The State of Kenyan Kids TV

I sat down with my friend’s two year old son and showed him two videos. The first was a trailer for Once Upon A Time in Africa posted by Bunitv and produced by Marie Lora-Mungai and Gado. When I asked him if he’d enjoy the show, he gave me the enthusiastic answer “Yes! It’s awesome!”. The second video was from Club Kiboko, a long running TV show for kids on KTN. When I asked him if he’d like to watch it on Saturday his answer was an unenthusiastic “mmmmh I gueeeess”.

Anyone who knows kids, knows that that’s the answer they give when they’re asked if they like waking up early for school every morning. The problem with the two shows is that the one he liked is on the internet whereas the one he didn’t enjoy is on television.

The Television industry in Kenya seems to have forgotten a very important aspect about their target demographic: they are kids.

Kids don’t want to leave school and go home and watch educational shows the day after school, dull magic tricks that don’t change from week to week, arts and craft segments that remind them of their teachers or story telling that honestly is quite flat.

What happened to the by gone era when Jimmy Gathu hosted Club Kiboko and children would literally look forward to Saturday mornings because of what would be on KTN, NTV, Citizen TV or KBC?

Shows are more geared to convincing parents that their kids are getting quality programming while they shove in adverts for Ribena and Scott’s Emulsion every ten minutes. It’s no wonder that when you ask a child who their favourite television character is, they will more often than not pick someone from the Disney Channel. Not cheeky Monkey or grumpy Alligator from Tinga Tinga Tales.

Tinga Tinga Tales, a children’s TV show from Kenya, is better known in Germany than it is in Kenya! Imagine!

Are the heads of our TV channels convinced that kids in Kenya don’t enjoy cartoons? Or is it that they think they thoroughly enjoy the selection of Afro Cinema, Tellenovelas or Gospel Music that characterizes our country’s afternoon television?

Maybe they do but surely we could do better…