The effectiveness of Television personalities in influencing consumer preferences of TV stations amongst University of Nairobi

Abstract

As competition and technology contribute to the changing of consumers preferences and tastes in the entertainment industry, TV stations in Kenya have resulted to using television personalities to influence consumer preference. Marketing philosophy dictates that every choice is subjected to a decision making process and so is the choice of TV stations. This study aimed at establishing the effectiveness of television personalities in influencing viewership of TV stations among the undergraduate students in the University of Nairobi. The study adopted a descriptive cross sectional design where a sample survey of 200 students was conducted. Data was successfully collected from 175 students and analyzed using SPSS. Frequencies, percentages and mean scores were used to assess the role of a TV personality in influencing viewership of television stations among Nairobi University students in undergraduate program and the findings presented in the form of tables and bar charts. The findings indicate that to a larger extent, TV personalities influence the choice of a TV station among the undergraduate students in the University of Nairobi. They influence on how the students perceive the TV stations as well as their satisfaction with the stations. Based on these findings, the study recommends that TV stations should carefully select their presenters and look for ways of retaining them since the number of viewers of a particular station largely depends on their preferred presenter.