The real reason Kenyan radio is going to die out within the next 10 years

Kenya radio is on its last legs. I can say this with all sorts of confidence. In the next 10 years, that landscape will have changed so drastically, most urban youth will be talking about podcast shows, vlogs and nothing else.

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You see, Kenyan radio has refused to adapt the same way radio has adapted abroad. I will use the Breakfast Club as an example. That morning show that runs on Power 105.1 is a hiphop show that is unfiltered and runs in the same format as a podcast. The show has three on air personalities, DJ Envy occupying the A-Seat, Angela Yee and Charlamagne being the flavour of the show.

The show is set up to allow each individual’s personality to carry out and call to different segments of their audience. Granted, when the show was launched, it was considered a risky show but because the personalities were allowed to be themselves. DJ Envy was the music industry insider (who at the start actually harboured a dislike and distrust for Charlamagne) and Angela Yee was the career journalist while Charlamagne was the guy who was willing to ask the questions none of them would. He was not the comic relief like a court jester but he was funny because he would ask questions or raise topics that made the celebrities they interviewed uncomfortably.

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And like on a podcast, they didn’t play it safe. I am not saying Kenyan radio should allow cursing but they shouldn’t invite celebrities to discuss bullshit topics no one cares about. And this is where podcasts will destroy them.

Take the case of Andrew Kibe. He was let go of by Kiss 100. He now has a podcast that is infinitely more interesting to listen to than the Breakfast show he was bundled out of.
Take Jalang’o for instance. He asked mundane questions on his vlog but they are more interesting than his show on Kiss 100 so why would I continue to listen? The same thing goes for Adelle Onyango’s podcast. It is bound to blow once Spotify gets to Africa which is just a matter of time.

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The same thing goes for Capital FM. The personalities there are out of touch as are a lot of the points of conversation. The two radio stations that have really interesting personalities are Home Boyz (morning show) and NRG Radio. But even then, it is’t on some Joe Rogan level of interesting. And how could they when Kenyan radio only knows how to recycle their old and aging talents? How then can these same guys be effective at innovating new areas for radio to explore?

The final reason for my assertion is that as more and more people begin to generate content, radio will have to innovate while its hands are tied behind its back by the communication authorities and the redtape that comes from the fact that most of the airwaves are owned by politicians. Mark my words, radio will not survive another decade but this is supposed to be an entertaining opinion piece so I shall leave it as light as possible.

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