Radio Maisha has overtaken Radio Citizen as one of the top-ranking stations, according to the State of Media Kenya 2025 survey.
According to the survey findings, Radio Maisha’s national weekly reach in several geographical regions had surpassed that of the Citizen station.
Unlike in 2024, where Radio Maisha had recorded a 295 weekly reach, positioning it at the third place with 20% reach, in the 2025, the radio station’s national audience reach increased to 48%.
“In 2024, Radio Citizen comfortably led weekly reach. By 2025, the shrinking radio audience consolidated around Radio Maisha and Radio Jambo, resulting in a historic leadership exchange,” the survey revealed.
The increase in audience reach positioned the radio station, while Radio Citizen became third in the ranking, with its reach growing to 42%.
Currently, Radio Citizen ranks third, with Radio Maisha first and Radio Jambo second, with a national reach of 46%.
Radio Maisha Regional Dominance
In addition to Radio Maisha dominating the rankings in the radio station, the survey reported on regional dominance and equality between the Radio Maisha and Citizen.
In the the Rift Valley, where Radio Maisha has the strongest audience share, the radio was leading with an 18% reach in the region. At the same time, Citizen did not make any appearance in the top three radio stations in the Rift Valley.
Further in the North East, the radio led with an 8% reach, surpassing the Citizen radio station, which recorded 5% in the region.
Subsequently, in the Western region, both stations had the same reach of 7% and were noted as the leading radio stations in Western.
Similarly, in the Coastal region, both radio stations recorded a tied 6% reach in the region.
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Radio Station Marketing Position
Current Radio Maisha holds the position of the top-tier Kenyan radio due to its broad demographic appeal and multi- regional reach.
However, despite the position, Radio Citizen still maintains a public opinion influence of 6%, slightly above the 5% influence of Radio Maisha.
Additionally, Radio Citizen maintains the lead in the audience share with 17% reach, followed by Radio Jambo, which has an audience share of 14%, and in the third position is Radio Maisha with 12% audience share.
Overall audience consolidation across the three top radio stations declined from 57% to 41% in 2025, with audience consolidating around Radio Maisha and Radio Jambo, according to the State of Media Kenya 2025 survey.
Furthermore, the survey noted that approximately 59% of respondents do not listen to any radio station in a day, and have transitioned to online platforms.
Despite the decline in audience consolidation, the most influential radio segments across the radio stations have been news bulletins at 11%, and the Radio Jambo shows at 9%.
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Radio Station Market Structure
According to the survey, over 55% of respondents listen to radio stations between 6:00 a.m and 10:00 a.m, with a smaller evening audience peak of about 36% listening in the evening.
With the Radio Maisha, Radio Jambo, and Radio Citizen being in the top tier, Classic 105 and Kiss 100 are in the base tier as they act as urban lifestyle hubs.
Stations like Kameme FM, Inooro FM, and Kass FM have high audience reach in the middle tier, maintaining their position as vernacular outlets.
