NAIROBI: The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has given television broadcasters four years to increase local content in their programming to 60 percent, Business Daily reported. This excludes news and advertising/ The regulator said TV stations must reach 40 percent within one year of being awarded a licence. The regulator says the rules will become applicable once a new programming code comes into force in the next few months.
Kenyan broadcasters have preferred to air foreign shows, citing their better quality and lower costs compared with local productions. The stations mostly air shows from South America, the US, Nigeria and India. The CA is yet to set out the financial penalties it will impose on those who fail to achieve the set local content targets.
It said, though, that those who fail to comply will be required to pay an amount of money for every year they fail to meet the threshold. Treasury secretary Henry Rotich in his national budget speech zero-rated film equipment imports, giving the drive to increase the number of shows produced in the country a big boost.
