A report released by Ipsos on May 4 paints a picture of how media consumption in Kenya has been changed by the pandemic.
The survey which was conducted on over 1,000 daily TV viewers put Citizen TV at number one with 61.5 per cent of the respondents while Inooro TV and KTN Home tied at the number two spot with 11.5%.
Ranking of Top TV stations in Kenya by Ipsos released on May 4, 2020
File
Inooro TV, a vernacular station displaced NTV on the top 3 with a 2.35 difference.
One of the reasons that propelled the Kikuyu-based TV station is the large number of its target population coupled with its star TV show Kum Kum Baghya.
It is a soap opera based in Asia but translated into Kikuyu to suit the target population.
The Ipsos report ranked Kum Kum Baghya at number 3 on the list of most-watched TV shows behind the news and Maria which airs on its sister station Citizen TV.
Being a vernacular station, a majority of its viewers are based in the rural areas and belong to the low-income bracket and have a limited variety of entertainment choices.
Due to the nature of its popular programs, the station boasts more female viewers than male.
Daytime viewing is a key differentiator since evening viewing tends to attract males and females in equal measure. However, during the afternoon the number of female TV viewers tend to increase.
A high number of NTV viewers belong to the middle to high-income earners group which consumes a lot of media but have a variety of choices at their disposal such as video on demand platforms like YouTube, Netflix and pay-TV, which also further exposes them to a variety of content hence loyalty to NTV is threatened.
As the coronavirus outbreak continues to disrupt the normal way of life in Kenya, people’s time that would have otherwise been spent going to work, school, visiting malls or going to live events is now being spent at home.
During this period of Covid-19-induced social isolation, it’s no surprise that people are consuming vast amounts of media.
Ranking of TV shows in Kenya by Ipsos released on May 4, 2020
File
