Kenyan content creators enjoy a wide audince reach through social media and digital publishing platforms, but converting the numbers into sustainable businesses remains a challenge.
A new report by Price Waterhouse Coopers shows that a handful of global technology companies control how content is discovered, distributed and monetised.
PwC’s Africa Entertainment and Media Outlook 2026–2030 says the challenge is shifting from simply producing content to owning the commercial relationship with audiences, including intellectual property, customer data and alternative revenue streams.
“Distribution, however, remains concentrated. A relatively small number of platforms continue to shape how content is discovered, how audiences are reached, how advertising is delivered and how creators generate revenue,” PwC said in the report.
Despite technology lowering the barriers to content production, that is allowing more creators, publishers, podcasters and independent production companies to enter the market, the line is drawn at commercialization.
However, easier content production does not necessarily translate into greater financial returns for creators, particularly when they depend on third-party platforms to reach audiences and earn advertising revenue.
Changes in platform algorithms, monetisation policies and advertising demand can affect reach and earnings, while creators have limited control over the rules governing distribution.
PwC argues that businesses and creators need to develop assets they control, including intellectual property, trusted brands, direct customer relationships, first-party data and multiple routes to market.
“The challenge is therefore not simply reaching audiences, but building assets they can control,” the report says.
The experts from PwC note that advertising remains an important source of income for digital content businesses, but dependence on a single platform or revenue stream can leave creators exposed to changes they cannot influence.
For creators who rely on platform advertising, revenue depends not only on the size of their audience but also on how their content is distributed, the advertising available to their audience and the terms under which the platform shares earnings.
The report says diversification is increasingly becoming important. Sponsorships, paid memberships, subscriptions, merchandise, licensing agreements and live events can give creators additional sources of income while reducing their exposure to changes in platform policies.
“Owning intellectual property can also allow creators to earn from their work beyond its initial publication, including through licensing, syndication and distribution across different platforms,” the report states.
Building direct relationships with audiences, meanwhile, can help creators develop communities that are not entirely dependent on third-party recommendation systems.
PwC’s report identifies these forms of ownership and diversification as important to the next phase of value creation in the entertainment and media industry.
Artificial intelligence could help Kenyan creators and media companies reduce production costs and reach audiences beyond their immediate markets.
PwC says AI is changing content creation, discovery, personalisation and monetisation, with applications ranging from translation and subtitling to audience segmentation, advertising optimisation and production workflows.
These tools could be particularly useful in Kenya, where linguistic diversity can make it more difficult and expensive to distribute content to different audiences.
AI-assisted translation and subtitling could enable creators to adapt videos, podcasts and other material for audiences who speak different languages, while recommendation tools could improve content discovery.
However, the report also identifies risks around copyright, licensing, attribution, misinformation and privacy. Creators will need to consider how their work is used by AI systems and whether they retain control over the commercial rights to their content.
According to the outlook 2026–2030, Kenya’s entertainment and media industry is projected to grow from $4.7 billion in 2025 to US$6 billion by 2030, representing annual growth of about 5%.
For context, the global entertainment and media industry is projected to reach $4.2 trillion by 2030, up from $3.5 trillion in 2025.
