Television and radio channels in Kenya continue to attract advertising budget despite the proliferation of new media platforms competing for ad revenues enjoyed by the traditional media.
The African perspective of pwc media and entertainment outlook 2018-2022 indicates that TV and, notably, radio advertising revenue remain the leading lights, accounting for Sh17 billion (US$173 million) of the Sh28 billion (US$276 million) total revenue in 2017.
“This overall advertising market will rise to Sh38 billion (US$387 million) by 2022,” says the report which covers 11 segments like books, magazines, cinema, television, interactive games, the internet, music, newspapers, out-of-home advertising, e-sports, and radio.
The report says newspaper revenue will by 2020 fall to 1.7 per cent from 2.2 percent Vicki Myburgh, the Entertainment and Media Leader PwC Southern Africa notes that for companies to succeed in the future, companies must re-envision every aspect of what they do and how they do it.
She adds that it is about having, or having access to, the right technology and excellent content, which is delivered in a cost-effective manner to an engaged audience that trusts the brand.
“For those able to execute successfully, the opportunities are legion,” Outside the Internet space, TV and video revenue dwarfs the other segments. Kenya is among the few markets on the continent that have successfully completed the digital switch over, which has opened up new opportunities, resulting in the launch of new free-to-air community TV channels and the emergence of new local and international digital content providers.
In terms of market dynamics, MultiChoice has continued to lose market share due to increased competition from new entrants in the pay-TV segment who offer slightly lower prices for their subscription packages. In addition, MultiChoice is competing on premium sports content broadcasting with new entrants such as Kwese TV and StarTimes which offer slightly lower monthly subscription packages.
Though relatively nascent for now, the inevitable growth in over the top media services (OTT) means that traditional TV service providers will have to adopt new models to deliver TV content to their customers in order to counter the increased competition.