Kenya's Media Landscape 2025: 22 % Decline In Advertising Spends, The Rise Of Out-Of Home Advertising, Channel Performance And Future Outlook
Kenya's broader economic story for 2025 is one of measured optimism. GDP growth is projected at 4.5%, on a trajectory toward 4.9% by 2026–2027. Inflation has eased dramatically from a punishing 7.7% in 2022–23 to 4.5% in 2024, its lowest level in five years, driven by a tighter monetary policy, a recovering Kenyan Shilling, and improved agricultural output.
The services sector: ICT, finance, and trade continue to outpace the broader economy. Yet none of this translated into confidence in advertising. The media market experienced its sharpest contraction in half a decade, driven not only by economic weakness but also by regulatory intervention.
Media Access
According to the Communications Authority, the audience fundamentals remain largely unchanged. Radio and television each reach 73% of the population as of the July–September 2025 quarter. Print readership holds at a modest 19%, magazines at 7%.
The meaningful shift is in internet access, which rose from 57% to 60% in the same period. Slow in percentage-point terms, but significant in absolute reach as Kenya's urban population grows.
Advertising Trends
Above-the-line advertising spend fell from KSh 84.9 billion in 2024 to KSh 66.3 billion in 2025, a 22% decline. On a longer arc, total mainstream media spend has retreated from a peak of KSh 135.5 billion in 2022, representing a cumulative decline of more than 51% over three years.
The tension, when confronted with numbers this dramatic, is to declare a structural collapse of traditional media. That reading is both accurate and strategically dangerous.
Tighter gambling advertising regulations implemented in 2025 removed one of the highest-spending categories from mainstream media. What replaced it? Banking. The sector emerged as the undisputed number one advertiser across both TV and radio, with KCB, Co-operative Bank, NCBA, Equity Group and I&M Bank driving volume.
Safaricom PLC led the market with 8% of total mainstream media expenditure, anchored by three campaigns: Shangwe @25, M-Pesa Sokoni Festival, and MultiChoice Kenya. KCB rounds out the top three.
TV Expenditure
TV took the hardest hit at 22%. Citizen TV retained its dominance in both ad spend and volume, recording 112,848 ad counts, nearly double its nearest rival, NTV, at 57,703.
The Banking sector now leads TV advertising, replacing Betting & Gambling, with campaigns from Co-op Bank, I&M, and KCB driving volume. The Media sector, anchored by MultiChoice Kenya's DSTV promotional activity, ranked second by spend.
Radio Expenditure
Radio proved the most resilient traditional medium, declining only 5%. Kass FM led by ad spend (KSh 2.44 billion rate-card value), while Kameme FM topped ad volumes with 48,390 insertions driven by the food sector. Banking overtook Betting & Gambling as the leading radio advertiser for the first time.
Print Expenditure
Print was the steepest percentage faller at 25%. Daily Nation remained the dominant publication with 1,788 ad placements, followed by My Gov and The Standard. Notably, State Bodies, government departments and agencies emerged as the top spenders in print. In 2025, NEMA accounted for 4% of the medium's total expenditure.
Out Of Home Expenditure
Against the tide, Out-of-Home advertising grew to KSh 6.37 billion in 2025, up from KSh 5.55 billion in 2024. Digital OOH (DOOH) proliferation across Kenya's urban centres is the primary engine, expanding brand touchpoints and enabling dynamic, data-driven creative.
New May 2025 regulations reshaped the gambling OOH category: only digital/electronic billboards are now permitted for gambling ads, limited to two spots per hour, and prohibited from placing ads near schools, places of worship, and playgrounds. All advertising materials require BCLB and KFCB approval before publishing.
The Beverages sector dominated OOH at 18% share, with EABL at 13% individually, a deliberate pivot driven by daytime broadcast restrictions on alcohol advertising that forced brands outdoors.
Future Outlook
Advertising spends on TV, Radio, Print and Out is expected to drop further by 20% in 2026 based on time series data. Over the past 6 years, advertising spending across most industries has been in a declining trend, mainly driven by the impact of Government Regulations on high-spending industries such as betting/gambling. Mainstream media advertising in industries such as FMCG, Banking and telecommunications has, however, been more resilient due to the highly competitive nature of these sectors.
TV & Radio Still Matter
Sectors like Communications, Banking, and Food held or grew their traditional media budgets in 2025. For mass-market reach, no alternative yet matches radio's penetration. But passive audience measurement, not just rate-card metrics, will become the new currency for justifying spend.
Digital Absorbs Displaced Budgets
TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook have crossed the threshold from supplementary to primary for younger Kenyan audiences. As smartphone penetration and affordable data expand into tier-2 cities, digital advertising revenue growth will accelerate, potentially doubling its share of total ad spend within three years.
OOH Is The Medium To Watch
The only traditional channel growing consistently, OOH benefits from urbanisation, DOOH technology, and brands being pushed out of broadcast by regulation. The Nairobi market is approaching saturation at 2,350 sites, but secondary cities like Nakuru, Mombasa, and Kisumu have significant runway.
Three years of ad expenditure data have made one thing abundantly clear, media budget allocation is a competitive decision.
Television and radio remain indispensable for any brandand company competing in a mass market category. The strategic shift required is from buying reach to buying impact. Fewer stations, deeper presence, verified audience data, and integrated campaign architecture will deliver stronger returns in a contracting market than spreading budget thinly across a fragmented station set chasing the lowest CPT.
OOH should be elevated in budget priority, particularly for FMCG, Beverages, Real Estate, and Banking brands. The medium's year-over-year growth, its resilience through the regulatory shocks that hit broadcast spending, and its expanding DOOH capability make it the most dynamically positioned traditional medium heading into 2026.
Get the full insights. Download a free copy of the Kenya Media Landscape Report 2025 for the complete data set, station-level spend breakdowns, OOH site distribution maps, and the full 2026 expenditure forecast and equip your team with the intelligence to make every shilling count.