Kenya Television Network

Kenya Television Network (KTN) is a Kenyan free-to-air television network that was launched in March 1990 by Jared Kangwana. It is headquartered at Standard Group Centre, Nairobi. It was the first free-to-air privately owned television network in Africa, and the first to break KBC's monopoly in Kenya.

KTN became famous for activist journalism in the 1990s.

History


After its launch in 1990, KTN used to rebroadcast programming from CNN International, MTV Europe and other European, American and Australian television channels, in addition to TV networks from other African states. KTN started out as a pilot project for a 24-hour subscription-television channel in Nairobi and its surroundings, but plans to scramble its signal were abandoned and for most of the 1990s, KTN derived its revenue from advertisement and TV production services. Founded by Jared Kangwana, its early success attracted bids for joint ownership by London-based Maxwell Communications, by South African MNET, and by the then-ruling party Kenya African National Union (KANU). The station won the bid to carry the 1992 Summer Olympics, as well as the rights to several other international events. In 1992, M-Net planned to buy the network, but these plans were denied by its staff, as they demanded M-Net to provide technical co-operation instead.

While Jared Kangwana had plans to expand KTN, and had built new facilities to house the station, he allowed free rein to KTN's news division. KANU functionaries are said to have frequently called the newsroom and editors on behalf of the president of Kenya, Daniel arap Moi, in order to censor news stories. Such control was said to have been sanctioned by Moi himself, who had developed the habit while he was still vice-president under president Jomo Kenyatta. As vice-president, Daniel arap Moi had grown used to make regular calls to the offices of The Standard which was foreign-owned at that time, and to other media outlets, to demand that they drop stories or modify them. The practice was revived when KTN was established.

In October 1993 security officers boarded a commercial airliner, seized the passport of KTN Director Jared Kangwana, and prevented him from departing on a business trip. Kangwana said that the act was part of a government intimidation campaign to force him to relinquish control of KTN to the then-ruling party, KANU. The government took no action to institute criminal proceedings against Kangwana but ultimately succeeded in forcing him to cede the company to KANU. The station is since 9 December 1997 part of The Standard Group, which also publishes The Standard newspaper.

In March 1998, KTN started airing a four-hour block relaying South African network Channel O. The channel was aiming for a new schedule effective 4 May 1998, with a new schedule.

The channel started nationwide broadcasts in 2002; up until then the channel only covered Nairobi due to expensive costs of expansion.

Programs
KTN was once a juggernaut in entertainment but has now been flooded with soap operas, long talk shows and CNN night time streaming (Some world class entertainment namely sitcoms, thriller/detective, drama, action series and children's classics have all vanished).

Listed below are some of the shows the network was famous for;

