Popular news anchor and entrepreneur Betty Kyallo is set to make her long-awaited return to the screens.
Kyallo was on Thursday, February 25 spotted at Standard Group headquarters along Mombasa Road. She is expected to make her second debut on KTN from March 7th, 2021.
A senior editor at Standard confirmed to this publication that the firm had been in talks with Kyallo over the past two months and she had principally agreed to return. She joins at a time when KTN is experiencing a shake-up, with media veteran Peter Opondo having only recently taken over as Strategy and Content Editor for Broadcast, putting him firmly in charge of operations at KTN News, KTN home and Farmers TV as well as the media house’s radio stations.
Business Today can reveal that Kyallo chose to join KTN after turning down offers from a number of media houses, among them state broadcaster KBC. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) is said to be planning a major rebrand, and has managed to recruit big names as it looks to unveil a new slate of programming and brand identity in coming weeks.
She turned down the KBC offer as she had been categorized in a class of part-time employees known as ‘artistes’, which would have seen her paid per show. Details of the contract she negotiated at KTN remain scanty.
In rejoining Standard, Kyallo is making a return to KTN, the station she quit for Mediamax-owned K24 in 2018. She left Mediamax in mid-2020 as the management engaged employees in a publicized, protracted battle over wage cuts due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an exclusive interview with Business Today on January 27, Kyallo had revealed that her TV comeback was imminent, promising that she would be back “sooner than you expected”.
READ ALSO>>>>>Inside Betty Kyallo’s Ksh800-a-Haircut Barber Shop [VIDEO]
Since leaving the screens, Kyallo has been focused on her fast-growing beauty business and creating content for digital platforms including Youtube.
The online show she launched after leaving K24, Betty Kyallo Lately, constantly features on the trending video charts and offers fans a glimpse into her life.
She also recently opened her new high-end barber shop in Kilimani, the latest addition to the operation which includes salon Flair by Betty and clothing line BK Closet.
She revealed plans to venture into nail salons and start a children’s brand, Flair for Kids.
“Everything we’re doing will be under the Flair brand, I thank God for what we’ve been able to do,” Kyallo disclosed.
Kyallo is undoubtedly one of the country’s most recognizable on-screen personalities, and her move to join KTN is expected to hand the station a significant ratings boost.
READ ALSO>>>>>Exclusive: Betty Kyallo on Upcoming TV Comeback, Her New Barber Shop and Expanding Beauty Empire
They can’t survive it out there having got used to the limelight. Ni kugumu, and what’s more the glamour that comes with TV media