In addition to an internal results collation and counting center, Royal Media Services (RMS) has constructed new election-specific studios for its TV stations, including Citizen TV, Inooro TV, and Ramogi TV. On Tuesday, August 9, voting locations across the nation will open at six in the morning.
RMS launched its newest investment on August 7 in an effort to garner massive ratings as the nation heads to the polls. Kenyans will be glued to their screens as it competes to provide the finest election coverage with outlets like NTV and KTN News.
The collation and tallying centre includes over fifty workstations. Data experts have been hired to keep track of results streaming in from polling stations from across the 290 constituencies. Data from the centre will be key to RMS coverage of the elections across its three TV stations and 13 radio stations.
The studios feature modern broadcast technology including interactive screens to display and analyze election data. The shiny new studios are also designed to offer wall to wall coverage of the polls. It will also have a field studio at the Bomas of Kenya – where the winner of the Presidential election will be announced.
All of RMS’ TV properties including Citizen, Ramogi and Inooro have gotten studio upgrades ahead of the polls. They offered a peek into the new studios in a live broadcast ahead of prime time news on August 7.
RMS owner SK Macharia had earlier on Sunday attended a prayer and thanksgiving service in Nairobi alongside Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Presidential candidate Raila Odinga. At the event, Odinga advocated for peace and national unity, avoiding any talk of politics.
Macharia is among Raila’s long-time backers. Over the campaign period, RMS is among media houses that have faced criticism from Deputy President William Ruto and his camp over alleged bias.
Ruto has maintained that the media is biased in favour of long-time opposition leader Odinga.
“When some media houses for example Citizen (TV) give ten minutes to our competitors and they give us one minute, it flies in the face of integrity, fairness and balance,” Ruto told Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chair Wafula Chebukati after being cleared to run for President at the Bomas of Kenya on June 4, 2022.
