Television

The impact of audiovisual media (radio and television) is still very low because they use a very old technology, analogy transmitters, sometimes craft, and very old recorders, etc. This impact is also low because of the generalist nature of these media which cannot afford the costs to product programs more technically attractive. The Congolese audiovisual sector does not have thematic media with specific editorial lines. As a result, it does not have the capacity to retain listeners and viewers. The difficulty of retaining listeners and viewers decreases any possibility of establishing reliable statistics on the consumers of these media.

In general, television is much less present in the hinterland than radio largely because of the irregularity of the electricity supply. Most of its airtime is dedicated to the dissemination of political discussions, sports programs (more generally football), advertisements, films, theaters and music. On Sundays, in Kinshasa, musical chronicles are broadcast throughout the day.

Media consumption habits are diversified depending on whether one is in urban, peri-urban or rural areas. Theatre, sketches and music are the most popular programs in peri-urban and rural areas, while in urban areas the population is more involved in news, sports and political programs. Television is one of the most followed media in Kinshasa (88 percent of the population), in the former province of Katanga (71 percent) and in Kongo-Central (88 percent) particularly influenced by the kinoise trend dominated by political, sports, musical and theatrical emissions. The Internet and cable channels are more followed in Kinshasa (48 and 27 percent respectively according to the study by Target), Kongo-Central (20 and 30 percent respectively) and the former province of Katanga (28 and 17 percent respectively) and only in the principal towns of the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu (roughly 50 percent according to estimates by the General Secretariat of the Ministry in charge of the media, and about 33 percent for the Internet and 4 percent for cable television according to the Target study).

The rise in value of cable channels is largely justified by the diversity and high quality of programs offered as well as by the excellent quality of images.