Report shows Kenyans prefer radio to TV shows

Majority of Kenyans still spend more time listening to radio than watching Television (TV), a new report has shown.

The Kenya National Media Establishment Survey carried out by Ipsos however showed that TV programmes targeting children lead the pack. The survey further found that KTN is among the most-watched TV stations in the country.

The most preferred television station among children aged 12 to 15 years is Citizen TV at 68.4 per cent, followed by KTN Home at 25.3 per cent. NTV is ranked third at 11 per cent.

More than 60 per cent of children who watch TV prefer cartoon programs rather than educational programs.

On children's related TV programmes, Akili Kids is said to be watched by most children in Kenya, followed by Citizen TV, Jimjam, Nickelodeon, Inooro TV and KTN Home.

At the same time, TV is slowly edging out radio as compared to last data that was collected in 2015.

The report shows that among the 34.5 million Kenyans who are aged above 12 years and above, 27.3 million of them listen to radio over TV.

Some 16.1 million Kenyans use the internet, while 6.2 million read newspapers.

The Ipsos survey was carried out between April 20 and May 20 last year covering the 47 counties. The data was analysed by Akili Network that broadcasts children programmes.

From the survey, it was found that children were spending more than three hours a day watching TV, against an average Kenyan who spends 2.5 hours a day.

At least 45 per cent of households visited during the study have young children, in which 87 per cent of them watch kids' content.

Also, two thirds of parents and guardians occasionally watch kids' content on TV with their children. Children spend 2.8 hours watching TV on weekdays, 3.4 hours on Saturday and most of them consume a lot of TV on Sundays, spending at least 3.5 hours on screen.

According to the survey, approximately 9.7 million of Kenyans watch TV with their children, 31 per cent of them do not watch TV with their children, with only 4.9 per cent of viewers watching TV with their children.

Home viewing of television still remains dominant with at least 74 per cent of Kenyans on screens at least once a week. Some 77 per cent of them watch TV from their households.

According to the Ipsos report, more than half of Kenyans own TV sets, with most households owning one TV set.

Also in the data, TV reach penetration is now at 74 per cent as compared to 24 per cent in 2015. Radio was at 76 per cent in 2015 and is now at 79 per cent, with mobile penetration hitting 92 per cent compared to 75 per cent in 2015.