Radio is still the most consumed media in Kenya.
This is according to the ‘State of Kenya Media in 2022’ report.
The report, released by the Media Council of Kenya (MCK) during the World Radio Day celebrations in Mombasa, indicates that 33 percent of Kenyans get their news from the radio.
Speaking during the release of the report, MCK Chief Executive Officer David Omwoyo said in terms of media consumption in Kenya, radio and television tied at 33 percent followed by social media at 18 percent and newspapers at 6 percent.
“If you turn that into absolute percentages, you will notice that 80 percent of Kenyans watch tv and listen to the radio and 29 percent read newspapers,” said Omwoyo.
According to the report, the percentage of those listening to the radio has seen a six points decrease in the last three years from 84 percent in 2019 to 78 percent in 2021.
“The reason why radio is most preferred is that you can listen to the radio on the go. You can go to the farm with your radio, you can listen to the radio while in the car, but now because tv-on-the-go has emerged, you can see the trends changing,” said MCK CEO David Omwoyo.
Meanwhile, numbers from the Communications Authority of Kenya, 27.3 million Kenyans aged 12 and above listen to the radio.
Speaking during the World Radio Day celebrations in Mombasa, Engineer Leo Boruett, Director of Multimedia Services at the Communications Authority, said 25.5 million Kenyans watch television while 16.1 million access the internet.
“The future of the Kenyan media is dynamic. The challenge is to understand your audience and thus respond to them,” said Eng. Borruet.
There are around 200 radio stations in Kenya and about 2,000 applications to open a radio station.
