London — Théodore Ndanga is Director General of the new CMR7 Cameroon television channel. Previously he was Marketing and Commercial Director at Canal 2 International from 2004 to 2009 and moved to Canada where he joined Videotron, one of the country's leading telecommunications companies. Back in Cameroon since early 2014, he set up the project and launched the first 100% female radio station in Cameroon: Ell'FM then launched Théométrie, the first private observatory of audiovisual media in Cameroon.
How would you define the concept of CMR7?
We launched the CMR7 on December 15, 2017. It is a "citizen" channel with a clear thematic breakdown: 80% of programs are entertainment and learning, 10% are sports and 10% politics. We have a team of 6 journalists right now and we mainly target young people and women. After stabilizing the teams at CMR7 and putting the channel on track, we will then launch its web TV channel.
What distinguishes you from the competition?
What sets us apart from the competition is the importance we place on regular programs in the form of documentaries. Unlike other channels, we do very little live streaming or streaming programs. In addition we emphasize the local and especially the positive local developments.
We have realized that most Cameroonian entrepreneurs who innovate tend to leave the country. We do not appreciate any initiatives whatsoever and we do not know how to reward them. That's why we chose to focus our programs on positive local developments.
We did not want a channel dedicated to (the country's) elites but more Cameroonians from the "bottom" in order to restore confidence to the Cameroonian people and so that they can see themselves through CMR7.
What are your flagship programs?
One of our flagship programs is called "The Mayor of Douala": a program of 13 minutes involved in improving the living conditions of people. It's a programme that talks about the everyday lives of citizens and it's a programme directed by an actor, a comedian known to Cameroonians who describes the ills of society.
We have also developed a programme called "Lighting": to the kinds of real situations that are difficult to understand or give rise to misunderstandings, we bring light to our viewers, not with the theories of academics or experts but with simple words illustrated by examples from everyday life that are accessible to everyone.
We also have travel diaries that present the different localities of Cameroon and the peculiarities of the different regions. Through all these programs, we wish to represent Cameroon in all its depth.
How are you producing your programmes?
We produce 30% of our own programs and buy the rest from local independent producers. We bring in independent producers from whom we commission programs, ensuring of course that they fit with our editorial line.
We also want to build partnerships to produce new programs. For example, we are in an election period, so we have a lot of special programs to cover political events, really related to the news.
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon will also be an opportunity for us to turn things around in terms of the editorial line. We will develop special programs to cover this event. The usual 10% spent on sport will increase to 40% at the time of the event to cover the news. But it's also a way to represent the local because our national team has qualified and this competition is being played at home for the first time in more than 40 years. Everyone is involved in this event.
How are you organized to sell advertising?
In terms of advertising, we have an integrated sales department that defines our strategy of attracting large, medium and small companies but we are also prospecting artisans, especially the informal sector to whom we want to give the opportunity to make themselves known and benefit greater visibility.
