Burkina Faso fines Canal+ $350,000 over state TV access

Burkina Faso's media regulator fined French broadcaster Canal+ 200 million CFA francs ($350,000), accusing it of failing to provide free access to state TV channels after an earlier sanction.

The High Council for Communication, or CSC, said Canal+ had not complied with a 30-day deadline following a 50 million CFA franc fine in June. The new penalty is four times the earlier fine.

Authorities in Burkina Faso require Canal+ to keep state broadcaster RTB's channels available to subscribers even after their subscriptions expire. Under a 2024 agreement between Canal+ International and the regulator, the company must continue carrying the public channels free of charge for users in Burkina Faso.

"The CSC has regretfully noted that its decision has not been implemented within the prescribed deadline," CSC president Louis Modeste Ouedraogo said in a statement dated Monday.

Burkina Faso has been ruled by Captain Ibrahim Traore since he seized power in a 2022 coup. The military-led government has suspended Western media outlets including France's RFI radio and France 24 television channel, and expelled several foreign correspondents.