Regulator slaps Canal+ with large fine

Burkina Faso’s media regulator has slapped French broadcaster Canal+ with a second, much larger fine, accusing it of failing to provide free access to state TV channels, reports Vanguard Nigeria. The watchdog imposed a penalty of 200m CFA francs ($350 000), four times higher than a 50m CFA franc fine handed down in June for what it called Canal+’s failure to comply with obligations. Authorities in the military-led west African nation require Canal+, whose pay-TV packages are popular across Africa, to keep state broadcaster RTB’s channels available to subscribers even after their subscriptions expire. Under a 2024 agreement between Canal+ International and the media regulator, the company must continue carrying the public channels free of charge for users in Burkina Faso. But the regulator said the company had failed to comply with a 30-day deadline following the earlier sanction in June over what it called a failure to meet its contractual obligations. Burkina Faso has been ruled by Captain Ibrahim Traore since he seized power in a 2022 coup. The junta has suspended most major Western media outlets, including France’s RFI radio and France 24 television channel, and expelled several foreign correspondents. It has also been accused of cracking down on dissent, particularly criticism of its handling of jihadist violence that has plagued the country for a decade.