Why now?
After joining K24 with all pomp and colour in December 2018, Betty Kyalo has finally left K24 amid reports that Mediamax is lining up further retrenchments as the Kenyatta Family owned media house struggles to attract any business, leaving executives with no other choice but to sack high earners to trim its enormous wage bill.
Betty Kyalo together with Milele FM Presenter Felix Odiwour alias Jalang’o were among Mediamax star names that sued the media stable over plans to slash their salaries by 50%. The very public dispute between Mediamax and its employees attracted the attention of President Uhuru Kenyatta who personally drove to DSM Place to attend a board meeting tailored to quell the squabble but that seems not to have done the trick.
On Saturday after wrapping up her Weekend With Betty show, Kyalo caught most viewers off guard while announcing that she was quitting K24 without delving into detail over the reason behind the move.
“It is now time for me to say goodbye here on K24 TV if we meet, great, if not, you know how you can find me all my social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook and of course at my YouTube channel Betty Kyalo Lately is going to be popping and we are going to be doing great things there thanks so much for all the support I appreciate. God bless you and I love you goodnight,” signed off Betty Kyalo.
She then followed that up with another video shared on social media platforms where she appeared to give hints on why she left the broadcaster.
“Hey guys am seeing all your messages about my message earlier on tonight when I finished my show on Weekend With Betty, let me tell you guys something. This life, as long as something is out of your hands you let it be and let God. If it was about me and something wrong that I did, then ok, I will feel bad about it but it is out of my hands I’ll walk away that is why I am asking you guys to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Betty Kyalo Lately,” she said.
Then somewhere between the video, she dropped another hint, “From one TV to another men,” although she appeared to have been having fun at the One Africa Concert at NRG Studios.
Business Today has already reported that Mediamax Editor in Chief Peter Opondo resigned over frustrations by the company’s decisionmaking after the outbreak of COVID-19. Opondo grew disillusioned with the management’s erratic calls and is headed back to Citizen TV where he was an editorial consultant before joining K24.
This publication has also reported that Mediamax is expected to sack more employees imminently in a purge that could claim the job of fellow K24 Presenter Anne Kiguta.
Betty Kyalo Brand
Betty Kyalo and Anne Kiguta were brought in to shore up K24’s popularity as Opondo went about his business of lifting K24 from the floor to match its more popular competitors Citizen TV, KTN and NTV.
The fortunes of the two have been polar opposites. While Kyalo managed to bring the fanfare and presence through her shows Upclose & Personal (Friday Prime Time) and Weekend With Betty (Saturday Prime Time), that did not translate to the viewership numbers that Mediamax hoped it would rake in when tempting her with a six-figure salary.
However, Kyalo could argue that she did what she was asked as Upclose & Personal was the most-watched program on Friday as evidenced by being a mainstay among top trends on Twitter during the night. It is possible however that a huge chunk of viewers did not watch the show on TV but watched it online at a later time.
Weekend with Betty was equally popular.
On the other hand, Anne Kiguta has gone backwards at K24 since leaving Citizen TV. Her political talk show Punchline has attracted very low ratings while she has been on the receiving end of politicians accusing her of being biased.
What Next For Betty Kyalo?
As it stands, all signs indicate that Kyalo will now be concentrating on her You Tube channel but the bigger question is who will replace her and what impact that will have on K24 as a brand.
Well, that is the least of Mediamax’s concerns at the moment as they are set to scrap their programming and will start broadcasting KTN’s feed imminently as reported by Business Today.
I’ll really miss bet with Betty… My favourite upcloses 😓😓,,, I loved k24 because of Betty but now since is no longer there i don’t think if I’ll get the urge to watch it koz Betty was really making it more interesting and fun.
All uhuru’s companies pay peanuts including afristar railway operation company…they keep on frustrating employees salary…so bad
I will miss Betty so dearly. But she should join ktn, citizen, or ntv.Really waiting for her to join any one of these competitive TV stations. All the best Betty.
I will miss Betty show yako iliweza