Most Kenyans not ready for digital TV switch, survey shows

By ALLY JAMAH

Most Kenyans who own TVs have not purchased the digital set top boxes required to receive digital broadcast signals, a new survey has shown.

Majority of TV owners in Nairobi who participated in the survey by pollster, Ipsos, believe that the country is not ready to fully implement migration to the digital platform.

The survey on 517 Nairobians released Tuesday  indicated that 59 per cent of them said Kenya was not ready.

Nationally, only 29 per cent have bought the decoders while in Nairobi, the figure is 32 per cent.

Most of Nairobi TV owners surveyed said the high-cost of digital decoders was a barrier and they have other pressing priorities.

The study findings also indicate that low-income earners are less likely to own a set top box.

Majority of TV owners in Nairobi interviewed (68 per cent) intend to buy a set top box in the near future, as they see no urgency in acquiring it at the moment.

But 23 per cent said they would not buy the digital decorders, meaning they may opt out of watching TV from their homes.

Most of the respondents who have set top boxes bought them during last December rush, when the main TV stations switched off their analogue signals for at least a day.

 Ipsos Managing Director Margaret Ireri said that the pressure to buy the boxes eased off among Kenyans after TV signals were restored when  media owners filed a court case  to challenge the planned switch-off by the Government. 

Analogue signal

 Majority of those surveyed in Nairobi (62 per cent) still intend to purchase the box at some point, probably after the analogue signal is switched off.

Ireri asked the Government to do more to have the cost of set top boxes go down much further to make them affordable to Kenyans.

 “Awareness of the need to buy the boxes is quite impressive due to the coverage the issue has received on the media,” said Ireri.

 The Ipsos MD pointed out the likelihood of decline in home TV viewership if the migration to the digital platform happens before many Kenyans have purchased the boxes.

 A survey done late last year by the Kenya Audience Research Foundation said that Nairobi has the highest incidence of TV viewership at 91per cent compared to 46 per cent countrywide.

Most of set top boxes that Kenyans have bought are from subscription-based providers like Zuku, Startimes and Go TV.

Only three per cent have purchased from independent set-top box providers, which have no monthly subscriptions.

 The survey indicates that the prospect of watching more channels is an incentive for most Kenyans to purchase a set top box while good picture quality comes second at 38 per cent. 

The survey called on media owners who have a stake  in the migration, to increase their activities to  educate consumers on the need to purchase set top boxes.