa.

Cellular Phone Corporations’ Contribution to Electronic Colonialism

Cellular phone companies are the most prominent and visible advertisers and sponsors of African and Francophone football. South African MTN and French Orange are the most visible companies. In Côte d’Ivoire and Benin the local championship and the national teams are sponsored by MTN. All clubs in the Côte d’Ivoire national championship wore MTN on their uniforms. National team broadcasting, TV studios, and advertisements are dominated by Orange. In Senegal, Orange sponsors the local 168 championship and the national team. Mobile telephone advertisements visually dominate the street billboard landscape in cities such as Abidjan, Dakar, and Cotonou. The significant involvement of cellular phone corporations in Francophone football and television illustrates Aris’s (1990) indivisible trinity—professional sport, the media, and corporate sponsorship. Considering the most significant players in Francophone Africa, the indivisible trinity (which is also Aris’s “golden triangle”), is national-team football and national competitions, national television broadcasters, and cellular phone providers.

Cellular phone companies’ involvement consists of acquiring the rights to the competition including broadcasting rights. Public or any other local television broadcaster is thus relegated to a subcontract position. Their role then is to broadcast the games as required by the competition sponsor, the cellular phone company, in order to guarantee the necessary visibility. Although national television broadcasters and national teams and championships are integral components of the trinity, findings of this study reveal that in Francophone Africa, cellular phone corporations are the main economic stakeholder controlling media flows of power within the trinity. However, being sponsors of national teams and competitions, their role in the electronic colonization presents nuances in comparison to transnational marketing and media groups and transnational television broadcasters.

The findings of this study have shown that the main cellular phone corporations in

Francophone Africa are from the core and dictate the terms of broadcasting of peripheral

Francophone Africa’s football and sport in general. Consequently, local public and private television broadcasters are in a position where they must adhere to the broadcast 169 rights owners’ dictates. Similar to corporate transnational marketing, cellular phone companies’ sponsorship of football translates into monopolizing a peripheral production for the benefit of a core company. Instead of local football broadcasting rights benefiting new television broadcaster entrants as demonstrated by BSkyB in England, and Fox

News Corporation in the US, broadcasting rights acquisition in Francophone Africa serves as a vehicle for cellular phone corporations to penetrate or consolidate their market position in the region.

South African MTN is the most visible new cellular phone corporation entrant utilizing Francophone football as a marketing vehicle. MTN, in fact, sponsors the Benin national team, as well as the national football competitions in Côte d’Ivoire. In the context of this discussion, MTN’s involvement in Francophone African football supports the prevalence of cellular corporations in the relationship of football, media, and sponsors. The semi-periphery concept provides theoretical flexibility for analyzing the implications of MTN in the African cellular market competition. Stefan Andreasson

(2001), in discussing the location of countries in the Modern World System, presents arguments and the rationale for describing South Africa as a semi-peripheral country.

Furthermore, Martin and Wallerstein (2001) referenced in Andreasson (2001) argue that

South Africa is a stable member of the semi-periphery. Ahwireng-Obeng and McGowan

(1998) present South Africa as a regional hegemonic power because it is a sole semi- peripheral nation surrounded by marginalized periphery countries. The visible deployment of MTN in African countries tends to support the hegemonic argument and contradict Skocpol’s (1977) criticism of the Modern World System as static. In fact, one 170 criticism (among others) of the Modern World System is that it is static and not capable of incorporating or considering world political economy changes over the years. MTN’s role in peripheral Sub-Saharan Africa confers on South Africa a semi-peripheral position or, according to S. Amin (1997), that of an active peripheral country ( Wallerstein, 2004).

As an active peripheral or semi-peripheral country, South Africa is an economy with an exportable industrial production. Africa is the fourth market of South Africa in the post- apartheid economy (Daniel, Lutchman, & Naidu, 2004, p. 345). Daniel et al. argue that

MTN Group investments became profitable two years ahead of their plan (p. 246). South

African corporate MTN is playing a role similar to core entities such as the French cellular phone group Orange.

Like transnational marketing groups, Orange and MTN as transnational cellular phone and telecommunication corporations provide examples of how football broadcasting contributes to electronic colonialism in Francophone Africa. MTN Cellular

Phone Corporation adds a semi-peripheral dimension to analyzing electronic colonialism.

The French cellular corporation Orange reinforces the dominance of core corporations in electronic colonialism and French colonial heritage in Francophone Africa. More specifically, the prevalence of Orange cellular in Senegal, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire and its involvement in football sponsoring and broadcasting further reinforces the continuing engagement of the French electronic and media industry and the continuing dependency in Francophone Africa. Federations and television administrators recognize that without cellular corporations today, sponsoring and broadcasting football would be very limited (FD, interview, May 06, 2009; SS, interview, April 25, 2009; MC, interview, 171

May 06, 2009). Regarding national competitions, the media-football-sponsor trinity in

Francophone Africa is narrowed to public television broadcasters, national and federation teams, and cellular phone transnational corporations.

Electronic colonialism by cellular phone corporations is defined by their capacity to monopolize leagues’ and teams’ television broadcasting flow in Francophone Africa.

Cellular phone corporations indirectly control several leagues’ broadcasting rights by acquiring the right to become the main sponsor of a whole league. The sponsorship rights translate into a monopoly of media flow of football of the local championships. Local television broadcasters are subcontracted to provide media support by broadcasting the games. They have no broadcasting rights and cannot use the broadcasting to generate marketing revenues.

Intrinsically, this presents some similarities to existing sponsorship models in developed societies. However, in the case of peripheral economies the problematic and the electronic colonization are essentially in the relation core-periphery in place among cellular phone corporations, local leagues, and local television broadcasters. The financial power of cellular phone corporations from core and semi-periphery nations guarantees them a monopoly over football media flow in peripheral Francophone African countries.

In addition to media flow control, the prevalence of cellular phone corporations marketing in African football links to another colonial relation defined by modern world systems structures. Mladen Milicevic (2009) describes the undeniable benefits of the penetration of cellular phone usage in Africa. However, the list of the main stakeholders he provides demonstrates a technology dominated by core or semi-periphery nations’ 172 corporations (p.6). Consequently, the control of football media flowing through sponsorship by cellular phone corporations in Francophone Africa contributes to reinforcing a larger aspect of electronic colonialism. Although the sponsorship in place benefits the local leagues and teams, the end profit by the cellular companies belongs to core or semi-peripheral-based corporations. Additionally, the sponsorship dominance of cellular phone corporations over African football is increasingly reinforcing a financial dependency complementing the technological one.

