Last month Zenith published its report on up-and-coming ad markets – the Thirty Rising Media Markets. Here’s an excerpt, which looks at the current state of advertising and media in Uganda. For more information on Uganda, plus 29 other rapid-growth markets, please purchase the full report here.
We estimate total advertising expenditure at US$290 million in 2016, representing 1.1% of GDP. Adspend shrank 3.6% in 2013 after consolidation in the telecoms sector, the biggest-spending advertising category, but growth resumed in 2014 and entered double digits in 2015. We expect further fast growth until at least 2019.
Uganda’s media were state controlled until the early 1990s, when the government legalised private broadcasting and publishing. The state still own key media outlets, but these face competition from a diverse array of private alternatives.
Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) is the state-owned broadcaster, operating two television channels (UBC TV and Star TV), and ten radio stations (Buruli FM, Butebo FM, Magic100 FM, Mega FM, Ngeya FM, Star FM, UBC Radio, UBC West, Voice of Bundibugo and West Nile FM).
There are now dozens of private television channels and well over a hundred private radio stations. The television channels are mostly based in Uganda’s cities, while there are a great many radio stations serving local rural areas.
Popular private television channels include Bornfree Technologies Network, East Africa TV, EATV, Lighthouse Television, NBS, NTV Uganda, Pulse TV, Record, Top TV and WBS. Capital FM, Dembe FM, KFM, Radio One, Radio Simba, Sanyu FM, CBS, City FM and Super FM are prominent private radio stations.
The state-owned Vision Group publishes The New Vision – the highest-circulation newspaper in the country – as well as Bukedde, which has the highest reach among English and Luganda speakers. There are now 20-30 private newspapers, including The Daily Monitor – Uganda’s second-biggest newspaper – plus The Independent, The Monitor, The Observer, The Razor and Red Pepper.
12 million Ugandans – nearly a third of the population – are regular users of the internet. Social media is still a minority pursuit in Uganda; only 18% of internet users have accounts on Facebook, the most popular social platform.
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