Kenyans blame State for TV blackout

Most Kenyans blame on the Government for leaving them in the dark following the forceful switch-off of four main television stations.

A survey conducted between February 17-18 by Ipsos-Synovate shows that 59 per cent of television owners hold the Government responsible for the switch-off. Of these, 48 per cent do not own set top boxes (STB) while 36 per cent have STBs.

Others blamed for the switch-off include media owners (17 per cent), Communication Authority (14 per cent), Ministry of Information (2 per cent), Supreme Court (2 per cent) and the Chinese companies (1 per cent) while 16 per cent of those interviewed are unsure of who is responsible.

On  Valentines’ Day, NTV, KTN, Citizen TV and QTV went off air after the Communications Authority of Kenya raided their transmitters in Limuru and switched off their analogue equipment.

About four out of ten television owners own an STB. Among those who do not have an STBs, more than half plan to purchase one, but 40 per cent do not. Of the 932 television owners interviewed across the country, three quarters were aware that one or more of the mainstream TV channels had stopped transmission while 16 per cent thought all channels had been switched off, signifying that prior to the switch-off, these were the only channels they were able to access.

Only one in 20 Kenyans indicated being aware that digital migration had taken place and another five per cent were unaware of any changes because they had not watched televisionsince the switch-off, or had only been viewing other (non-affected) channels.

During the past week, Kenyans have been forced to rely on other news sources for information such newspapers, social media, radio and other TV stations after the analogue switch-off.

More than a quarter of Kenyans have been confined to limited news broadcasts, mostly on KBC and K24, and these are only enjoyed by viewers possessing STBs.

Most Kenyans (85 per cent), whether owners of STBs or not, are dissatisfied with alternative sources of news.

The study indicates that of those who own STBS, 74 per cent are dissatisfied with newspapers, 77 per cent with regard to what other TV stations offer, 85 per cent are unhappy with radio news and 79 per cent are disgruntled with news on social media.

Among those who do not own STBs, 84 per cent are dissatisfied with newspapers, 73 per cent with other TV stations, 85 per cent with radio news and 78 per cent with news on social media.

Since last Saturday, radio has been the most preferred alternative and the main source of news by television owners who do not have STBs at 73 per cent, followed by social media (eight per cent), other TV stations (six per cent), newspapers (five per cent), word of mouth (three per cent) and the Internet (one per cent).

Only 26 per cent are relying on television for news, whether using their own sets or someone else’s. One in every ten Kenyans is going without news.