Ouagadougou: Following several injunctions from the High Council for Communication (CSC), public television channels are now available free of charge and unencrypted on Canal+ to subscribers residing in Burkina Faso. RTB is available on channel 420, RTB Z©nith on channel 421, and RTB3 on channel 422.

According to Burkina Information Agency, a press release signed on Friday, August 28, 2026, by the CSC, confirmed that this free access has been effective since August 27, 2026, at 3 p.m. Pending the next service plan from Canal+, these channels are provisionally available on the designated frequencies. The upcoming service plan from Canal+ is expected to facilitate free access to national channels on their original channels, specifically channels 1, 2, and 3. The CSC has indicated that a subsequent press release will provide further updates on this development.

According to the CSC, this decision is a result of an agreement signed in February 2025 between the two parties. This move follows several appeals that had previously gone unanswered and sanctions imposed on Canal+ International in June and July 2026. The operator faced a fine of 50 million CFA francs in June 2026, followed by a second fine of 200 million CFA francs in July 2026. In response to these sanctions, Canal+ International opted to make RTB channels available free of charge to subscribers in Burkina Faso whose subscriptions had expired.

Through this initiative, the regulator states that it continues its efforts to ensure the effectiveness of the public information service, aiming for quality, affordability, and non-discrimination.