From state TV to TikTok: how phones rewired Cameroonian evenings 📺 🇨🇲

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The rise of the mobile phone is no longer a local story — it’s a global one. Millions of people log onto digital platforms every day, quietly reshaping how media gets consumed. Which raises a real question in Cameroon: does television, for so long the undisputed centerpiece of the living room, still hold its ground?

Television meets its match 📺

Television shaped the childhoods of several generations. From its early days until roughly 2013, the medium went through wave after wave of technical change. The old 4:3 picture format gave way to widescreen 16:9 HD, pushed along by ever-bigger screens. Competition between Samsung, LG, Huawei and Sharp kept the pressure on picture quality — each brand chasing the next upgrade.

Iconic programming, overtaken by digital 🎬

In Cameroon, TV history starts with CTV, the forerunner of today’s state broadcaster CRTV, whose lineup already covered a lot of ground: evening news, Télé Matin, and other shows that became household names.

« When television first arrived in Cameroon, it was pure joy. Today, it’s hard to watch kids not value it the same way, » says Merlin.

Starting around 2006, shows like Délire, Vendredi Show, and Défis des Incollables — hosted by Bernardo — became must-watch TV. But a new competitor was already quietly moving into people’s homes: Facebook.

Facebook, the new digital companion 🌐

Dismissed at first as a passing trend, the social network quickly became embedded in young Cameroonians’ daily lives — event invites, shared photos, group chats. The Kerel Kongossa page remains a telling symbol of that era. Facebook has since grown into one of the world’s biggest entertainment and information platforms, as Gilbert points out:

« I’ve used Facebook since ninth grade, back in 2014. Not many people knew how to set up an account then. I’d do it for my classmates — it gave us a bit of status at school. »

The rise of digital platforms 🚀

Before Facebook took over, Yahoo and Skype had already staked out the digital space. Today, it’s Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and TikTok setting the pace of everyday online life. Music, movies, news — it all runs through the smartphone now, pushing television and physical media further into the background. According to Cameroon’s National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ANTIC), active social media use among Cameroonians is reportedly on the rise. For Mélissa, the decision is already made: « Why would I pay for a subscription to watch pictures on a screen, when my phone already fills my time just fine? » Pascal, a die-hard football fan, sees it differently: « When I’m watching a match, I need to be properly set up — sharp picture, no buffering. I don’t want a bad connection ruining the moment. »

The debate between traditional TV and mobile entertainment is far from settled. Between nostalgia for the old screen and the sheer convenience of the new one, the digital balance keeps tipping — pushed along by relentless innovation.

Between TV and smartphone, which screen actually eats up more of your downtime these days? Tell us in the comments.