| dc.description.abstract | Due to the rapid growth of all sectors of the economy emanating from the effects of globalization and increased industrialization, competition has continued to grow into unprecedented levels. In order to survive in the highly competitive environment therefore, organizations have found themselves with little options but to formulate strategies to be able to respond to competition, and still remain competitive in their respective industries.
Organizations that do not respond quickly to competition suffer the effects of depleting market share, low revenue generation, and their products rendered irrelevant in the face of rapidly changing technology. The Television broadcasting sector is one that has and continue experiencing stiff competition from local rivals as well as other media such as radio, print media, cable TV, the internet and mobile phones. The purpose of this study was to determine the strategic responses that the TV broadcasting stations have adopted to counter competition. This was a census as it involved a number of TV stations in Kenya, and the researcher used a research questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument.
The questionnaire was administered to senior marketing managers/executives from each of the TV stations. The data collected was combined with existing secondary data for a comprehensive analysis. According to the findings, The TV stations experience many challenges in the competitive environment among them high operational costs and rapid technological changes as they strive to offer high quality products to counter competition. The strategies they have undertaken to counter competition include customer service improvement, market share expansion, product innovation, and target market expansion. The TV stations have also adopted various strategic responses to competition such as diversification into other broadcast media, differentiation in terms of unique programming, market segmentation to cater for different markets, and adoption of new high technology to improve quality of production and increase efficiency.
The study concluded that competition has had a positive effect on the growth of the TV broadcasting sector, as it has triggered the TV stations to be more innovative and creative in producing new and better programs, and each of the station is in a better competitive position in the industry today. The study also noted that the major beneficiaries of competition among the stations have been the customers and the audiences since they now have a variety of programs and TV channels to choose from for quality and reliable information, education and entertainment.
The implication is that new TV stations that are venturing into the industry must ensure a strong financial position from the start, so as to be able to acquire modern technology, and therefore produce quality programs and products that are competitive in the market.
The study recommended benchmarking as a strategy to be fully utilized by the stations, more investment in staff training to curb the high turnover of qualified personnel, and venturing into other areas that are unrelated to broadcasting for revenue generation to strengthen the financial position of the stations. | en_US |