Dependency of Football Media Content in Francophone Africa

The control of the broadcasting rights of African national teams’ games by

Sportfive illustrates the technological and economic disproportion that translates into various forms of dependency by television broadcasters in Francophone Africa. In fact, the historical technological aid from France and other European countries at the inception of all African television broadcasting evolved over time, yet the dependency remained.

Liberalization of the media and the technological transformation of broadcasting technologies in Francophone African countries certainly introduced new private television broadcasters, but did not change the technological dependency already in place. The economic, technological, and training limitations of African television broadcasters argued by Bourgault (1995) and Myton and Teer-Tomaselli (2005), continue to exist and translate into football broadcasting as well. Technologically, Francophone

African countries and the overall Sub-Saharan African countries have not succeeded in launching a communications satellite. Therefore, taking advantage of new broadcasting technology for African countries depends on satellites launched and run by corporations 173 located in the core, mostly Europe or the USA. African television broadcasters depend entirely on transnational satellite broadcasting giants such as Eutelsat, Intelsat, and NSS7

(Eutelsat). Beyond satellite hosting, Francophone African television broadcasters benefit from CanalSat Horizons for regional distribution of CanalSat Horizons packages edited for Africa. CanalSat Horizons provides satellite visibility to Francophone African television broadcasters that would be impossible without international marketing capacity.

By depending on CanalSat Horizons’ distribution, Francophone African television broadcasters cannot choose what geographical area they would like to serve. As a consequence, technological dependency restricts them to designated geographical spaces.

The ability to take advantage of satellite broadcasting free-to-air or pay-TV in Europe or any other part of world is not yet in place. The media space of the core is accessible by the Francophone periphery only under the terms of the core. Broadcasting rights constraints and technological dependency lock African television broadcasters into peripheral spaces defined and determined by the core. Satellite broadcasting technology dependency as discussed by Lenoble-Bart and Tudesq (2008) pertains to production equipment as well as to software and television sets. The lack of such broadcasting equipment as cameras and production facilities for football broadcasting by all television journalists or administrators is symptomatic of the depth of the technological dependency. All national television broadcasting administrators in Benin, Senegal, and

Côte d’Ivoire mentioned how inadequate facilities handicap their ability to compete with transnational television broadcasting. The prohibitive cost of technology manufactured by 174 core-country industries prevents or limits local Francophone African television broadcasters’ ability to acquire new production equipment. Foreign aid such as Japan’s project to digitalize Senegal’s national television broadcasting installation remains a consistent factor in the modernization of public television broadcasting systems. In fact, a senior administrator of public television in Senegal mentioned during this study that they have received a production bus, a set of equipment, and technical assistance to digitize their broadcasting from a Japanese corporation (BN, interview, April 20, 2009).

Technological dependency, although never mentioned as a problem, is presented as limited financial resources in statements such as, “We do not have the means and resources we need to be competitive, but we do very well considering what we have.”

New broadcasting technologies undeniably supply new distribution opportunities to

African football broadcasting. However, because of the well-established transnational media systems in football, African television broadcasters remain peripheral, with only a marginal role in the flow of football content. Electronic colonialism is essentially expressed by the technological and structural dependency that favors the control of football broadcasting flowing from the periphery to core entities. Football broadcasting flowing from the core to the periphery provides a context for electronic colonialism.

Satellite broadcasting capacities facilitate transnational television broadcasters’ supply of

African audiences for European football content and advertising. The football media content flow, core-to-periphery, has a multifaceted implication.

The first implication of transnational television in Francophone Africa is the role of Canal France International. As mentioned by Lancien (2004), the creation in 1989 of 175

Canal France International had clear geopolitical objectives. Acting as a bank of television programs, one intended objective of Canal France International was to increase the flow of French-produced television content toward French-speaking countries. Sport is a significant component of the television content flow transfer from Canal France

International to Francophone public television broadcasters. Despite no longer supplying the African Cup of Nations, Canal France International is offering African public television broadcasters European Champions League live games. As with the African

Cup of Nations until 2000, African television broadcasters depend on French cooperation to receive European international club football. Canal France International generously supplies European Champions League games to Francophone African televisions at no cost, but with bartering. Although appreciated by television administrators in Benin,

Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire, it epitomizes the long-lasting French assistance in television broadcasting for them. After providing the initial broadcasting equipment to most

Francophone Africa television, France has maintained a technical and content assistance.

Canal France International, initially created to ensure a French media flow presence in the world, is better described as a cooperation instrument that assists all Francophone

African television broadcasters. Canal France International is also involved in supporting

African production. However, permanent access by Francophone Africa public television broadcasters to Canal France International production reinforces the core-periphery media flow generally discussed as an example of cultural imperialism or electronic colonialism. Canal France International supplies French production, and therefore French content, culture, politics, and sport to its Francophone African audience. More 176 specifically, football broadcasting as media flow content adds its particularities to the electronic colonization aspect of Canal France International’s assistance to Francophone television broadcasters.

Beyond such European cultural products as movies, musical shows, or reality shows, football is the most popular contemporary sport in Africa and is one played by millions of youth. No cultural adaptation or translation is needed for a Francophone

African to understand a game played in Europe or elsewhere in the world. Moreover, with the colonial linguistic legacy, Canal France International commentaries in French, regardless of the teams, make the games more accessible to Francophone audiences. The

European Champions League game commentaries are in French. Without any substantial cultural adaptation, European football supplied by Canal France International and broadcast by public television broadcasters reach Francophone audiences simply as football games but played by the best players in Europe. Canal France International football broadcasting benefits from both a cultural and a language discount. For

Francophone African football fans, it is a unique free-to-air opportunity to watch the best of European football. Broadcasting by public national television broadcasters makes

Canal France International’s football content accessible to a national audience. But beyond the immediate sporting and entertainment satisfaction, several concerns emerge from the free supply of European Champions League games by Canal France

International. 177

Bartering and Local Advertising

All games delivered by Canal France International are supplied through bartering.

