This archive report was first published on 14 October 2019.
Published on October 14, 2019, Business Today reported that local broadcasters are struggling to rake in revenue like they used to, leading to massive layoffs. This has sparked a debate on the future of the media industry in Kenya.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru expressed his concerns about the nexus between Kenyan broadcast news and advertising revenue during the release of the Kenya Media Landscape Report 2019. He stated, “Based on the numbers I have seen, the industry is in trouble. I think this should be a wake-up call for media managers to look for alternative ways to generate revenue.”
According to Mucheru, a large majority of Kenyans only consume news material that they want to and don't spend a lot of time watching news, hence the declining revenues. Data by research firm Geopoll shows that local TV stations have been shedding viewers steadily since 2010.
For instance, in Q2 2015, Citizen TV enjoyed 29.09% of the market share. However, data collected by the researcher between February 1 to February 14 shows that the broadcaster currently boasts of 26% of the pie.
Recent events have shown us that if viewers tune in to watch something on TV in millions, advertisers jump at the opportunity to ensure that their brand is visible. This is evident in the numbers raked in by Churchill Show, Tusker Project Fame (TPF), the 2018 World Cup on NTV, presidential debates on the leading channels, and most recently The INEOS 1:59 Challenge.
Investing in quality TV programs like Maisha Magic East, a channel on Pay TV provider MultiChoice's platforms, could be the key to success for a new player in the news industry. This is because news production is a very expensive venture that requires massive investment in editorial talent that gobbles up millions of shillings.
