Africa: Newly Released Audience Survey Gives Pointers to Programming Preferences Across the Continent

21 October 2022
Balancing Act (London)

London — 21 October 2022- Satellite operator Intelsat's Media Market Watch 2022 gives broadcasters a peek into the programming preferences in six key African TV markets. Russell Southwood looks at what it discovered.

Carried out by Geopoll, the 2021 audience survey sitting at the heart of Media Market Watch 2022 covers six key African TV markets: Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

Average TV watching time varies between just under 3.5 hours a day to 4.6 hours a day:

Ghana 3.39 hrs

Tanzania 3.4 hrs

Nigeria 3.89 hrs

South Africa 4.85 hrs

Although Free-To-Air TV viewing is clearly alive and kicking, although other surveys show social media use of over an hour a day. The figures for those able to receive a satellite signal were as follows:

Nigeria 79%

Ghana 76%

Ethiopia 73%

Tanzania 70%

South Africa 60%

Kenya 60%

The research respondents were asked which program genres they wanted more of. Three examples are given:

Nigeria Ghana Tanzania

1.Movies 43% 1. News 59% 1. News 58%

2. Entertainment 29% 2. Sports 38% 2. Sports 33%

3. News 27% 3. Religion 20% 3. Religion 21%

4. Sports 23%

5. Religion 19%

The interest in religion is surprisingly consistent at around 20% of the samples in each case but the biggest anomaly is the much lower interest in News in Nigeria. This is probably because there is a news Channel (Channels TV) and several other channels that have a consistent news focus.

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In Brief

Kenya: Safaricom has partnered with YouTube to promote and grow Short Video content (YouTube Shorts) by offering low-cost bundles for its users. According to the pair, the two-month campaign will see Safaricom customers enjoy affordable 1GB data bundles for as low as US$0.082 to view and post content on their YouTube channels to nurture and encourage a streaming habit for all Kenyans.

Nigeria: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, formally known as the Oscars, has reportedly weighed in on the Nigerian Official Selection Committee's ongoing crisis with the offer to reconvene for a revote. Taking to social media, Committee member Shaibu Husseini said, "I have just been informed that the International Feature Film Executive Committee of The Academy has intervened in the Nigerian Official Selection Committee issue. I can confirm that an extension has been given for a final determination by the NOSC." The Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee has been rocked by internal crisis over its September report that no film qualified for the 2023 Oscars International Feature Film category submission. After the announcement, committee members Mildred Okwo and Husseini turned in their resignations amid reports of alleged misconduct by chairperson Chineze Anyaene.

In a statement released in September by the NOSC, the committee voted for three films: EbonyLife studio's Elesin Oba, Kunle Afolayan's Anikulapo and top-grossing Femi Adebayo-produced King of Thieves. However, eight members reportedly voted for "nil submission", and five voted for Elesin Oba, with the remaining films splitting the votes 1-1.

Kenya: MultiChoice's Showmax has confirmed that production is currently underway for the second season of Kenyan hit series Single Kiasi. According to the streamer, the second season, which has begun production, will premiere in 2023.

Nigeria: Greoh Studios recently announced that it has begun filming the sequel to its 2019 hit action comedy Sugar Rush. Confirming the production, Jade Osiberu -film's director and founder of Greoh Studios - teased some stills from the ongoing production in Johannesburg, South Africa, with its leading ladies, Adesua Etomi-Wellington, Bisola Aiyeola, and Bimbo Ademoye.

South Africa: To cap off a breakthrough year in which Kuda Jemba directed the new season of Kelly Khumalo's reality show "Life with Kelly Khumalo", South African-Ugandan director Kuda Jemba was this past week enlisted to direct a television commercial for MTV Base in partnership with Capitec Bank for their Live etter campaign. The ad features MTV Base VJs Tshego Koke, Hope Mbele and Shamiso. This was the first commercial of the 29-year-old's career.

Nigeria: The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) have criticised the Zamfara State government's shutting down of broadcast houses. The Zamfara government had on Saturday shut down the stations for covering the political event of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP governorship candidate Dauda Lawal. But in separate reactions, the bodies said the move is uncalled for. "The National Broadcasting Commission has noted with serious concern the illegal action of Zamfara State Government by directing the shutdown of operations of licensees of the Commission in the State, on Saturday, October 15, 2022," the Director-General of the NBC, Balarabe Illela, said. "The NBC has clearly notified the State Government of the gravity of the illegality and requested it to expeditiously reverse the directive and apologize to the people of the State. "We also urge the Security Agencies to ignore the call to restrict Staff of the affected Stations from conducting their legitimate duties.

MultiChoice's Showmax Pro has announced that it will be streaming all 64 FIFA World Cup Qatar games in ultra-high-definition screen resolution across Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries. Taking place from 20 November 2022 until the final on 18 December 2022, reigning world champions France will be defending their title at the FIFA World Cup Qatar. This is the first time the FIFA World Cup will be hosted in the Arab world, with Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia representing Africa.

FIFA and Roblox have announced a new ground-breaking partnership that will offer the Roblox community, as well football fans around the world, free-to-play access to FIFA World - a virtual environment that celebrates the power of football and the rich history of its pinnacle events.

Rwanda: Bloomberg, announced that it will be setting up an office in Kigali, Rwanda, as part of the expansion of its TV presence in Africa.

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