Gov’t to subsidize signal charges to allow new entrants in media industry

The government will subsidize signal charges to allow more people to invest in the media industry, ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru has said.

Speaking at a Nairobi hotel on Friday December 15, the CS said that the State is in the process of separating the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) and Signet.

Signet is a subsidiary of KBC that broadcasts and distributes Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) signal.

“In the next five years, the government will facilitate media and production houses to enable them diversify content,” said CS Mucheru.

While appealing to media owners to engage the government more frequently, Mucheru noted that producers need to come up with “more catchy and creative” content to attract more advertisers.

“Media owners, as key stakeholders in the ICT sector, you need to come up and make your voice heard by the national government, “said the CS.

“When the government banned political advertisements during the election period, no media owner opposed our plans of having more engagements in the industry.” he added

This comes even after the government reduced signal charges for broadcasters in November 2016.

The Communications Authority of Kenya reduced the signal cost to Ksh89,545 per megabit per month, down from Ksh125, 990 to broadcasters in Nairobi and its environs.

The telecommunications regulator also reduced the signal cost to Ksh37, 311 from Ksh93, 202 to broadcasters in major towns other than Nairobi and Ksh32, 961 monthly for broadcasters in remote areas

Broadcasters had cited the cost of signal distribution as one of the factors limiting progress in the industry.