An Analysis of Media Channel Consumption Preferences Among Residents of Kisumu County
Abstract
The media environment in Kenya offers users an overwhelming number of choices. For
example, the typical household receives well over 100 TV channels, therefore giving the
audience a wide selection of media stations to view or listen to depending on their
preferences. The study set out to investigate the factors that influence consumer
preference and behavior towards the media channel. The study used a number of relevant
theories for the purposes of our analysis and interpretations of both field and library data
respectively. The theories are; uses and gratification theory, media dependency theory
and the credibility theory. The literature review was divided into three categories. First
part of literature presents the central role of media from general perspective and media
developments role in social, economic, and political progress. The second section gives a
brief overview of the role of media in Kenya in promotion of development in counties.
The third section deals with the concept of consumer preference and choice and factors
that affect consumers‘ choice. The last section discusses the concept of broadcast
programmes. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The
quantitative approach focused on obtaining numerical findings while the interview on the
other hand made up the qualitative approach of the study. This focused on personal
accounts, observations, descriptions and individual insights of the respondents. The
research employed the combined approach so as to overcome the limitations of both
approaches. The outcome of this study on media consumption preferences will generate
scientific data which will be used to inform and affirm the private sector policies in the
media industry, particularly with regards to program production formats and content
development. The study is also significant in directing future investors in media stations
in Kisumu County on what preferences the residents choose. Thus, they are able to tell
what kind of media channel to invest in and how to programme their station to the
popular in Kisumu County. The information generated will go a long way in enabling
development implementers at Kisumu County to know which media outlets is best
preferred by the publics of Kisumu County and therefore should be used most frequently
for the purpose of promotion of development in Kisumu County. The study revealed that
residents of Kisumu County preferred vernacular radio stations especially Ramogi and
Radio Lake Victoria. The study showed that the reasons for the preference were;
entertainment, information and programmes for both radio and television. From these
findings, it was concluded that there is need for further study to investigate why
respondents did not mention other radio and TV stations like, Radio Sayari and Lolwe
TV.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
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