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Online entertainment eats into Kenyan TV audiences

Kenya , 17 Apr 2014

Online entertainment eats into Kenyan TV audiences

Internet is killing the video star in Kenya but radio is still a hot favourite, according to the country’s telecommunications regulator.

Rising internet usage is a key reason for the country’s television industry shedding 30% of its viewership from September to December 2013, say statistics from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK).

In the quarter, the average weekly viewership was recorded at 516,111 compared to the second quarter number of 360,000, representing a 30.2% dip in viewership.

At the same time, the country’s number of internet users recorded 13% growth during the quarter to hit 13.1 million users.

“The emergence of new technologies and media of communication has resulted in changes on how information is produced, accessed and shared,” says the CCK.

“There have been a lot of changes in television broadcast over the past years following the introduction of pay TV services and online broadcast,” the commission said in its quarterly sector statistics report, second quarter of the financial year 2013/14.

But radio is still a firm favourite with Kenyans.

“On the contrary, the average weekly radio audience increased by 8.3% to record 3,725,441 persons up from last quarter’s 3,440,357,” the report noted.

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