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In this report, we present a summary portion of the data collected daily through GeoPoll Audience Measurement from January to November 2021 in Kenya and provide the ratings for television and radio, with summary breakdowns of key time blocks and demographics. While we cover all TV and radio stations in Kenya, we will highlight the stations with the biggest share in 2021.
Please note that show names are not included in GeoPoll Audience Measurement data and were added to this report to provide additional context. These show names and air times were provided to GeoPoll from the individual stations or via desk research conducted by GeoPoll’s team, and shows may have changed throughout the time this data was collected.
Top TV Channels in Kenya – 2021
Citizen TV had the highest number of average viewers, garnering 30% of the total audience share of the other channels in the top 10. NTV was the second most popular channel by audience, followed closely KTN. KTN’s sister channel, KTN News and Maisha Magic East rounded up the five most watched TV channels.
TV Viewers by Demographic
Analyzing the TV audiences by gender, Maisha Magic (55%), Switch TV (56%), Inooro TV (54%) had a higher percentage of female viewership. KTN News (68%) and K24 (63%) had higher male viewership as compared to females among the top 10 stations.
Looking at age, entertainment-heavy channels such as Maisha Magic East, Switch TV, and K24 were the TV channels with higher youth viewership as a percentage of overall viewership (ages 15 and 24). Stations with a higher percentage of older viewership include- Inooro TV, KTN News, and KBC.
Most Watched Primetime News Programs – 9 PM
Looking at the 9:00 to 10:00 PM Time block when most TV channels air their primetime news, Citizen TV was again the most-watched channel, amassing 31.4% of the viewership, rising during News Night (Tuesday), JKL (Wednesday), and Tonight/News Gang (Thursday). NTV (9%) and KTN News (8%) came second and third most popular news shows respectively.
Top Radio Stations in Kenya – 2021
In terms of radio ratings in Kenya from January 1 to November 30th 2021, we looked at the overall audience and two key radio slots: breakfast and drive shows. These slots are usually the most tuned-in to, and we wanted to learn which radio stations people mostly listened to.
Ranking the top 10 radio stations – overall and by language
Overall, Royal Media’s Radio Citizen was the most listened-to station in Kenya for five days of a typical week. Standard Media’s Radio Maisha took the largest audience on Thursday, while Media Max-owned Milele FM was the most preferred on Sundays.
It is worth noting that these closely-ranked radio stations, including Radio Jambo, are Swahili stations that have enormous listenership in rural Kenya and among the older populations. Among the English radio stations, Classic 105 had the biggest audience, followed by Kiss FM and NRG Radio. Kameme FM and Inooro were the most popular vernacular radio stations.
Most listened to Radio Programs – by Time
Breakfast Shows (6am – 10am)
The leading breakfast show in Kenya in 2021 by audience rating was Radio Citizen’s Jambo Kenya with 11.7% of the average radio share. Radio Jambo and Radio Maisha’s breakfast shows rounded off the top 3 with a close 8.8% of the audience each. Classic 105’s Maina and King’angi dominated the English segment during weekday mornings, followed by its sister station, Kiss FM’s Morning Kiss by Kamene and Jalas.
Drive Shows (4pm – 6pm)
We also compiled audience data for the early evening segment, during the drive shows when most people are enroute home. While Radio Citizen continued to amass the largest share of the audience, this time more people listened to Radio Maisha (8.9%) than Radio Jambo (8.2%). Milele FM crept up the ranking to 6.7% while more people listened to Kiss FM (6.25%) than Classic FM (5.91%).
About this GeoPoll Audience Measurement Report
The data in this post was collected from January 1st to November 30th 2021 and is a small portion of the detailed data available through GeoPoll Audience Measurement.
Audience measurement data collected by GeoPoll is uploaded to an online dashboard each day and provides data at 30-minute time block increments. To request a detailed report, custom GeoPoll Audience Measurement reports, or subscribe to daily data from GeoPoll, please contact us here.