This imposes advertisements and commercials packaged in France by Canal France

International on Francophone African audiences. Although shown by public television broadcasters, the marketing accompanying the games is from France for French products or economic gains with a transnational distribution. Public television broadcasters argue that bartering constraints prevent them from generating any revenue from the games supplied by Canal France International, even though one can argue that Canal France

International supplies the games free of charge. However, knowing the importance of audience size in sport advertising, bargaining as another form of negotiation with public television broadcasters in Francophone Africa may be more appropriate than free games with bartering. Technical signal restriction is an expected consequence of Canal France

International’s supplying European games to Francophone African television broadcasters. In fact, the satellite broadcasting capability acquired by most Francophone

African television broadcasters must be turned off while broadcasting European

Champions League games in order to offer a free-to-air signal where it should be on pay television. As a consequence, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire intend to create a free-to-air channel for sport broadcasting potentially subject to geographically confined broadcasting. As argued by Bourgault (1995), the increase in air time, by adding a channel, leads to an increase in important programs, therefore, to dependency of African television on core countries’ productions. In reference to Nicholson’s (2007) nexus in games supplied by Canal France International, the media flow is core-periphery. This 178 core-periphery flow and bartering are the most-discussed characteristics of cultural imperialism. With the games, cultural and commercial symbols and contents are all defined by the supplier, Canal France International, located in France. The popularity of football in Francophone Africa, combined with free-to-air national coverage of national television broadcasters, provides an exceptional audience to French marketing across

Francophone Africa. Francophone African television broadcasters are a simple channel of distribution of European played and produced football content and French advertisement to their audiences.

Foreign Aid

The supply of European games to African television broadcasters by Canal France

International is comparable to a foreign aid program that guards African television broadcasters against expensive or inaccessible broadcasting rights. The delivery of

French- or European-produced content to Francophone African television broadcasters by

Canal France International is pursued and described as aid intended to compensate for the weak production capability of local television broadcasters. However, although Canal

France International’s supplying of programs is regarded by television broadcasting organization administrators as a useful and important cooperation gesture, the aid has created a dependency for content in all public television broadcasters of Francophone

Africa and more. Moreover, although free of charge, the football content delivery from the media world order perspective by Canal France International production strongly illustrates the media core-to-periphery flow control and continuing dependency of

Francophone African television broadcasters on French-produced or-distributed media 179 content. The prohibitive cost of football programming produced in Europe highlights the dependency of Francophone African television broadcasters on foreign aid for international football. In fact, most African television broadcasters cannot afford to acquire live competitions or games directly from Europe and must rely on Canal France

International, which has the broadcasting rights, to redistribute them with bartering restrictions and geographical constraints. Francophone African audiences are, therefore, dependent on either foreign aid-style French public media or on private transnational

French television broadcasters. Canal France International, in supporting Francophone

African television broadcasters, contributes to electronic colonialism by perpetuating a dependency state that has steadily increased with global competition for media control since the late 1980s. Canal France International’s technical, training, and structural aid to

Francophone African public television broadcasters contributes on one hand to their evolution or modernization, but on the other does not address structural, technological, and economic problems inherent in the socio-economic state of most African countries.

Football media flow controlled from the core exemplifies the structural dependency schematized by Wallerstein’s (1974) Modern World System. The periphery, Francophone

Africa, receives and consumes the games supplied as cooperation and aid by the core with limited or no input. Despite the fact that public television broadcasters carry international football and competitions, they do not own any broadcasting rights and have to compete with transnational broadcasters for European football content. In addition to the bartering problem initially discussed, Canal France International “aid” under the umbrella of French cooperation maintains a dependency pattern which is one of the 180 symbols of electronic colonialism. Besides the dependency, Canal France International’s supply of European competitions gives a sense of competitiveness to national television broadcasters. In Côte d’Ivoire a senior sport journalist mentioned that they can show the

European Champions League to their audience like CanalSat Horizons (FD, interview,

May 06, 2009). Regardless of the dependency and bartering, European football broadcasting on public television exhibits a presence on the media landscape contested by transnational television broadcasters such as CanalSat Horizons.

Electronic Colonialism by Transnational Television Broadcasters

As shown by the television broadcasting landscape in Francophone Africa,

CanalSat Horizons is the dominant private transnational broadcaster in Francophone

Africa and also an important supplier of football broadcasting there. As with Canal

France International, CanalSat Horizons is a French corporation that broadcasts satellite packages in Francophone Africa. Established primarily for a French audience as Canal+, its channels of CanalSat Horizons packages broadcast the same content in Europe and

Africa. Nevertheless, as mentioned in the findings, a few Francophone African channels are available in CanalSat Horizons packages. However, even though a few Francophone

African television broadcasters are included in these packages, they remain peripheral in their distribution and are, in fact, available only in packages distributed in Africa.

Canal+ group production and other French public or private channels are preponderant in these packages with significant amounts of sport content. However, if using football to penetrate local broadcasting markets and increase pay-TV subscriptions is a strategy commonly used by new entrants, football in CanalSat Horizons’ approach to 181 penetrate the Francophone African market is not clearly stated. Nevertheless, Canal+ channels in CanalSat Horizons contain a substantial amount of live football games and programs. The packages offer French league, Ligue 1, and Spanish Liga games live in addition to the European Champions League. Beyond the entirely French or European content, a 15-minute program focuses on African players performing with European clubs, Talents d’Afrique. It is the only football program with the African audience as a clear target. Talents d’Afrique supports Straubhaar’s (2007) cultural proximity concept.

In addition to Talents d’Afrique, all football programs benefit from the cultural proximity provided by the presence of numerous African football players in various European competitions.

An Individual Dimension to Cultural Proximity

As initially discussed in the review of the literature, the global culture of football, its history in Francophone Africa, and the labor migration of African footballers connive to produce another dimension of Straubhaar’s cultural proximity in football broadcasting. Straubhaar’s cultural proximity suggests that discussions about cultural imperialism must take into consideration audiences seeking cultural relevance in their consumption of media content. Furthermore, Straubhaar argues that the search for cultural proximity and relevance by peripheral audiences contributes to asymmetrical interdependencies tempering the media flow domination by the core countries’ media groups.

In fact, the data collected during this study revealed various cultural aspects of transnational football broadcasting in Francophone Africa pertinent to discussing the 182 cultural proximity concept. As discussed and argued by Alegi (2010), the long history and diffusion of football in Africa has made the game an integral component of African sporting culture. Consequently, football broadcasting in Francophone Africa benefits from Gratton and Solberg’s (2007) cultural discount. Contrary to many other media products or other sports disciplines with less popularity and historical roots, football as a contemporary game played with the same rules and understood by audiences all over the world, required limited to no cultural customization to have a cultural resonance with

African audiences. The cultural discount produces a cultural proximity validated by the current practice and appropriation of football by Francophone audiences. Indeed, football played, produced, and broadcast by Africans to local audiences represents aspects of the cultural relevance and proximity as suggested by Straubhaar. Nevertheless, the findings of this study suggest that local leagues and television broadcasters constitute a negligible alternative or competition to transnational football broadcasting or national teams’ games. Consequently, the cultural relevance or proximity of football broadcasting in

Africa is beyond the broadcasting of local football games. Individual players playing with

European clubs, by contributing to connecting football fans to European leagues and clubs, represent a more pertinent factor for discussing cultural proximity in the context of transnational football broadcasting.

