The international French-language network TV5 will become the first French-speaking channel available in South Africa as of 16 January 2004. On that date TV5 will join the Dstv satellite array of the South African operator Multichoice, which has 750,000 subscribers in South Africa. TV5 is available in sub-Saharan Africa on another two of Multichoice’s digital channels with 900,000 subscribers.
The agreement will give the network full African coverage from Tunis to Cape Town and from Dakar to Djibouti. Its conclusion coincides with the state visit to France by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa.