Kenya Broadcasting Corporation - History of KBC

History of KBC

1. English Radio Broadcasting begun in 1928. The Broadcasts targeted white settlers who monitored news from their home and other parts of the world.
2. The first radio broadcasts targeting Africans came during the 2nd World War to inform parents and relatives of African soldiers what was happening at the war front.
3. In 1953, the first broadcast service was created for Africans. African Broadcasting Services carried programmes in Kiswahili, Dholuo, Kikuyu, Kinandi, Kiluhya, Kikamba and Arabic
4. In 1954, the Kenya Broadcasting Services (KBS) was established. Regional stations were set up in Mombasa (Sauti ya Mvita), Nyeri (Mount Kenya Station) and Kisumu (Lake Station).
5. In 1961, the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) was formed to take over broadcasting services from the government controlled Kenya Broadcasting Services
6. In 1962, Television was introduced in Kenya. The first transmitting station was set on a farm house in Limuru and the station transmitted a radius of 15 miles.
7. On 1 July 1964, Kenya Broadcasting Corporation was nationalized into Voice of Kenya through an Act of Parliament.
8. In 1978, Kenya television transitioned to color
9. In 1970, a new television station opened in Mombasa to relay programmes and produce local dramas, music, cultural and other programmes
10. In 1989, the Voice of Kenya changed back to Kenya Broadcasting Corporation through an Act of Parliament.
11. In 1989, a contract was signed between KBC and Japan Telecommunications Engineering consultancy service (JETC) for improvement and expansion of the national medium wave frequency radio broadcasting network.
12. In 1991, KBC signed a contract with Marubeni Corporation of Tokyo, Japan for upgrading of medium wave transmitting stations and construction of new ones.
13. In 1993, KBC embarked on a major modernization project to upgrade its transmitting station, construct new ones and improve on switching and rooting network.
14. In 1996, KBC commissioned Metro FM as a 90% music radio
15. In September 2000, KBC commissioned Metro Television as a Sports and entertainment channel
16. In December 2000, KBC started Coro FM, transmitting in Kikuyu language to Nairobi and Mount Kenya Region
17. In 2001, Pwani FM was started to cater to the Coast Region