In fact, the findings of this study demonstrate the cultural connection African players on European teams established with the audience in their country of origin. In

Senegal, a head of a sport newspaper states:

We have Senegalese players in England, France, and elsewhere in Europe, essentially players of our national team, the Lions. The main focus of our 183

newspapers is on these players in the Diasporas. They drive our sales. We have 70% of our football content about Senegalese players in France and England and their clubs (IF, interview, April 28, 2009)

In Burkina Faso, a country with fewer players in European leagues, provides a similar example. A football coach states:

Although we do not have many players in major European leagues, because the national team is doing well Burkinabe players like Charles Kabore with Marseille and Dagano who was in France but now is playing in the Arab Emirate United draw a special attention. Although Kabore is not always a starter he still generates a lot of enthusiasm from local fans. He even has a fan club in Ouagadougou. (TS, interview, June30, 2009)

As mentioned above by the Senegalese journalist, the players receiving the most attention are not only playing in European leagues, but they are also members of the national team. These players benefit from weekly local coverage of their performance in

Europe and contribute to establishing local supporting audience for their respective clubs as well. In addition to being Senegalese, playing or having played for the national team validates their connection with the local public and audience while establishing linkages between their European clubs and the audience in Africa. Didier Drogba and Samuel

Eto’o, from Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, respectively, play the same role in rallying their nations around their European clubs. Their world star status is locally validated by their national team performance and implication.

These examples demonstrate the importance of African players in linking

European football to an African audience. It validates Straubhaar’s cultural proximity concept with African players culturally connecting European football to an African audience. The fact that the audience is inclined to watch European clubs with players from their home country (moreover, members of the national team) advocates for 184 considering Straubhaar’s cultural proximity arguments as a challenging factor to cultural imperialism or dependency in media. In fact, as mentioned by the informants from

Senegal and Burkina Faso, there is an active and dynamic choice of the team viewers of transnational football broadcasting in Francophone Africa make. Indeed, the combined factors of national identity and national team belonging create a determining mix that influences the choice of the football fans in supporting specific teams. Moreover, when the national identity connection is not possible because of a lack of national players in major leagues, the national identification can simply be continental. A sport journalist states,

There are video joints to watch European games in every major neighborhood in Ouagadougou. When there is a match between Barcelona and Madrid Ouagadougou streets are empty. But people are mostly interested in watching African stars. Players like Drogba and Eto’o, although not from Burkinabe, have their fan clubs in Burkina Faso. Clubs with African players receive more attention. (TT, interview, July 30, 2009)

African players create a critical connection to European players. Therefore, watching a game and supporting a European club is determined by the common national or African identity football fans establish with African footballers performing in

European championships. As long as the player is African, the connection is possible. As suggested by Straubhaar (2007) in discussing the free choice or program instigated by cultural relevance, the decision of African audiences to choose a football game and to support one team or another is not determined by transnational broadcasters such as

CanalSat Horizons. The dependency is tempered by the choices of local audiences in

Francophone Africa to choose the teams they support and the game they want to watch.

The cultural proximity provided by individual players to transnational football 185 broadcasting does carry a level of independence that television broadcasters do not control. The African migrant players contribute to making European football relevant to their national and African identity. Besides the common global culture of football, there is a subculture defined by individual players and their national and African identity. The

African and national identities create an independent channel between African football players in Europe and the African audience. Although structurally and technologically established by transnational television broadcasters, the expression of the cultural proximity is determined by the African peripheral audience and the players performing in

Europe. African players in European contribute to creating the asymmetrical interdependence argued by Straubhaar. In fact, connection and eventual success of transnational broadcasting of European football in Africa depends on African players’ interceding with African audiences. Despite their visible role in culturally bridging

European football with African audiences, there is no evidence of the implications of these players in broadcasting strategies of transnational broadcasters. Consequently, the relative interdependence is asymmetrical and dominated and controlled by transnational television broadcasters’ interests and agenda primarily related to European audiences and markets. Beyond creating an asymmetrical interdependence and the relative independence of African audiences in choosing their teams according to the African players they support, there is a marketing dimension.

In fact, marketing documents, programs, bulletin boards, and content on web pages are additional examples of the connection provided by the African football

Diaspora to the African audience. Marketing pamphlets that CanalSat Horizons programs 186 distribute in Africa and bulletin boards visible in cities such as Abidjan and Dakar are among the most visible images of the intentional utilization of African football players in

Europe. Samples of CanalSat Horizons collected during this study show a systematic display of African football descent images on all the sections related to football. Bulletin boards by Canal+ Horizons also portray national players playing for the national team as well as prestigious European clubs. A television advertisement for a European

Champions League game between the British club Chelsea and the Spanish one

Barcelona featured the Ivorian stars, Yaya Toure for Barcelona and Didier Drogba for

Chelsea.

From this study it appears that beyond being marketing images for CanalSat

Horizons in Francophone Africa, African migrant players do not determine the programming of the games broadcast to African audiences. Although audiences seem to prefer choosing their teams in regard to national or continental identities, their choices do not determine the programming of transnational broadcasters. In fact, live games and sport programs are broadcast live by Canal+ France to their European audience as well as the international one. Cultural proximity as a dependency reducer or asymmetrical interdependency generator has limited application in transnational broadcasting of football in Francophone Africa. A scenario with the broadcasting of African local competitions with African stars competing with transnational television broadcasting

European football should have created a more viable cultural proximity, as suggested by the examples of Latin America and Brazil (Straubhaar, 2010, p. 274). Because factors such as the long-dependent content and technological history of Francophone television 187 broadcasters, as well as the financial and structural weakness of most of Francophone

Africa leagues, the cultural proximity of African players in European leagues is essentially as marketing tools exploited by transnational television broadcasters. African football migrant players contribute more to the cultural discount than the cultural proximity that can lead to an increasing interdependence between transnational football productions and the local one. The findings of this study suggest that Straubhaar’s cultural relevance or proximity creates interdependence between the individual players and the content they contribute to creating. Meanwhile, by connecting African audiences to the European clubs and leagues, it reinforces already existing football media content dependencies, contributing to the electronic colonization of Francophone Africa.

Considering the connection provided by African players to local audiences, it is not only Talents d’Afrique that generates noticeable interest, but all leagues or teams with

African players. As mentioned by several informants, l’Equipe du Dimanche, a show dedicated to French and European championships but with no special focus on African players, is well regarded by CanalSat Horizons subscribers. However, unlike content supplied by Canal France International and broadcasts by public television broadcasters,

CanalSat Horizons broadcasts directly to the African audience and is, therefore, a competitor of all local television broadcasters, public or private.

