NMG & 4 Other Media Houses Lose KShs120 Billion in Fake Data Dispute

Standard Group, Nation Media and three other local media houses lost more than KShs 120 Billion in fake data dispute.

The other media houses affected are Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), Capital Group Limited and Radio Africa Group.

According to the Media Council of Kenya (MCK), the companies lost the advertising revenue in three years after disagreeing with Kenya Audience Research Foundation's data.

On February 1, 2019, the companies accused the foundation of publishing poor and inaccurate audience data that bleed them of revenues.

Speaking on Friday, MCK CEO David Omwoyo, however, informed journalists that new measures aimed at ensuring credible data are churned out by research firms were being put in place.

“The absence of a reliable and dependable audience and readership measurement system will have a negative impact on the advertising income and subsequent sustainability of the media enterprises in the country,” stated Omwoyo.

The media houses had written to the research firm informing it that they had cancelled their subscription to its services while demanding that it never publishes media audience data again.

In the letter, the players had quantified their 36-month losses as a result of the fake data to KShs 218 Billion but Omwoyo insisted that the figure stood at KShs 120 Billion.

Omwoyo further revealed that a proposed code seeking to establish an enforceable standard for media advertisements and conflict resolution had been put in place.

The research firm, in their data, had claimed that a majority of Kenyans preferred traditional media as their main source of news.