Date of Award

2025

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA) in Digital Journalism​

First Advisor

Joyce Omwoha

Department

Graduate School of Media and Communications

Abstract

The rapid evolution of technology and digital transformation has had a massive impact on legacy media as companies struggle for survival and sustainability. This has forced media outlets to deploy digital subscription as a new model of generating revenue, moving away from conventional advertising and circulation-based approaches. This proposed research intends to establish whether and how digital subscription models are effective in the Kenyan media landscape. It focused on Standard Group PLC, the oldest Kenyan media conglomerate which was established in 1902. The subscription models and strategies that Standard Group PLC has implemented include digital subscriptions, e-paper subscriptions, breaking news alerts via SMS, bundled subscriptions and paywalls. Given circulation and traffic are the most important indicators of how audience consume digital news, media organizations and practitioners need to understand their audience segmentation and fragmentation as well as pricing strategies and content quality. With the challenging media ecosystem that has seen a number of outlets including Standard Group PLC declare redundancies, fold and merge some of their products like KTN News and Vybez Radio, it has become imperative for media business to rethink on strategies that will help them move away from a dependence on the traditional advertising and circulation models as they seek to remain financially strong and execute their public mandate and functions. The study specifically examined the adoption rates of digital subscription models by consumers on Standard Group PLC's digital platforms, investigated the strategies employed by the company, and analyzed the factors influencing consumer decisions to subscribe. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining both quantitative and qualitative methods for data collection. Data was gathered through key informant interviews and surveys, utilising a questionnaire and interview guide. A random sample of 375 active subscribers of Standard Group PLC was surveyed, and 10 staff members were purposively selected for in-depth interviews. Quantitative data, encompassing subscription metrics and revenue growth, was analysed using SPSS analysing tool, Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets with the results presented in the form of pie charts, tables and graphs. The findings reveal that high-quality content is a key determinant influencing consumers' decisions to subscribe to digital platforms. This study concluded that the most popular type of digital subscriptions model in Kenya is the freemium paywall followed by e-paper subscriptions with mobile money the most preferred mode of payment. The researcher suggested that a further investigation specifically focusing on content and pricing as elements of digital subscription needs to be conducted to understand this new phenomenon.

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