Given the economic and training weaknesses of local productions and television mentioned by Bourgault (1995) and Myton and Teer-Tomaselli (2005) and often by television professionals during this study, television broadcasters have limited means to compete with transnational television broadcasting. As mentioned by an interviewee, 188 viewers, when they have the choice, prefer football programs on Canal+ or other French channels to their national television local leagues football (MD, interview, May 6, 2009).

In Senegal and many other African countries, national television broadcasts the national team games live as often as possible in spite of the cost. Regardless of these efforts, the

Senegalese prefer to watch the games on French television when they are shown simultaneously. In fact, because of their limited resources, national television broadcasters often comment on the games from a television screen in their studios or have phone communication lines in the stadium when attending competitions on the road.

A journalist mentioned that he had to comment on a whole tournament from his cellular phone because his company could not afford to rent a line in the stadium (LD, interview,

May 1, 2009). A similar scenario is described by Vidacs (2004) in Cameroon. She suggests that for technical reasons Cameroonians prefer games on French broadcasts, as is the case for European Champions League games supplied by Canal France

International to public television broadcasters or broadcast by Canal+ Horizons.

Straubhaar’s (2007) cultural proximity concept in football television broadcasting does not imply cultural adjustment of football broadcasting to African audiences. It is a high cultural discount for transnational television broadcasters.

In addition to production quality attributable to superior production equipment, the human resource expertise partially explains the choice of a transnational broadcaster when showing the same content with a local one. When European games versus local games are at stake, additional factors intrinsically related to the football organization motivates the choice of European over African football. Facilities and management 189 factors in this study appeared more as a justification by television managers to explain local football’s lack of appeal to television broadcasters. Tshimanga (2001) argues that it is mostly attributable to problems of facilities, management, and socio-economic handicapping factors for African football leagues and clubs. Given the gap between

African football and European football in terms of performance, production level, equipment, and facilities quality, the African football audience is more likely to watch

European football broadcasting. European football marketing, regular exposure to such a brand of football, and the presence of many African footballers on European teams contribute to the establishment of European football as local football culture. Colin Lasu

(Lasu, 2004) illustrates the amplitude of the localization of European football in Uganda.

He reports scenes of Ugandan fans wearing Manchester United or Arsenal jerseys and discussing past games or seasonal anecdotes and statistics while watching a game on satellite TV in a bar. Contrary to what we find in other parts of the world such as Asia,

Latin America, or Australia, where transnational television broadcasting tends to penetrate local markets with some popular local sports broadcasting, football is already the most popular local sport in Africa. ESPN’s slogan “Think globally, but customize locally” is applicable to table tennis in East Asia and cricket in India. In Latin America, in spite of the popularity of football 20 % of ESPN programs are locally produced

(Thussu, 2006). In Francophone Africa, longtime exposure to French and European football, combined with the connection provided by African footballers performing in

European leagues, provides a unique mix of cultural proximity and cultural discount.

Increasing access to European football provided by CanalSat Horizons and transnational 190 television broadcasters in general, combined with local leagues’ deficiencies, is creating a form of football cultural imperialism.

Actually, comments by several Francophone African football professionals and insiders such as an administrator of a professional club in Abidjan (BY, interview, May

6, 2009) discussed the over-focus of African youth on European league stars, African or not. The football administrator, a French marketing manager of the most popular club in

Côte d’Ivoire, ASEC Abidjan, states, “Today people know the result of a game between

Chelsea and Arsenal but they don’t know the result of any local league game” (BY, interview, May 6, 2009). The success of video bars in Burkina Faso, where young adults meet to watch European league games, is also an example of the level of interest and commitment of Francophone African football fans to European football. The constant exposure of African football fans to European games accomplishes a football cultural shift from local to European through core-to-periphery media flows. The contracting attention of young African football fans who are ignoring local football in favor of

European games is an example of cultural imperialism. Some identity and cultural factors provided by African players in European leagues distinguish the cultural imperialism in play in football from other forms. In fact, although football as a global game benefits from a cultural discount, the cultural proximity effectively reinforced by national identification supplied by African players performing in European championships is preponderant in connecting fans to European clubs and contributing to the electronic colonialism. 191

In Côte d’Ivoire, a player like Didier Drogba, the captain of the Côte d’Ivoire national team, has created such a connection to Chelsea, his British club, that one can argue that the emotional and identity connection to Chelsea in Côte d’Ivoire is similar to that for a local club. Charles Kabore, a player for Burkina Faso currently playing in

France, generates special attention in his home country, where a journalist argued that youth watch his games and associate themselves with his team, Olympic of Marseille.

Despite the geographic location of these clubs, national identification plays an important role in the way African fans support European clubs where their national team stars play.

Although national identities are the primary connection to players from the Diaspora, a pan-African identity connects African viewers to other players, even those not from their own country. Samuel Eto’o from Cameroon and Didier Drogba from Côte d’Ivoire have fan clubs in Burkina Faso (JD, interview, August 5, 2009). African players in the

Diaspora are indisputably a significant driving force of cultural or national proximity to

European leagues, which benefits transnational television broadcasters such as CanalSat

Horizons. These broadcasters, then, are the vehicle facilitating the meeting between

African football fans and African-descent European football stars. CanalSat Horizons packages broadcasting French, British, Spanish, and Italian teams have created a most- appreciated connection of their Francophone audience with African players and European leagues and clubs. Football broadcasting by transnational broadcasters could have been relevant content for the debate about the New World Communication and Information

Order. The production and distribution of football media content flowing from Europe illustrate the already existing core-to-periphery power relation characteristic of 192 transnational broadcasting and diffusion of other existing flows such as news, movies, and documentaries. Transnational football broadcasting in Francophone Africa is a contemporary dimension of electronic colonialism and a media and sport illustration of

Wallerstein’s (1974) Modern World System. Despite the cultural proximity and discount provided by the global culture of football, the control of football content flowing from the core to the peripheral African audience still has culture-related incidences.

Referring to the concept of mind control of the colonized through values and purchasing patterns, another characteristic of electronic colonialism underlined by

McPhail (2006), the transnational broadcasting of football in Francophone Africa, has very tangible effects. All findings of this study highlight the drop in attention to national competitions. Even newspapers, sports specialized or not, are obliged to report on

European football to keep readership. The front page of the ten copies of sport newspapers collected in Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire during this study show African star footballers on the front page. The founder and director of SuperSport, a sport newspaper in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, states, “International (European) football has to be our front page. We cannot put our local players on the front page, not one of them. It does not sell, nobody knows who they are” (HF, interview, May 5, 2009).

