• Private TV channels face declining ad revenue and rising diffusion costs, including a fixed annual TNT fee of CFA75 million ($133,230).
• Burkina Faso counts 5.7 million internet users and 3.4 million active social-media users, accelerating the shift of audiences and advertising budgets online.
• The UBES TV meeting called for urgent collective action to protect thousands of jobs and preserve private broadcasters’ role in social cohesion.

Private television channels in Burkina Faso are seeking to stabilize a sector weakened by a shrinking advertising market and a structural crisis that continues to threaten the long-term viability of private media.

In Ouagadougou, the Union burkinabè des éditeurs privés de services de télévision (UBES TV) organized a workshop from Thursday December 4 to Friday December 5 under the theme “The Future of Private Television in Burkina Faso: Economic Resilience and Innovation in a Context of Crisis.” The meeting brought together channel executives, regulators, technical operators and experts to identify solutions capable of adapting private broadcasting to ongoing technological and economic shifts.

UBES TV president Ismaël Ouédraogo, quoted by Lefaso.net, said private TV channels have faced a harsh economic reality in recent years, driven by the security crisis and widespread job insecurity. He stressed the urgency of unity to “find the appropriate paths to save these thousands of jobs and save these television channels that play a crucial role in Burkina Faso’s development.”

The workshop took place as private broadcasters reassess their economic model under mounting pressures. Advertising revenue—one of their main sources of funding—continues to fall. At the same time, channels must absorb the high cost of digital terrestrial television (TNT) distribution, set at CFA75 million per year ($133,230) since 2020.

Audiences continue to shift to digital platforms that capture an increasing share of attention and revenue. DataReportal reports that early 2025 numbers show more than 5.7 million internet users and 3.4 million active social-media users in Burkina Faso. This shift drives advertisers to redirect budgets towards digital formats, directly reducing income for private television channels.

This article was initially published in French by Félicien Houindo Lokossou

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum