Over the weekend, I had a meeting at one of the restaurants along Kampala Road. As I glanced around the room, my eyes landed on a television set mounted to the wall broadcasting a live program from one of the local stations.
Despite the bright screen and vivid visuals, clients remained largely indifferent. For hours, most were engrossed in their mobile phones or engaged in animated conversations, seemingly unaware of the content playing out on the TV.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. Media houses invest heavily in content creation, crafting programs with care and precision, only to have these air to audiences that are increasingly disengaged, distracted by their mobile devices, or caught up in daily routines. This disinterest isn’t confined to that restaurant alone; it’s a phenomenon observed in banking halls, offices, shopping malls, and other public spaces, where screens are plentiful, but attention is scarce.
Reflecting on this shift, I couldn’t help but think back to a time when traditional media was the unchallenged source of information. When major announcements or events occurred, we all looked to radio, television, or newspapers. Today the space is rapidly evolving into everything digital. The inability to adapt fast has recently seen most of our traditional media houses shutdown or downsize operations to stay afloat.
The advent of smartphones means that anyone can be among the first to hear breaking news, delivered directly to their device. This shift poses a significant challenge for traditional media. Yet even those who do venture into the digital space often replicate old models, simply transferring traditional programming to digital platforms—a strategy that falls short of expectations in this new era.
Modern audiences no longer wish to organize their lives around broadcast schedules. They demand content that fits their life styles, content they can consume conveniently on the go. The rise of streaming services and the explosion of social media platforms have not only diversified content but also democratized its creation. Today, everyone is a potential content creator.
Mobile devices especially smartphones becoming our primary gateway to the internet is a shift that has led advertisers to prioritize mobile platforms over traditional broadcasting when reaching their target audiences. The majority of digital advertising spend is now allocated towards mobile ads due to the sheer amount of time consumers spend on their devices. Advertisers recognize that online video and OTT platforms are where consumers are most engaged. This has led to a surge in spending on mobile video ads, as statistics indicate mobile devices are now the primary tools for accessing video content.
Statistics are more glaring than ever. According to the Uganda Communications Commission, internet traffic in Uganda surged by 51% year-on-year in the 12 months ending March 2023, with data consumption rising from 91.4 million GBs to 138.5 million GBs. This growth spurred the average internet usage per subscriber to climb from 3.88 GBs to 5.10 GBs. Recognizing this digital boom, telecom companies have already formed strategic alliances with digital platforms to exploit the mutual benefits of this transformation.
To thrive in this environment, media houses must quickly shift their focus. The future lies in partnerships with established digital platforms, which offer ready-made infrastructures and extensive user bases. These collaborations can help traditional media companies not only adapt to but also capitalize on new content consumption trends. By leveraging these platforms, traditional media can focus on what they do best—creating high-quality content—while reducing the costs and complexities associated with developing their own digital spaces.
Additionally, the digital space resolves one of the traditional media’s long-standing challenges: measuring engagement. Digital platforms, with their ability to collect and analyse viewer data, offer insights that can guide content creation and marketing strategies more effectively than ever before. This data-driven approach, already utilized by social media giants like TikTok, Netflix, and YouTube, can be harnessed to meet the specific needs of our local audiences.
As I conclude, I call upon media houses to embrace innovative ways of content distribution. By embracing collaboration with digital platforms, traditional media houses can enhance their content delivery, target niche audiences more effectively, and refine their market positioning. Advertisers, too, stand to gain by being able to precisely target their customers. The viewer may no longer be fixated on the television screen, but they are certainly consuming content—just in different, more dynamic ways.
The signal from new media is loud and clear. It’s time we listen.