The access to European football through transnational television broadcasting has transformed the football demand. Football fans’ taste for football is colonized by

European football competitions. The notion of cultural values is significant in addressing electronic colonialism in football. The African football culture is defined by European clubs such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid, or FC. Barcelona. Although 193 football broadcasting supports CanalSat Horizons’ penetration of the Francophone

African market, transformation of purchasing patterns of viewers in Francophone Africa cannot yet be determined. However, African audiences watching their favorite European clubs weekend after weekend are exposed to European product advertisements.

Consequently, their purchasing patterns can potentially be affected, as suggested by

McPhail’s (2006) electronic colonialism. The dominant position of CanalSat Horizons in

Francophone African transnational television broadcasting and the colonial linguistic and commercial legacy between France and its former colonies of Côte d’Ivoire, Benin,

Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Cameroon potentially offer an extended consumer market without any cultural or social adjustment or local investment in sponsorships. The colonial history between France and the countries studied facilitates the electronic colonialism illustrated by CanalSat Horizons, Canal France International, and the role of

Sportfive in negotiating national teams’ broadcasting rights. Additional factors, such as the football structures and the peripheral character of all the countries of this study, facilitate the electronic colonization of Francophone African football.

The electronic colonization of Francophone Africa, as shown by review of the literature, interviews, field observations, and football television programs during this study, is a multifaceted, observable fact which is facilitated by a sociopolitical and economic mix. The mix is composed of media political democratization and deregulation, satellite and communications technology, and the increasing profile of African football through its Diaspora and the persistent legacy of colonial linkages. The results of the study in Senegal, Benin, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Burkina Faso display how 194

CanalSat Horizons, Canal France International, Orange, and Sportfive, all French- dominated transnational corporations, contribute to Francophone Africa’s electronic colonization.

Although the late 1990s democratization of the African television broadcasting landscape introduced local private television broadcasting, it did not generate any competition for football broadcasting rights observable in Europe. To the contrary, there is an increasing content flow of live football played in Europe supplied by transnational satellite distributors CanalSat Horizons and Canal France International to the public television broadcasters. Although no data can demonstrate the negative effect or correlation between European live broadcasting and increasing disaffection with local football, it is undeniable that live European football broadcasting is creating what Mullin et al. (2007) define as a strong personal and emotional identification (p. 18). The strong personal and emotional attachment of African football fans to European clubs is one of the most observable facts of the cultural import aspect of electronic colonialism in

Francophone Africa. At the national team level, football content is substituted for electronic colonialism’s cultural import in broadcasting flows control. In fact, like most football fans in the world, African fans have a personal and emotional identification with their national teams. Watching their national teams’ games is considered a nationalist act instead of cultural imperialism. Increasing control of African national football teams’ broadcasting flows through broadcasting rights mechanisms illustrates another aspect of how political and structural reforms in television broadcasting contribute to the electronic colonialism of Francophone Africa. In fact, despite the revenues generated by national 195 teams, management of federations, the direct revenues or profits from reselling the rights, or indirect revenues from advertising are appropriated by transnational marketing and media corporations. Beyond the financial profit generated by a core corporation, control of electronic advertising by core-based organizations such as cellular phone companies is an additional argument for the role of football broadcasting in electronic colonialism.

Electronic colonialism in football broadcasting reinforces the peripheral role of

African media, football broadcasting, and audiences of the continent generally. The trinity—media, football, and sponsor or the economic nexus—are the economic engine of

European football, although its existence in Francophone Africa is dominated by transnational entities which control the content and money flow. The resulting externalities, such as technology and financial dependency toward the core media, marketing and cellular corporations, and a progressive disaffection with local football teams and competitions, may not be entirely attributable to the effect of electronic colonialism. As mentioned by a club administrator, “scheduling of games at 2 or 3 p.m. when the sun is burning, the quality of the facilities, and the low playing level do not encourage fans to attend most of the games played during the regular season. In Côte d’Ivoire, with the economic crisis, fans are also less likely to come to the stadium” (BY, interview, May 6, 2009). However, this study has shown that broadcasting democratization from the late 1990s has favored the reinforcement of French electronic colonialism in Francophone Africa and of the core limiting peripheral television broadcasters to the role of subcontractors, indirectly impoverishing the local football of peripheral audiences. Cellular phone corporations using football broadcasting their 196 market presence as an advertising platform show an additional dimension of electronic colonialism that merges football television broadcasting and cellular technology. 197

CONCLUSION

The cultural entrenchment of football in African Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,

Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, is a reality confirmed by the findings of this study. In addition to children and youth playing football on playgrounds, local and transnational television programs and newspapers illustrate the presence of football in Francophone

Africans’ daily lives. The culture of football has acquired an ineluctable electronic dimension. The football culture introduced during colonization and established by its practice games in schools, the army, and early local clubs has acquired a new dimension with new broadcasting technologies such as satellite television broadcasting. New broadcasting technologies supply African football fans with exceptional opportunities to watch their favorite players performing in Europe. Transnational television broadcasting of football contributes to breaking what one could have considered a “football digital divide.”

Transnational television broadcasters bridge African football with the rest of the world. The global broadcasting of African football competitions such as the African Cup of Nations provides a unique opportunity for the world to see the best African players with their national teams and represents a showcase of African sport performed in Africa.

African transnational football broadcasters facilitate the retransmission of a positive facet of Africa. Given the number of African players in French leagues, CanalSat Horizons connects more specifically its Francophone African audience with their favorite African players through weekly live games and other football programs. CanalSat Horizons is the most solid bridge between the Francophone African audience and the African players in 198

France and throughout Europe. As discussed by Alegi (2010), African players have contributed to the global culture of football throughout history. Additionally, as argued by an informant, African players brought a different feeling to the game (DP, interview,

May 20, 2009). Alegi argues that there has been an Africanization of football. The culture of football is therefore an African culture which benefits transnational television broadcasters and transnational media and marketing groups.

Indeed, as shown by the findings of this study, the cultural proximity delivered by the French language, Francophone African players in various French leagues, and the inherent cultural discount of football, established an exceptionally favorable environment for transnational broadcasting of football. Additionally, the technological transformations of television broadcasting and media deregulation contributed to raise revenue opportunities for national and international football governing bodies. The Confederation of African Football and some national federations generate revenues through broadcasting rights contracts with Sportfive, sponsorship, and image rights with cellular phone corporations such as the South African MTN and the French Orange. The cultural triumph as described by Blociszewski (2007) when relating to the role of television broadcasting in Europe has a Francophone African version. The identification with a national team and its stars, and devotion to European clubs and their talented players, are similar to what is observed among football fans in Europe. However, besides the positive aspects of transnational television broadcasting of football and the sharing of football culture between African and other football fans across the world, structural and economic 199 factors highlight the political economy dimension of transnational television broadcasting theoretically framed in this study by electronic colonialism.

