Advertisers have joined the digital migration stand-off, urging the warring parties to reach consensus over the issue. Mr Lenny Ng’ang’a, chairman of the Advertising Practitioners Association of Kenya (APA), says in a statement released moments ago that a drawn-out media blackout will cause a large revenue loss with ripple effects to advertisers, broadcasters, the advertising industry and the economy.
“The Association of Practitioners in Advertising of Kenya wishes to express its deep concern over the standoff between the Government of Kenya, and the leading broadcasters over the digital migration exercise,” he says.
The television advertising sector was valued at Ksh41 billion in 2014. Advertisers who are unable to drive their marketing campaigns on television effectively are likely to scale down their advertising investment on this medium which in turn could reduce consumer demand and thus slow down the economy.
The fall in television viewership occasioned by lack of pervasive set top box penetration, will in the coming months have far-reaching ramifications for the broadcast sector which largely draws revenues from selling audience ratings to advertisers.
“We wish to state that whilst APA fully supports the efforts by the Government of Kenya to meet its international treaty agreements and deadlines for digital migration, we have held the belief that a phased, well-planned and mutually agreed approach to the benefit of all Kenyans is ideal,” says APA. “We appeal for moderation and compromise in resolving this crisis as a disorderly migration benefits no one and will come at a huge cost to the economy.”
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