BBC Studios today announced that premium factual channel BBC Earth will launch in French language for the first time in Africa on CANAL+ this April .
The launch will bring world‑class natural history programming and premium factual storytelling to a wider African audience, providing 22 French-speaking Sub-Saharan African countries access to the channel.
The new French‑language feed will bring BBC Studios’ award‑winning factual catalogue to millions of additional viewers, offering a breathtaking window into the natural world, pioneering scientific documentaries and extraordinary human stories.
At launch, BBC Earth will present a standout line-up of landmark natural history series and powerful documentaries from BBC Studios’ acclaimed factual library. Viewers can expect celebrated productions from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, including Seven Worlds, One Planet, The Green Planet, Frozen Planet IIand Blue Planet II, all narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
The channel line-up also features a wide selection of specialist wildlife documentaries such as Natural World: Giraffes – Africa’s Gentle Giants, My Congo, Cheetah Family and Me, and Natural World: Cheetahs Growing Up Fast, offering intimate portraits of remarkable species and the people working to protect them. Global series including Africa, Earth, Universe and The Planets will also be available on the channel, providing perspectives on the natural world.
Adventure and exploration are also central to the channel, with titles such as Where the Wild Men Are, Life Below Zero, Arctic with Bruce Parry and Steve Backshall’s Extreme River Challenge taking viewers into some of the world’s most remote and challenging environments.
The channel’s programming will be dubbed in French and expertly curated scheduling tailored to the interests and viewing habits of Francophone markets.
Pierre Cloete, VP for Africa at BBC Studios, said: “The French‑language launch of BBC Earth on CANAL+ marks a significant milestone in BBC Studios’ commitment to making exceptional factual content accessible to global audiences in their own language. We are thrilled to expand BBC Earth’s footprint in partnership with CANAL+. African audiences have a deep passion for documentary storytelling and we are proud to bring even more people the very best of BBC Studios’ natural history, science, and factual catalogue.
Fabrice Faux, Channels & Content Director for French-Speaking Africa said : “CANAL+ is happy and proud to offer its subscribers the high-quality factual entertainment from BBC Earth, which will ideally complement its discovery vertical. Educational programming is also a key component of CANAL+’s offers in Africa, and BBC Earth is a strong addition in this area.”
The channel will be available on Channel 203 within TOUT CANAL+