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Kenya asks broadcasters to air at least 40 pct local content starting July

Xinhua, June 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Kenya's law that requires broadcasters to source at least 40 percent of their content locally will be operational in July, the communication regulator said on Tuesday.

Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) Director of Legal Services John Omo told a media briefing in Nairobi that the grace period for the implementation of the programming code comes to an end in June.

"The authority will from July 1 commence enforcement action against non-compliant broadcasters," Omo said during the launch of the report on local Content Baseline Survey and the Good Taste and Decency Survey by the CA.

The local content survey aims at determining the proportion of local content aired by free-to-air television broadcasters as well as identify audience perceptions and attitudes towards local content.

The study recommends policy interventions that can spur uptake of local content programming by broadcasters.

The Good Taste and Decency Survey sought to gauge the current attitudes and perceptions of the society on what constitutes good taste and decency in broadcasting.

Local content refers to the total of all television or radio programmes which fulfill conditions that touch on areas of location of production, shareholding by local artists, local authorship as well as creative control of Kenyans.

Omo said that developing countries including Kenya find it easier to have external content while efforts to distribute local content to global networks facing uphill struggle.

"However, local content will contribute to Kenya's social and cultural perspective by telling stories through our own lens," he said.

The Kenya Information and Communication Regulations 2009 requires the industry regulator to prescribe a Programming Code for free-to-air radio and television services.

The codes sets out the standards for the time and manner of programmes to be broadcast by licensed broadcasters.

The code provides that a broadcaster be given one year to attain 40 percent local content upon licensing and four years to attain the 60 percent threshold. Endit