Airwaves battle renewed

The FM radio industry has grown steadily in the last couple of years with new entrants each year throwing their hats into the ring or is it the air? STEVENS MUENDO takes stock of the battle.

It might have been a bitter pill for DNG when he slammed the door on his former employer Kiss FM over some contract differences before landing a new job at the new urban One FM station.

That was four months ago and it was around the same time diva Angela Angwenyi and Edward Kwach (who once co-hosted The Drive show at Kiss FM) were finding a home at Easy FM.

"I don’t regret abandoning my 8 to10pm show. The show was at its highest point then and my fans were disappointed. I’m comfortable in my new station where they have all followed me. It’s all new, urban and fresh. Do your research and you will find out it’s kicking here," an upbeat DNG told Pulse.

According to him, radio fans are tired of recycled radio personalities who have been jumping from one station to the other for years. He argues that the new blood of radio presenters is the answer to the death of the assumed radio cartels, which has seen the same faces get recycled over and over.

"I think Kenyans are tired of these musical chairs. It’s time young talented presenters breath fresh air on the waves. We are the generation to do it," he asserts.

And true to that, DNG’s show is among the top evening drive urban radio shows having garnered a good percentage of listeners according to rating findings by Synovate Kenya.

Breathing fire on his neck is his friend once thought to be his girlfriend, Joey Muthengi, now running Hits Not Homework at Capital FM, also a fresh talent in the local showbiz scene.

"She is a fellow artiste but I don’t see her as a rival when it comes to radio. She comes nowhere near me," DNG brags.

Top notch

According to the new poll, Classic Breakfast Show by Maina Kageni and Mwalimu King’ang’i is still enjoying an overwhelming following from listeners from across the generations.

Shaffie Weru and Kalekye Mumo have also maintained their good run.

The ratings were generated through a new Portable People Metre (PPM) system rolled out in Nairobi last year. The PPM, worn like a pager, automatically detects and registers radio and TV stations’ signals within a handler’s vicinity at homes, offices as well as in vehicles.

The season for radio musical chairs is back with us after the major 2009 shift, which saw radio big wigs Seanice Kacungira, Marcus Kwikiriza and Walter Mong’are leave their respective stations vowing to call it a day in radio.

Mong’are and Marcus, however, may have spoken too fast as they found themselves back on radio where they have to contend with a new generation of presenters now working for FM stations that are eager to assert themselves in the popularity contest.

The hitherto believed mainstream FM stations are currently fighting to maintain ratings as newer stations seek to claim a piece of the listenership cake.

Marcus, who at the peak of his prolific radio career hosted Capital FM’s afternoon show The Jam alongside Leo Faya before his move to Classic FM, joined Easy FM to pair up with Munene Nyaga for the station’s Breakfast Show at a critical time as the station battled to improve ratings amidst stiff competition.

Three presenters among them Didge and Ngatia Murenga had been fired from the station earlier following alleged sponsorship withdrawals.

Easy FM wasn’t the only station that was trying to change its image then as Ghetto radio sneaked in dreadlocked presenter Real Solo while Jambo Radio sought the services of comic actor Eric Omondi, now co-hosting the morning show alongside Gidi Gigi and former national football coach Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee.

Sassy Cess

It now seems that the Angela and Edward Kwach pair was brought in to silence radio queen Cess Mutungi who made a radio comeback late last year and took the driver’s seat on the Afternoon Jam Show at Capital FM.

At the time, Capital FM had suffered a major blow after one of its top presenters, Fareed Khimani ditched the station for the newly launched XFM.

Radio supremacy battles have also been fuelled by the introduction of genre slanted stations such as XFM (a purely rock station), QFM (which plays R&B) and Classic, a station purely dedicated to the old golden songs, a factor that could explain why the old guards are being recalled.

In this fresh battle over listeners, local radio stations have gone ahead to work with deejay units and musicians, sponsoring flashy theme nights in Nairobi’s leading entertainment spots where a good percentage of their advertisement budgets seem to have been directed.

Whereas some stations that target the upmarket class thrive on young presenters whose accent has a Western influence, the bar tilts to the extreme end as more stations representing the ‘street’ ,such as Homeboyz and Ghetto Radio, hire less elite sounding presenters, who give the accent thing a wide berth.

There has been a major debate as to which station between Homeboyz and Ghetto Radio is more "street credible" until One FM, which targets the same urban crowd, joined the fray mid last year and threw the spanner into the works.

NEW STATIONS

"We are just a new station still trying to position ourselves in the market. The reception has been great and we are ready to claim our market share," Pierra Makena of One FM told Pulse.

"We are an urban music oriented FM station playing 100 per cent East African music. Playing local music is our strength. Besides, most of our presenters are well known personalities in the showbiz scene and that is a plus for us," she adds.

According to Grapevine Show host Anyiko Awoko, the so-called radio cartels that used ensure certain radio presenters of monopoly are fizzling as a new crop of presenters take charge.

"There is a radio revolution in urban Kenya where most urban presenters are now focussing on young presenters who can connect with a techno savvy audience," she adds.

Anyiko maintains that new talents such as Marcus Olang’ (One FM), Nick Ndeda (Hot 96), Corrine Onyango (Homeboyz), Adel (One FM) and Chris (Metro FM) are now a force to reckon with.

"We have been working on injecting fresh talent in our stations. Presenters like Shaffie Kalekye and Larry (Asego) are all home-grown having been trained here," points out Caroline Mutoko, Radio Africa’s Programmes Controller.

However, the old guards are still sticking their ground and protecting their turf with many claiming that radio presenting is not just hype-driven but also requires experience.

"As much as employers may not accept it, it is an expensive venture to create and nurture new talent. Few are excellent by nature. It’s even a bit of a risk, as one might never know if fans will like the new presenters. That way, stations now prefer recycling popular old presenters," says Marcus.

He adds that sometimes it’s a just a passing wave.

"There was a time when every radio station was hiring celebrity musicians and comedians. That could not last as most of them lacked broadcasting professionalism, yet their careers were headed to different directions," he adds.

Regardless, the influx of foreign radio presenters in the Kenyan market seems to be on a decrease with more opportunities going to the presenters.

Unlike the past when the likes of Allan Kasujja and Seanice (both from Uganda) were the big names on radio, things have taken an about-turn.

Homeboyz’s Corrine Onyango says it is more about having a presenter relating to his audience and their lifestyle and bringing it out in the show.

"As much as there is a push towards regional superiority and a wider fanbase, hiring highly ranked presenters from outside Kenya may not be the solution," she adds.

"Some of our listeners catch us from the Diaspora and that calls for versatility and diversity in the way a presenter reasons," Corrine concludes.