Kantar TNS publishes the results of its Africascope Kids 2018 study
A spin-off of the benchmark Africascope* audience study targeting young people aged 4 to 14, Africascope Kids provides detailed insights into their media consumption. It covers four countries in Sub-Saharan Africa: Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, representing a total population of 8,948,000 children.
Young people and TV: high, collective, and highly supervised exposure
In 2018, 92% of 4-14 year olds watched television on a daily basis. The proportion is exactly the same for those aged 15 and over*. They spent an average of 3 hours and 41 minutes watching TV, compared to 4 hours and 10 minutes for adults. TV exposure increases with age: 4-6 year olds watch an average of 3 hours and 18 minutes, while 11-14 year olds spend 3 hours and 53 minutes watching TV. Most of this viewing takes place during the day between 11:45 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. 71% of children surveyed say they watch television with other children. 63% say they choose the programs they watch themselves, but 92% of parents remain vigilant about the programs their children watch.
TV viewing largely devoted to youth channels
69% of the time spent by 4-14 year olds in front of the television is devoted to youth channels. The share of the TV audience dedicated to these channels is higher among boys (72%), 4-6 year olds (84%) and households subscribing to pay TV, particularly Canal+ subscribers (75%).
The ranking of the most watched channels differs depending on whether households subscribe to pay TV or not.
| Top 5 PDA
All 4-14 year olds |
Top 5 PDA Households subscribing to Canal |
| 1.Tiji | 1.Télétoon+ |
| 2.Télétoon+ | 2.Piwi+ |
| 3.Piwi+ | 3.Gulli Africa |
| 4.Boomerang | 4.Disney Channel |
| 5.TIVI5 | 5.Nickelodeon |
The most popular programs are, of course, cartoons, particularly those from the US, followed by African cartoons and then European cartoons. Sports and movies come in second and third place and are enjoyed by just under half of 4-14 year olds. Among the most popular youth programs are Barbie, Kirikou, Tom & Jerry, Les Sisters, Mr. Bean, and Spiderman.
Internet access still very limited
20% of 4-14 year olds have Internet access, and only 11% of them use the Internet at least once a week. Access is mainly from home and via a smartphone/mobile phone (67%) or tablet (26%).
Like TV, but to a lesser extent, the Internet is a collective activity (41% of 4-14 year olds go online with other children). Forty percent of 4-14 year olds go online unaccompanied and 19% in the presence of an adult. Seventy-one percent of parents monitor their children's online activities.
The most common online activities are searching for information for school or homework (57%) and watching videos online (53%)..
About the Africascope Kids 2018 study: The interviews were conducted in November 2018, in partnership with TNS RMS in Dakar (Senegal), Douala (Cameroon), Abidjan (Ivory Coast), and Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo). The information was collected face-to-face on tablets from a representative sample of 1,700 children in the presence of an adult guardian. Within the defined scope, 4-14 year olds represent an estimated population of 8,948,000 children.