Media Consumption in Ireland: Africa-Centred Satellite Television Stations on SKY

Abstract

The 1990 Broadcasting Act in the United Kingdom (UK) facilitated the expansion of minority owned and operated satellite television stations, especially in London that create and broadcast content aimed at immigrant communities’ resident in the UK, France and the island of Ireland (north and south). These diasporic media outfits are part of a wider and gradually-evolving media-sphere that mirrors the shift towards multi-racial composition of media audience across Western Europe and beyond. This study investigates how minority groups, particularly people of African origin, resident in the Republic of Ireland engage with and appropriate media content on Africa-centred satellite television stations on the British Sky Broadcasting (Sky) platform. Using questionnaires and semi-structured interview research methods, the study found that viewers of African channels on Sky in Ireland not only engage with media content for political and cultural purposes but also consume entertainment broadcasts. The study recommends that in today’s competitive media market, mainstream as well as minority television stations can increase their ratings and market share by offering interracial and multilingual audiencecentred content both on time and on demand.