Radio, one of the world’s most well-known communication channels, remains Kenya’s most consumed media platform, with an average of 33 million people tuning in to listen, according to the latest Kenya Audience Tracker by Ipsos.
The survey, published on Thursday, shows that radio continues to dominate media consumption despite the growth of digital platforms.
According to the survey, old radio station who continued to dominate the media landscape for decades are now finding themselves in quite a competitive environment, thanks to the new evolution that has birthed the emergence of digital radio platforms that use audio and vision to reach their fans.
The survey revealed that newcomers such as Radio 47 have shaken the listenership dominance traditionally enjoyed by old giants such as Radio Citizen and Radio Jambo in terms of market reach and listenership.
In terms of reach, Radio Citizen, owned by the Royal Media Services (RMS), recorded the widest reach, attracting 9.1 per cent of listeners. It was followed by Westlands-based Radio Jambo at 3.8 per cent and the fairly new Radio 47 at 3.7 per cent.
Kameme Radio, despite being a vernacular station with a target population around the Mt Kenya natives, posted a reach of 2.6 per cent, while Inooro FM stood at 2.3 per cent, while Milele FM, Radio Maisha and Ramogi FM each registered about 2.1 per cent reach.
In terms of audience share, which measures total listening time, Radio Citizen extended its lead with a 17.0 per cent share.
The new kid on the block, Radio 47, which is among the first radio stations to introduce a live streaming of its audio-visual content, followed at 9.0 per cent, while Radio Jambo accounted for 7.2 per cent.
The Muthaiga road-based station has been the subject of talks in the radio industry following its talent hunt, where it has raided the other stations for their top talents and trendy shows.
Kameme Radio posted a 5.7 per cent share, with Kijabe street-based Milele FM and Ramogi FM each at 4.7 per cent. Chamgei FM recorded 4.1 per cent, while Mombasa Road-based Radio Maisha stood at 3.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, the survey shows that listening patterns peak in the early morning and evening hours, driven by strong audiences during breakfast and drive-time programming, before dropping sharply late at night.
Audience distribution by gender was nearly even, with women accounting for 50.1 per cent of listeners compared to 49.9 per cent for men. The data further shows that radio listenership is significantly higher in rural areas, which account for 65.4 per cent of the audience, compared to 34.6 per cent in urban centres.
Regionally, Central Kenya recorded the highest share of radio listeners at 18.4 per cent, followed by Rift Valley at 14.9 per cent and Western region at 13.5 per cent. Nairobi accounted for 9.6 per cent, while Coast and Nyanza recorded 8.9 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively.
North Eastern and Upper Eastern regions each accounted for 5.7 per cent of listeners, Lower Eastern stood at 8.0 per cent, while North Western posted the smallest share at 2.7 per cent.