TV47 Ovetakes South Africa's Supersport 2 Months After Relaunch

Close to two months after Cape Media TV station, TV47's relaunch with its new state-of-the-art studios and fresh line-up of presenters, the fast-rising TV station has caused an upset.

On Thursday, September 14, TV47 was ranked the sixth most-watched TV station in the country, according to the latest rankings by GeoPoll, the pioneer in providing remote, mobile-based research solutions throughout Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

GeoPoll ranked the stations based on their cumulative audience within seven days (Sunday, September 3 to Saturday, September 9, 2023).

Swipe on the white line to view the top 10 TV stations in Kenya based on cumulative audience

TV47, according to an internal brief of the rankings seen by Viral Tea, amassed a cumulative watch audience of 6,885,000 during the same period, which is better than that of South Africa-based TV giant, Supersport, which drew a cumulative watch audience of 6,686,000, placing it in seventh.

Supersport is heavily relied on by sports fans for competitions such as the English Premier League, UEFA Champions, Europa and Conference Leagues, Formula 1, and athletics competitions among others.

Cape Media Chief Operations Officer Wilson Mbugua congratulated the TV47 staff and Cape Media staff as a whole for their collective effort in bolstering TV47 as a top Kenyan TV station in the digital era.

“I take this opportunity to congratulate the entire Cape Media fraternity for your unwavering collective contribution to ensure that we firmly position ourselves in the Kenyan media space,” read the brief in part.

“Congratulations on making TV47 one of Kenya’s top TV stations. We continue marching forward.”

In the rankings, Royal Media Services' (RMS) Citizen TV emerged as Kenya's most-watched TV station with 22,861,000 viewers, followed by Nation Media Group's (NMG) NTV with 10,680,000.

Despite the turbulent times within Standard Group Limited, two of its TV stations namely KTN and KTN News ranked third and fourth with 9,268,000 and 9,113,000 respectively.

Maisha Magic East, one of Multichoice's flagship channels catered to the East African audience, ranked way ahead of TV47 in fifth with 8,451,000 viewers.

Others included MediaMax's K24 in eighth with 6,620,000 viewers, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) in ninth with 6,443,000, and Triple P (PPP) TV in 10th with 5,450,000.

Inooro TV (11th), Akili Kids (12th), UTV (13th), Ramogi TV (14th) and Zee World (15th) rounded up the top 15.

The media house on Wednesday, September 13 appointed Jared Ouma as its new Commercial Director, expected to oversee Cape Media's commercial strategy, advertising partnerships, and revenue generation efforts.

"He will work closely with our sales and marketing teams to identify new business opportunities, develop strategic partnerships, and ensure the continued growth of our organization.

"This appointment represents a significant step forward for the Media House as we continue to strengthen our position as the fastest-growing media company. Jared's leadership will undoubtedly contribute to our ongoing success and further enhance the value we provide to our clients and partners," Mbugua stated while announcing his appointment.

Ouma was previously at RMS as its Business Manager, and before joining the media, he worked in the banking industry with Standbic Bank and Barclays Bank. He specializes in data analysis, Artificial Intelligence and media advertising. 

The appointment formed another one of TV47's explosive hiring sprees that have seen top journalists from rival media houses such as former KTN News anchor Fred Indimuli, former KTN sports anchor Ahmed Bahajj, former TUKO.co.ke Managing Director Gibendi Ramenya and news anchor Mwanaisha Chidzuga all joining.

Flora Limukii, Stanley Nyaringita and Fred Indimuli at the new TV47 studios on July 19, 2023. /FLORA LIMUKII