Kenya Television Network

Kenyan television network

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Television channel

KTN

Country| Kenya
Broadcast area| Kenya
Headquarters| The Standard Group PLC, Mombasa Road, Embakasi, Nairobi
Programming
Language(s)| English
Swahili
Ownership
Owner| Standard Group
Sister channels| KTN News Kenya
History
Launched| 5 March 1990; 35 years ago (1990-03-05)
Links
Webcast| Livestream
Website| www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktnhome/
www.standardmedia.co.ke/ktnnews
Availability
Terrestrial
DStv| Channel 272
Zuku TV| Channel 12
GOtv| Channel 18
StarTimes| Channel 510
DTT| Available on Signet, ADN, and other DTT signal distributors
Azam TV| Channel 336

Kenya Television Network (KTN) is a Kenyan free-to-air television network that was launched in March 1990 by Jared Kangwana.[1] It is headquartered at Standard Group Centre, Nairobi.[2] It was the first privately owned free-to-air television network in Africa, and the first to break KBC's monopoly in Kenya.

KTN became famous for activist journalism in the 1990s.

## History

[edit]

Former KTN logo

After its launch in 1990, KTN rebroadcast programmes from CNN International,[3] MTV Europe and other European, American and Australian television channels, in addition to TV networks from other African states. KTN started out as a pilot project for a 24-hour subscription-television channel in Nairobi and its surroundings. However, plans to scramble its signal were abandoned, and for most of the 1990s, KTN derived its revenue from advertisement and TV production services. Founded by Jared Kangwana, its early success attracted bids for joint ownership from London-based Maxwell Communications, South African MNET, and the then-ruling party Kenya African National Union (KANU). The station won the bid to carry the 1992 Summer Olympics, as well as the rights to several other international events. In 1992, M-Net planned to buy the network, but these plans were denied by its staff, as they demanded M-Net to provide technical co-operation instead.[4]

While Jared Kangwana planned to expand KTN, and had built new facilities to house the station, he granted KTN's news division free rein. KANU functionaries are said to have frequently called the newsroom and editors on behalf of the president of Kenya,[citation needed] Daniel arap Moi, in order to censor news stories. This control was said to have been sanctioned by Moi himself, who had developed the habit while he was still vice-president under president Jomo Kenyatta. As vice-president, Daniel arap Moi had grown used to make regular calls to the offices of The Standard which was foreign-owned at that time, and to other media outlets, to demand that they drop stories or modify them. The practice was revived when KTN was established.[5]

In October 1993 security officers boarded a commercial airliner, seized the passport of KTN Director Jared Kangwana, and prevented him from leaving on a business trip. Kangwana said that the act was part of a government intimidation campaign to force him to relinquish control of KTN to the then-ruling party, KANU. The government took no action to institute criminal proceedings against Kangwana but ultimately succeeded in forcing him to cede the company to KANU. The station is since 9 December 1997[6] part of The Standard Group, which also publishes The Standard newspaper.

In March 1998, KTN started airing a four-hour block relaying South African network Channel O. The channel was aiming to introduce a new schedule effective 4 May 1998.[7]

The channel started nationwide broadcasts in 2002; until then, it had only covered Nairobi due to expensive costs of expansion.[8]

## Programs

[edit]

KTN was once a juggernaut in entertainment but has now been flooded with soap operas, long talk shows and CNN night time streaming. Some world class entertainment including sitcoms, thriller/detective, drama, action series and children's classics have all vanished.

Listed below are some of the shows the network was famous for;

### Former

[edit]

### Imported shows

[edit]

#### children's

[edit]

