Q&A: Edwige Dazogbo, Edgy TV

Edwige Dazogbo, founder of Edwige Magazine and Edgy TV, talks about the international expansion of the multi-ethnic themed lifestyle channel.

How do you rate Edgy TV’s success since its launch, both in Canada and internationally?
Our multicultural, new media offering has international potential. We saw growth of 200% in terms of our TV viewership following the first launch of the channel on one operator in December – with distribution on three other cable or IPTV operators in Europe, on smart TV in the US and two satellite launches in just three months. There is a demand in Canada and in the international market because of the multicultural themes of the channel.

Through our cooperation with various networks, we have reached some of the major companies worldwide that want to work with us, so we are starting to have success. Furthermore we had a number of mentions highlighting the existence of the channel in the media, and we have worked together with advertising agencies to support sales, as well as adding more and more hours of interesting content to the channel and producing new content in Canada.

What are your goals for the channel this year in international markets?
We want to join together different cultures’ diverse ideas of beauty, culture and fashion. We want to create unique content, and we intend to cater to the interests of the multi-ethnic market. The channel allows our advertisers to reach an international community.

This year we aim to launch the channel in the countries we have targeted: the US, Canada, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Poland, the UK, Germany, Spain, the UAE, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Tunisia, Benin, Senegal, Cameroon, Congo, Mali, Burkina Faso, Reunion, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil. We also aim to launch sub-brands of Edgy TV: Edgy TV Music, Edgy TV France, Edgy TV India and Edgy TV Africa.

What is your distribution strategy for the channel, in terms of OTT versus affiliation with pay TV operators, and to what extent are you focusing on French-language markets?
We started with cable and IPTV and we want to grow the presence of Edgy TV both online on OTT TV, on IPTV platforms and via apps as well as broadcast on cable pay TV platforms and satellite free-to-air, with a goal of reaching more than 200 millions of viewers in total.

Our strategy is simple and successful. We have a vision and goal to become a major popular channel in the French-language market.

What is the channel’s mission and what makes it unique in the female-focused lifestyle space?
The mission is to cover the interests of the multi-ethnic market with a multicultural TV channel that celebrates the diversity of life through lifestyle: glamour, music, fashion and entertainment. It has been created specially for immigrants from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the West Indies, Europe, the Maghreb and the Middle East.

Edgy TV offers a unique original concept and refreshing programming, made purely from dreams and passions. This is content that is rare among TV content providers in the market in countries in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Family and spiritual values underpin the spirit of Edgy TV. We are re-introducing this culture and these values to the world.

What do you see as the ideal balance between global and local content, and to what extent will you seek to localise the channel in international markets?
Our content is the final product of our big international vision, and includes 70% external acquisitions, with the other 30% coming from our own local productions in France, Canada and the US.

There will be general-interest programmes, music video programmes, fashion clips, films from Nollywood, Hollywood and Bollywood and other ethnic-background movies, shows featuring interviews with celebrity guests, and reality shows.

We are addressing a market that is not yet saturated and where there is a strong international demand for multicultural-themed programming. This is a market with a high growth potential in many parts of the world.