The Media in Kenya

The media in Kenya is a diverse and vibrant growing industry. It includes four major daily newspapers, more than 20 FM radio stations and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) - the only nationwide broadcaster. There is also extensive cross-media ownership in Kenya, with a number of media houses owning newspapers, television stations and radio stations.

Communications

The communications industry in Kenya is regulated by an independent authority, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK). Its role is to license and regulate telecommunications, radio communication and postal/courier services in Kenya.

This responsibility translates to several functions including: licensing (telecoms and postal/courier) operators; regulating tariffs for monopoly areas; establishing interconnection principles type-approving communications equipment; managing the radio frequency spectrum and formulating telecommunication numbering schemes and assigning them to network operators. Please visit the link below for more information.

Broadcasting

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is the largest broadcasting organization in Kenya, the only service with nationwide coverage and is owned by the government. It is a public broadcaster and is run semi-autonomously. It used to be paid for by taxpayers, but now generates its own revenue through advertising. KBC’s aim is to inform, educate and entertain and its work includes increasing the understanding of the government’s development strategies. It operates radio and television stations and its previously generally uncritical view of the government has been replaced by a more balanced approach. The KBC was formed in 1961 and in 1964 it was nationalized under an Act of Parliament to become the Voice of Kenya. In 1989 its name was changed back to the KBC after another Act of Parliament.

Radio
Radio is the most influential form of media in Kenya as radios can be found in very remote areas, unlike televisions which are mostly concentrated in urban areas. There are more than 20 FM radio stations leading to some views that the radio market is now saturated.

Stations operate mainly in Nairobi and its surrounding areas and include the KBC General and National Services, Nation radio, Capital FM, Kiss 100, Citizen radio, Metro FM, Youth FM, Metro East FM, Iqra FM, Ramogi FM, Kameme FM, Hope FM, Inooro FM, etc . The broadcasts of most commercial radio stations are made up of music and light entertainment, including talk shows and phone-ins.

Television
The national broadcaster KBC airs KBC Channel 1, Pay Television Channel 2 and the entertainment channel, Metro Television Channel 31. Please visit

The Nation Media Group owns the television station NTV and began broadcasting in 1999. They are also the owners of the Nation radio, the Daily Nation and The East African newspapers and are the largest media house in Eastern and Central Africa. Please visit the Nation TV's website for more information.

The Kenya Television Network (KTN) became the first private TV station in Kenya when it was allowed to broadcast in Nairobi in 1989. It is owned by the group which runs The Standard newspaper. Please visit for more information.

Citizen TV is owned by Royal Media Services

Other free to air TV channels include:
The Family Channel which broadcasts Christian programmes.

East African Television - EAT