(Ecofin Agency) - Over the past year, from March 2015 to March 2016, Canal+ landed 500,000 new customers in Africa. The French pre-paid TV group thus brought its number of customers to over two million across the continent.

It should be recalled that up till February 2016, Canal+ gathered around 5.5 million customers worldwide (France excluded). These numbers were updated on May 11, 2016, by Canal+’s owner, Vivendi who included results from Q1 2016.

The television group thus recorded its highest performance in Africa. Here, the 500,000 new customers it grabbed over the previous year exceeds by far its global growth (all markets) which is at 170,000 customers. Canal+, in France, keeps on a downtrend with 183,000 subscribers less in three months. Africa is thus the reason why Canal+ global portfolio counts 15.4 million subscriptions. Vivendi in fact talks of good performances for pre-paid TV in Africa.

This trend has been going on for the past two years. While it regresses in France, Canal+ is rapidly growing in Africa. From 700,000 in 2013, the number of customers in Africa soared to over 2 million to date. In January 2016, President of Canal+ Overseas, Jacques du Puy, revealed that Africa recorded an average growth of 30% per year, which equals 500,000 new customers. “It will not be the same every year, but we are on an uptrend for now,” he said without indicating how much this growth generated. However, Jérôme Bodin, analyst at Natixis bank, predicted in 2014 that Canal+’s gross operating income would surge from 60 to around 150 million Euros, by 2018.

“Vivendi has categorized Africa as a top-priority investment zone,” du Puy added. The goal is to get a household in two subscribed to Canal+, and reach 5 million subscribers in the coming years, said David Mignot, MD Africa, Canal+ Overseas.

To achieve this goal, Canal+ reduced its tariffs in Africa. Its parabolic antenna is presently free and monthly subscription costs FCFA5000. Also, the offer was reinforced with the introduction of 25 new channels in 2015. The group also allows mobile payment to facilitate subscription and decrease churn rate. This rate is the highest in Europe, and this is why the African market is so complex despite its high growth potential.