Although democratization and deregulation of media policies increased the number of African television broadcasters, their economic and production quality weaknesses mentioned by Bourgault (1995) and Myton and Teer-Tomaselli (2005) prevent them from being significant actors in football broadcasting. At the national level, the economic viability of the relationship between television broadcasters and football is limited. In an online newspaper Kaach (Lematin.ma, 2009) argues that the quality of the facilities, the quality of clubs and league management, and the lack of a sponsoring culture are among the handicapping factors influencing the lack of appeal of local football for sponsors and television broadcasting. The culture of football exists but the product football in the local context is not economically viable enough to create what

Mullin, Hardy, and Sutton (2007) call “sport and electronic media: a symbiotic relationship” (p. 371). The passion and craving of African audiences for football is therefore satisfied by transnational television football programs packaged with commercials and advertisements primarily targeting French audiences. The electronic colonialism in football occurs with both cultural and economic implications.

The cultural dimension, similar to cultural imperialism, is essentially in the programming and content associated with football broadcasting. In this case, football content is similar to a Trojan horse for French products through marketing in live transnational broadcasting by CanalSat Horizons, as well as the bartering of Canal France

International programs. Advertisements delivered by French production through bartering 200 ensures to France an additional cultural and economic presence in Francophone Africa.

Francophone African audiences watching football programs and live broadcasting on

CanalSat Horizons channels or Canal France International production on local television are exposed to French products, leagues, teams, presenters, and language. In addition to the cultural aspect, the commodification of African football broadcasting rights created new venues for a more economic dimension of electronic colonialism.

The fragmentation and apparent disconnect of interests allows the commodification of broadcasting rights and benefits a few stakeholders such as the

African Football Confederation (CAF), television broadcaster LC2, national federations, and transnational marketing and media groups. The need for local federations and the

African Football Confederation (CAF) to generate revenues from television rights opened the door to transnational media and marketing groups to control the most marketable competitions of African football, the African Cup of Nations tournament, the qualifier games, and continental club championships. This study revealed that African media or federations are simply suppliers or traders of football games. The electronic colonialism is established by technological and financial control of the most marketable segment of

African football by transnational marketing and media groups for immediate economic gains and financial revenues.

This study showed the cultural and economic dimensions of electronic colonialism in Francophone Africa and their cultural and structural complexity. It further revealed how football television, the electronic colonialism, applies to horizontal flows as well as the vertical ones of televised football in Francophone Africa. The structural and 201 economic weaknesses of football clubs and leagues and the drop in attention to local championship games among football spectators are among the factors conducive to electronic colonialism. Moreover, the economic fragility of local private or public television broadcasters does not encourage investing in sport events which do not provide any financial return. Television broadcasters often want to be paid to broadcast local football events. On the other hand, federations following the models in place elsewhere want to be paid by television broadcasters for the games they organize. In the context of reduced production capacity and poor football quality, football as live entertainment has no economic viability and appeal for local or transnational television broadcasters. Given all these reasons the economic model built on broadcasting rights in place in developed nations and the neo-liberal model of football economy dominated by marketing is unrealistic. The economic and corporate net is insignificant. Therefore, new forms of partnership are required between television broadcasters and local football federations, as well as the Confederation of African Football.

Football television broadcasting in Francophone Africa is symptomatic of all

Francophone television broadcasters’ and football leagues’ economic, technological, and structural challenges. Addressing the problem of transnational football television broadcasting’s pathway to electronic colonialism requires discussion, research, and analysis beyond the scope of this study. Nevertheless, from the findings of this study, addressing control of the media flows by Sportfive or any other core-located corporation implies concerted planning between African stakeholders, football federations, and television broadcasters. Vertical integration of African football and football media flows 202 to the world sport media market reinforces the electronic colonization of African football.

With the African Diaspora comes their clubs’ jerseys, teammates, and league images. In spite of the identity and pride provided by African footballers in the Diaspora, African football and imagery is dominated by British premier league clubs such as Arsenal or

Manchester United and other European clubs. Conversations about British Premier

League clubs, Spanish Liga, or French Ligue 1 have replaced those about local clubs.

Effects of transnational TV broadcasting in Anglophone Africa exhibit a similar presence of European league clubs in the football culture of fans. Ismaila Lere, sports editor at the

Daily Trust newspaper in Nigeria states:

When you look at the stadiums you'll find that the stands are virtually empty, while the bars and the joints that have satellite TV are full. People will pay to watch the Premier League on TV but not to watch Nigerian football live. The trouble started back in the early 1990s. (Walker, 2008)

Ismaila Lere’s comments describe some effects of satellite and transnational television broadcasting of European league games on local league game attendance initially discussed in this study. A blog document by Andrew Guest (2009) in describing the presence of Manchester United, Chelsea, or Arsenal logos or names in the most unexpected rural spaces in East Africa confirms that Anglophone Africa is confronted with similar electronic and cultural penetration of core league football television broadcasting which contributes to electronic colonialism. Africa is undeniably integrated to Giulianotti’s (2004) so-called football global market by accessing and consuming the global television broadcasting of European leagues’ games. Furthermore, with South

Africa hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2010, Africa will symbolically be at the core of 203 the football global market. Transnational television broadcasting will provide the opportunity to billions of viewers across the world to watch world football played in

African world-class stadia. By conveying these images to a global audience, transnational television broadcasters should contribute to debunking primitive stereotypical images of

Africa as mentioned by Alegi (2010) in the context of a global football market. This study informs about elements of the political economy of transnational television broadcasting of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

More specifically, it contributes to the literature on football and television broadcasting in Africa. The results add new dimensions to the theory of electronic colonialism in the context of Francophone African football. The reference to the structural design of the modern world economy in framing the study contributes to support the adaptability of the theory to new forms and ways to define core, semi- periphery, and periphery. Considering the rapid transformation of the African mediascape as well as the increasing introduction of the Internet in sport broadcasting, several research projects are possible to contribute to a better understanding of television and sport broadcasting in Africa. A similar study in Anglophone Africa, researches with a focus on audience and fans, African football broadcasting in the African Diaspora, and studies of post-FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa are a few examples of research that can add to the scholarship in the field of football and sports in Africa. 204

