Family TV and Family Radio are media entities owned by Africa Family Network Company. The stations are quite popular in the country and are known to broadcast content that is based on the Christian faith. Founded in 1999, the stations have been voted severally as the best Christian stations in Kenya.
In this article, WoK brings you the story of Leo Slingerland – the founder of Africa Family Network which owns Family TV and Family Radio.
Leo Slingerland
Leo Slingerland is a German-born entrepreneur who has invested heavily in the media industry. He started off his career in Netherlands as a director at Evangelische Omroep- one of the twelve member-based broadcasting associations contributing to the Netherlands Broadcasting system. He worked there for 11 years from 1970 to 1981 before quitting and relocating to Kenya. After arriving in the country, he had the idea of setting up a Christian media entity but just didn’t know how to go about it. It took him over 15 years before he put everything together with his wife Anneke Slingerland established Africa Family Network.
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Establishing Africa Family Network
Family media started off in Nairobi Kenya with the aim of creating and publishing compelling media on all possible channels that inspires and encourages the audience to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ and to build up a daily relationship with the son of God. At that time, there was not even a single Christian channel in the country and the establishment of Family TV and Family Radio was simply a breath of fresh air. With Kenya estimated to have around 85 percent Christians, Family Media tapped into that market and immediately became the go-to-place for all Christians.
The Success of Family Media
Within a short period of time, the station blew up becoming famous in all corners of the country. The station shows such as the Jam 316 and the Prayer Circle which run concurrently on both the radio and Television have increasingly become popular drawing millions of viewers and listeners. The Family TV Channel is available on Signet in Nairobi and across the country via GO TV – Channel 919, ZUKU Channel 877, PANG and Startimes Channel 457.
You can catch Family Radio 316 via 103.9 FM in Nairobi, 96.5 FM in Kisumu, 97.9 FM in Mombasa, 102.1 FM in Nakuru, 107.7 FM in Meru and 89.7 FM in Nyeri. You can also tune in to the radio station from anywhere in the world through the Family Radio 316 website as well as stream live Family Television via their Family TV website or their app which is available on both Google Play store and Appstore. Their headquarters is located at Dik Dik Gardens off Mandera road, Kileleshwa, Nairobi.
