Canal+ faces big piracy problem in Senegal, says chief

Sebastien Punturello

Up to 400,000 homes in the West African state of Senegal are viewing Canal+ content illegally, according to the pay TV operator’s country director, Sébastien Punturello, cited by local press.

Punturello, speaking at a seminar on piracy in the country, said that converting 20% of this pirated viewing into legitimate subscriptions could generate revenues of XOF4 billion (€6 million) a year for the state, according to the reports.

Punturello said that piracy was being conducted through illegal redistribution over cable and MMDS networks as well as by the use of counterfeit and black-market decoders.

He said that while Senegal had legislation in place to combat piracy, there remained problems with execution.