It only happened in October, but the Eliud Kipchoge, marathon run that beat the sub-two-hour INEOS 1:59 marathon challenge garnered the most views in Kenya in 2019. This highlighted the significance of patriotism and the power of sports in uniting a nation.
The list of most-watched videos are contained in YouTube Rewind Kenya, a review of Kenya’s biggest YouTube stars, trends, and moments of the year.
The Ethiopian Airlines B737 MAX crashed after takeoff route to Nairobi from Addis Ababa was the major global aviation story in 2019. This also raised much attention of Kenyan viewers also raising an issue with patriotism as several Kenyans were victims of the crash.
In the music category, three of Diamond Platnumz’s videos were loved by Kenyans. Rayvanny’sTetema featuring Diamond Platnumz took the top spot, followed by the very popular Inama in which Diamond featured Congolese music ace Fally Ipupa. Kenya’s Willy Paul came third with the song titled Mmmh, featuring Tanzanian Rayvanny. Diamond’s The One and Mbosso’sTamu completed the top five playlists.
YouTube, with over 2.527 billion users as of April 2023, is the leading global video community for discovering, sharing, and connecting through original content. It commands 90 per cent trust among video marketers, solidifying its position as the foremost video marketing platform. From its San Bruno headquarters, this Google Inc. subsidiary shapes diverse industries, transcending entertainment to education and promotion on a global scale.
Kenya has one of the highest internet penetration in Africa with You Tube being one of the most visited sites in the country both on computer platforms as well as mobile phones.
Across the world, more than 400 hours of video are uploaded every single minute, with 1.8 billion viewing hours a day and 1.9 billion monthly logged-in users. Globally, almost 40% of YouTube’s staggering 6 billion hours of monthly watch-time comes from mobile devices. On average, 60% of a channel’s views come from outside the creator’s home country.
In 2018, Google estimated that there was an impressive growth in Kenya with an 80% increase in mobile usage.
Media reports emerging from Kenya have indicated that the taxman in conjunction with The Communication Commission of Kenya (CA) are looking at media streaming sites like Netflix and YouTube as well as other apps operating in Kenya.
Further, the taxman is looking at ways of collecting revenue from every app downloaded, similar to a legislative clause currently available in Cameroon which allows for Telcos to pay a certain percentage for every app downloaded.
According to KRA, provision of online platforms for use by third parties is a taxable supply under the Value Added Tax Act of 2013. This means that this will attract the standard 16% levy.
Read also: Facebook, Google internet to exploit Africa’s online riches(Opens in a new browser tab)
