Digital television channels are already being switched on in Kenya ahead of the digital migration scheduled for February, although radio remains the favoured media outlet in the country, shows a new report by the country’s regulator.
The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) in its Quarterly Sector Statistics Report for the first quarter of the 2013-2014 financial year, published today, said 25 digital television channels have already been switched on, while only 14 analogue television stations are active.
HumanIPO has covered extensively the multiple delays to Kenya’s digital migration which had been due in September 2013, with a court case currently set for February 6 to determine whether any further postponement will be allowed, which if unsuccessful will be followed by immediate analogue switch-off.
The High Court last month ruled there could be no delay to the proposed date of December 23 for digital migration, with a number of channels going off air until a further postponement on December 27.
However, the report also reveals only a small number of Kenyans opt for television services as compared to radio, with the CCK reporting a TV average monthly audience of 2.3 million, while radio saw an average monthly audience of 16.9 million across the country’s 103 licenced radio stations.
The CCK attributes this discrepancy in popularity to the larger prevalence of radio stations operating in the vernacular than TV channels.
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