Children's

 * 🇺🇸 Adventures from the Book of Virtues
 * 🇺🇸 Alvin and the Chipmunks
 * 🇺🇸 Animaniacs
 * Art Attack
 * 🇺🇸 Barney & Friends
 * 🇺🇸 Justice League (TV series)
 * 🇺🇸 Superman The Animated Series
 * 🇺🇸 Batman of the Future
 * 🇺🇸 Batman: The Animated Series
 * 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Beast Machines: Transformers
 * 🇨🇦 Being Ian
 * 🇯🇵 Bob in a Bottle
 * 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇨🇳 Braceface
 * 🇺🇸 Captain Planet and the Planeteers
 * 🇺🇸 Casper the Friendly Ghost
 * Count Duckula
 * 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 Denver, the Last Dinosaur
 * 🇺🇸 The Fairly OddParents!
 * 🇺🇸 Felix the Cat
 * 🇺🇸 The Flintstones
 * 🇦🇺 Hi-5
 * 🇺🇸 🇭🇰 Jackie Chan Adventures
 * 🇨🇦 Jim Henson's The Hoobs
 * 🇺🇸 Johnny Bravo
 * 🇺🇸 Kim Possible
 * 🇺🇸 The Little Rascals
 * 🇦🇺 Mission Top Secret
 * 🇯🇵 The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion
 * New Captain Scarlet
 * 🇨🇦 The Odyssey
 * 🇺🇸 Out of the Box
 * 🇺🇸 The Puzzle Place
 * 🇺🇸 The Real Ghostbusters
 * 🇺🇸 Recess
 * 🇺🇸 The Road Runner Show
 * 🇯🇵 🇫🇷 Saban's Adventures of the Little Mermaid
 * 🇺🇸 SilverHawks
 * 🇫🇷 Sky Dancers
 * 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Star Wars: Ewoks
 * 🇺🇸 Tom & Jerry Kids
 * 🇺🇸 X-Men: Evolution
 * 🇺🇸 American Dragon:Jake Long
 * 🇺🇸 The Proud Family
 * 🇨🇦 Atomic Betty
 * 🇨🇦 Jacob Two Two
 * 🇨🇦 6teen
 * 🇺🇸 The Wild Thornberrys
 * 🇺🇸 Lilo & Stitch
 * 🇺🇸 Johnny Test
 * 🇺🇸 Justice League
 * 🇺🇸 My life as a teenage robot
 * 🇺🇸 Danny Phantom
 * 🇨🇦 Braceface
 * 🇺🇸 Hey Arnold!

Drama

 * 🇺🇸 7th Heaven
 * 🇺🇸 Alias
 * 🇺🇸 Angel
 * 🇺🇸 Baywatch
 * 🇨🇦 Being Erica
 * 🇺🇸 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
 * 🇺🇸 Charmed
 * 🇺🇸 The Commish
 * 🇺🇸 Dawson’s Creek
 * 🇺🇸 Desperate Housewives
 * 🇺🇸 ER
 * 🇺🇸 Judging Amy
 * 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Kung Fu: The Legend Continues
 * 🇺🇸 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
 * 🇺🇸 Lost
 * 🇺🇸 L.A. Law
 * 🇺🇸 Monk
 * 🇺🇸 Murphy Brown
 * 🇺🇸 Prison Break
 * 🇺🇸 Renegade
 * 🇺🇸 🇦🇺 Time Trax

Reality

 * 🇺🇸 The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best
 * 🇺🇸 Beyond Chance

Soap Opera

 * 🇺🇸 Days of Our Lives
 * 🇿🇦 Egoli: Place of Gold
 * 🇺🇸 Fashion House
 * 🇺🇸 Melrose Place
 * 🇦🇺 Neighbours
 * 🇵🇭 The Stepdaughters
 * 🇵🇭 Impostora
 * 🇵🇭 The General's Daughter
 * 🇵🇭 The Promise
 * 🇵🇭 A Love to Last
 * 🇵🇭 Lost Hearts
 * 🇵🇭 Doble Kara
 * 🇵🇭 A Mother's Guilt
 * 🇵🇭 Prima Donnas
 * 🇵🇭 Los Bastardos

Comedy

 * The Benny Hill Show
 * Desmond's
 * 🇺🇸 Diff'rent Strokes
 * 🇺🇸 Eve
 * 🇺🇸 Everybody Hates Chris
 * 🇺🇸 Full House
 * 🇺🇸 Golden Girls
 * 🇺🇸 Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
 * 🇺🇸 Herman's Head
 * 🇺🇸 The Jeffersons
 * 🇺🇸 Kate & Allie
 * 🇺🇸 Less Than Perfect
 * 🇺🇸 The Muppet Show
 * 🇺🇸 Nurses
 * 🇺🇸 Perfect Strangers
 * 🇺🇸 Sanford and Son
 * 🇺🇸 Sister, Sister
 *  Men Behaving Badly
 * 🇺🇸  Friends 

Talk Shows

 * 🇺🇸 The Oprah Winfrey Show
 * 🇺🇸 Tyra Banks Show

Game Shows

 * 🇺🇸 You Bet Your Life

Anthology

 * 🇺🇸 This Is the Life