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APPENDIX 1: INSITUTIONAL RESEARCH BOARD EXEMPTION

219

APPENDIX 2: INVENTORY OF TELEVISION BROADCASTERS

Starting Senegal Ownership Broadcasting Coverage Access Year RTS Government Terrestrial/Satellite National Free on air 1961 RTS 2S Government Terrestrial Limited Free on air 2008 2STV Private Terrestrial/Satellite Limited Free on air 2003 WalfTV Private Terrestrial/Satellite Limited Free on air 2006 Canal Info Private Limited Limited Free on air 2006 RDS Private Limited Limited Free on air 2007 Canal Satellite Private Satellite Package National Pay per view 1991 Deltanet TV Private Satellite Package National Pay per view 2006 TV5 Private MMDS National Free on air 1992 Escaf Telecomm Private MMDS National Pay per view 2006 Starting Benin Ownership Broadcasting Coverage Access Year ORTB Government Terrestrial/Satellite National Free on air 1978 GolfTV Private Terrestrial Limited Free on air 2003 Canal3 Private Terrestrial Limited Free on air 2004 LC2 Private Terrestrial/Satellite yes Free on air 1997 TV Canal Centre Private Terrestrial Limited Free on air 2007 Canal Satellite Private Satellite National Pay per view TV5 Private MMDS National Free on air HiTV (English) Private MMDS National Pay per view 2007 Starting Burkina Faso Ownership Broadcasting Coverage Access Year 1963 and RTB Government Terrestrial/Satellite National Free on air 1970 Canal3 Private Terrestrial Limited Free on air 2002 SMTV (Sport Musique 2002 TV) Private Terrestrial Limited Free on air CVK (Chane Viim Koega 1996 (words of Life) Private Terrestrial Limited Free on air 2002 Multi-TV package Vivendi Private Satellite Canal Satellite Private Satellite National Pay per view TV5 Private MMDS National Free on air Starting Cameroon Ownership Broadcasting Coverage Access Year CRTV Government Terrestrial/Satellite National Free on air 1985 STV1 Private Limited Free on air 2004 STV2 Private Limited Free on air 2004 Canal 2 International Private Limited Free on air Equinoxe TV Private Terrestrial/Satellite Limited Free on air 220

Ariane TV Private New TV Private Canal Satellite Private Satellite National Pay per view TV5 Private Mmds National Free on air Starting Cote d’Ivoire Ownership Broadcasting Coverage Access Year RTI Government Terrestrial/Satellite National Free on air 1963 TV2 Government Terrestrial Limited Free on air 1991 Canal Satellite Private Satellite National Pay per view TV5 Private MMDS National Free on air

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APPENDIX 3: DATA COLLECTION CHRONOLOGY

Field research in Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire

Senegal Date Location Data Informant Informant Collection pseudonym Method Friday, April 24, 2009 Arrival in Dakar Saturday, April 25, 2009 Interview Journalist Walfadri Grand AT Place Interview Senior administrator of SS Football Federation of Senegal Sunday, April 26, 2009 Observation Participation Roundtable presentation Basketball in Senegal Interview Sports Journalists Canal CSJ1 and Info CSJ2 Observation Live Wrestling Competition Monday, April 27, 2009 Interview Advisor to Director National AD Radio and TV Interview Director National Radio and BD TV Interview Director National TV Interview Director Human Resources - OD Former director Interview Director News National MB Radio and TV Interview Former director marketing AN and sponsoring Now Director Administration and Finance National Radio and TV Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Interview Editor Walf Sport DK Interview Head sport section Walf IF daily news Interview Head news Walf TV OG Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Basketball Conversation Sport for Education and SEED Camp in s Economic Development Thiès Academy staff and coaches Thursday, April 30, 2009 Head sport section WalfTV PD Interview sport journalist 2STV MK (phone) (phone) Friday, May 01, 2009 Interview Journalist Canal Info LD 222

Cote d'Ivoire Saturday, May 02, 2009 Arrival Contacts for interviews Abidjan Sunday, May 03, 2009 Contacts for interviews Monday, May 04, 2009 Interview Referee League 1 and 2 AC Conversation Meeting and conversation Former national team goal keeper and current U17 and U20 national teams coach Tuesday, May 05, 2009 Interview Founder-Director HF Supersport, Sport newspaper Conversation Former teammates Wednesday, May 06, 2009 Interview Head of commercial MC administration (former head of sponsorship) Interview Head of sport department FD National Radio and Television (Radio Television Ivoirienne - RTI) Conversation Head of sport productions MD department National Radio and Television (Radio Television Ivoirienne - RTI) Observation Semi Final European and Champions Leagues Discussion Manchester United VS Arsenal with friends in a house Thursday, May 07, 2009 Interview Senior Sport journalist MK National Radio and Television (Radio Television Ivoirienne - RTI) Observation Semi Final European and Champions Leagues Discussion Chelsea vs Barcelona - with friends in a bar Interview Vice President Football SD federation - President Football League Friday, May 08, 2009 Interview Sport journalist FK Administrator of Sport department National Radio and Television (Radio Television Ivoirienne - RTI) 223

Interview Director Marketing ASEC BY Mimosa Interview Vice President Football ID Head of Sponsorship Contract and Marketing Saturday, May 09, 2009 Observation Former Teammates and Discussion Sunday, May 10, 2009 Interview/Dis Professor of Sociology FA cussion Université de Bouake Interview Former Cote d’Ivoire AG national team goal keeper and current U17 and U20 national teams coach Monday, May 11, 2009 Back to Dakar Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Back to the US

Additional Data out of the field by phone or voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) Interview Interview Founder of DP (phone) Eurosport and Media consultant Interview Director National Radio and JA (phone) Television Benin (ORTB) Interview Journalist National Radio GA (phone) Television Benin (ORTB) Interview Senior Producer National KA (phone) Radio and Television Benin(ORTB) Interview President of Benin Football MA (phone) Federation Interview Interview retired sport GD (phone) journalist of Radio France International and Confederation of African Football media advisor Interview Amateur player from Burkina HS (phone) Faso Interview Sport journalist from Burkina TT (phone) Faso Interview Burkina Faso Ministry or MS (phone) Youth and Sport administrator and Youth football coach trainer. 224

APPENDIX 4: SAMPLES OF SATELLITE TELEVISION PACKAGES

Sample of television channels and radio stations comprising CanalSat Horizons packages in Africa. Source: Canal Overseas Africa web site http://www.canal- overseas.com/en/lentreprise/implantation-geographique/Afrique/Afrique-subsaharienne/. 225

Deltanet, Satellite television, and digital radio distribution in Senegal.