* Adventures from the Book of Virtues
* Alvin and the Chipmunks
* Angels Friends
* Animaniacs
* Art Attack
* Barney & Friends
* Justice League (TV series)
* Superman The Animated Series
* Batman of the Future
* Batman: The Animated Series
* Beast Machines: Transformers
* Being Ian
* Bob in a Bottle
* Braceface
* Captain Planet and the Planeteers
* Casper the Friendly Ghost
* Count Duckula
* Denver, the Last Dinosaur
* The Fairly OddParents!
* Felix the Cat
* The Flintstones
* Hi-5
* Jackie Chan Adventures
* Jim Henson's The Hoobs
* Johnny Bravo
* Kim Possible
* The Little Rascals
* Mission Top Secret
* The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion
* New Captain Scarlet
* The Odyssey
* Out of the Box
* The Puzzle Place
* The Real Ghostbusters
* Recess
* The Road Runner Show
* Saban's Adventures of the Little Mermaid
* SilverHawks
* Sky Dancers
* Star Wars: Ewoks
* Tom & Jerry Kids
* X-Men: Evolution
* American Dragon:Jake Long
* The Proud Family
* Atomic Betty
* Jacob Two Two
* 6teen
* The Wild Thornberrys
* Lilo & Stitch
* Johnny Test
* Justice League
* My life as a teenage robot
* Danny Phantom
* Braceface
* Hey Arnold!

#### Drama

[edit]

* 7th Heaven
* Alias
* Angel
* Baywatch
* Being Erica
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer
* Charmed
* The Commish
* Dawson’s Creek
* Desperate Housewives
* ER
* Judging Amy
* Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
* Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
* Lost
* L.A. Law
* Monk
* Murphy Brown
* Prison Break
* Renegade
* Time Trax

#### Reality

[edit]

* The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best
* Beyond Chance

#### Soap Opera

[edit]

* Days of Our Lives
* Egoli: Place of Gold
* Fashion House
* Melrose Place
* Neighbours
* The Stepdaughters
* The General's Daughter
* The Promise
* A Love to Last
* Lost Hearts
* Doble Kara
* A Mother's Guilt
* Prima Donnas
* Los Bastardos

#### Comedy

[edit]

* The Benny Hill Show
* Desmond's
* Diff'rent Strokes
* Eve
* Everybody Hates Chris
* Full House
* Golden Girls
* Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
* Herman's Head
* The Jeffersons
* Kate & Allie
* Less than Perfect
* The Muppet Show
* Nurses
* Perfect Strangers
* Sanford and Son
* Sister, Sister
* Men Behaving Badly
* Friends
* Martin

#### Talk Shows

[edit]

* The Oprah Winfrey Show
* Tyra Banks Show

#### Game Shows

[edit]

* You Bet Your Life

#### Anthology

[edit]

* This Is the Life

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Kenya Television Network-KTN | all Kenya's One-Stop Joint for Breaking News, Sports, Jobs, Tours in Kenya". a-zkenya.info. 2012. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
2. ^ "ktnkenya.tv". ktnkenya.tv. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
3. ^ "Cable news boosts Kenya TV", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 1, July-September 1993
4. ^ "South Africa's giant on media safari", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 1, July-September 1993
5. ^ Team, Standard Digital. "Standard Digital News - Standard Digital News - Welcome Home, KTN Home, ktn news, ktn, standard group, standard media, standard digital, kenya news, east africa news, video news". KTN Home. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
6. ^ "Kenya TV Network taken over by Standard Newspapers Group", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 16, January-March 1998
7. ^ "KTN re-launch", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 17, April-June 1998
8. ^ "Kenya Television Network goes on Satellite", Africa Film & TV Magazine, nº. 36, February-April 2003

## External links

[edit]

* ktnkenya.tv
* museum.tv Archived 2 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
* KTN Live Stream - Kenyan TV

* v
* t
* e

Media in Kenya

Broadcast news divisions:|

* Africa 24
* Citizen TV
* NTV (Kenya)
* K24 TV
* Kenya Broadcasting Corporation
* Kenya Television Network

National and International
satellite channels|

* Al Jazeera
* BBC World News
* CGTN Africa
* CNBC Africa
* CNN

Radio:|

* 98.4 Capital FM
* CRI Nairobi 91.9 FM
* Nation FM (formerly Easy FM)
* Pamoja FM
* Radio Maria

Newspapers and magazines:|

* The African Executive
* Business Daily Africa
* Daily Nation
* The EastAfrican
* Kenya Gazette
* Kenya Times
* The Standard
* The Star

Media groups:|

* Nation Media Group
* Mediamax Network
* Radio Africa Group
* Royal Media Services
* Standard Media Group

Government agencies:|

* Communications Authority
* Kenya Film Commission
* Kenya Film Classification Board
* Kenya News Agency

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