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Television in Uganda

There is a sharp urban-rural divide in Ugandan television viewership, as shown in Chart 1. Note that about 88 percent of Ugandans live in rural areas, implying that TV lags well behind radio in the media market. Poverty, a lack of quality reception outside of urban centers and a limited electrical grid inhibit use and reach of TV outside the cities.

That said, TV viewership is growing moderately. AudienceScapes Uganda surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008 showed a rise from 14 percent of respondents saying they watch regularly (weekly) to 18 percent; rural weekly viewership jumped from 14 percent to 24 percent.

Television viewership varies widely among Uganda’s four regions (Central, Northern, Western and Eastern). The Central region includes the capital Kampala and is the country’s broadcast center where most non-state run stations are based. Uganda’s most popular stations broadcast out of the capital, often failing to transmit a clear signal to all regions. One of the more popular means of overcoming this signal challenge, particularly in urban areas, is to watch channels offered as a part of multi-channel pay-TV via satellite or cable TV, which are most often viewed in public venues. Twenty-nine percent of urbanites surveyed in 2008 and thirteen percent of rural Ugandans said they watch these pay-TV channels at least weekly.

Communal TV watching bolsters what would otherwise be a very limited broadcast market; sixteen percent of survey respondents reported watching TV in another family’s home in the past week. Sixteen percent also reported watching TV in a public place in the past week. These percentages increase slightly for urban dwellers.

Chart 1

The state-owned and operated UBC-TV, formerly UTV, is the only station that is not privately owned but is also the most popular TV station in the country, according to the Uganda survey. The channel has a measure of independence from the government, given that its operator, the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation, is not entirely funded by public money. The channel also sells airtime and rents technical facilities to other broadcasters. [1]

UBC and the Wavah Broadcasting Service (WBS) are the only stations in Uganda without partial foreign ownership, and WBS is the only truly commercial channel. Many channels such as Lighthouse Television and Top TV are owned by Christian religious organizations. Lighthouse is actually a local rebroadcast of the U.S. based Trinity Broadcasting and Top TV is produced by the Christian Life Ministries based in Kampala. East Africa TV (EATV, http://www.eatv.tv/) is a Tanzanian-based service providing a variety of entertainment programming. WBS, the Central region’s top channel, and UBC both have a stronger presence nationally than these other channels. Both WBS and the UBC possess substations in multiple urban centers while other channels are focused on particular regions. [2]

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[1] “About Us”. Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. Kampala, Uganda. Accessed January 2010. http://ubconline.co.ug/about_us.php.

[2] “Radio and TV Stations in Uganda per Feb 2009 updated”. Uganda Communications Commission. Kampala, Uganda. February 2009. Accessed January 2010. http://www.ucc.co.ug/spectrum/RadioTVStationsInUganda28Feb2009.pdf.