The Government Advertising Agency (GAA) has authorized the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) to handle all public sector advertising in an attempt to revive the ailing parastatal.
- •This comes months after also redirected all its print advertising needs to a common portal.
- •The GoK Government of Kenya, through a National Treasury Circular of July 2015 first communicated this intention by the state to centralize all public sector advertising.
- •GoK has taken measures to centralize its electronic advertising needs at a time when it owes media houses about Ksh1.7 billion in pending bills.
“All public sector electronic advertisements from ministries, departments, and agencies that fall under the National government, independent commissions, and public universities shall be handled by the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC),” a circular from the State Department of Broadcasting and Telecommunications said.
The idea behind these measures in the state-sponsored advertising business stems from the desire of the Government to cut costs through a central procurement process that ensures maximum service levels at minimal costs.
The National broadcaster enjoys immense coverage across the country but its market share continues shrinking due to stiff competition from aggressive private-owned media outlets.
KBC’s audited accounts for the 2021-22 financials show that the state-owned broadcaster saw its revenue decline by 3% from KSh2.134 billion in 2021 to KSh 2.069 billion while total expenditure increased by 3.57% from KSh2.30 billion in 2021 to KSh2.38 billion in 2022. The state broadcaster attributes this increase to power connections to new FM radio transmitters and the switching off of medium-wave radio transmitters that consume a lot of electricity.
During the 2020/21 financial year, KBC’s total income was KSh2,069 million, made up of KSh 994.2 million in Government grants and internally generated income of KSh15.6 million.
KBC has faced funding cuts from the National Treasury and will have to fix its financials to provide adequate advertising services to the state.
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