Nation Media Group (NMG) has acquired KenyaBuzz, a lifestyle and events information web magazine, as it seeks to strengthens its presence in the digital media space. The acquisition, solemnized on Wednesday, also includes UgandaBuzz, a subsidiary of KenyaBuzz.
The deal’s financial details were not disclosed, but it has set the media industry abuzz, with analysts wondering why NMG would want to get into events and ticketing instead of strengthening the core news and information business on its digital platforms. Others, however, say while Kenya Buzz is a purely events listing and ticking portal, which is slightly off what NMG does, it will expand Nation’s menu of digital content and reach out to the younger audience.
“This move is another critical move forward as Nation Media expands its revenue base by exploiting new digital opportunities including online advertising, promotions and event ticketing,” the company said in a press release.
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Founded in 2007 by Alix Grubel, KenyaBuzz offers online movie ticketing solutions, movie reviews and event profiling. Its ticketing solution was launched in 2014 and have made booking seats and buying movie tickets online more convenient. Alexa ranks the website at position 635 in Kenya.
NMG Editor-in-Chief Tom Mshindi said the acquisition was one of the several steps the group is taking to broadening its content beyond news. “As we welcome KenyaBuzz to our stable, it is a part of a new agenda to reorient NMG into a fully-fledged digital entity,” said Mr Mshindi.
Ms Grubel, the founder and owner of KenyaBuzz, said the partnership has opened a new chapter for KenyaBuzz, which distributes 10,000 copies of its free monthly newsletter in more than 90 locations among them Nairobi, Nanyuki, Mombasa and Kisumu.
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The website lists events in Kenya by date, venue and location among other categories. It also catalogues movies in Kenya by date, time and theater and includes movie details and trailer. The Lifestyle section captures stories on art and culture, adventure, security, entertainment and celebrities, among others. It also has a business directory with information and contacts for lifestyle businesses.
Nation Media is working to transform itself into a modern 21st century media house, anchored on the online-first principle. It has lately restructured its operations and staffing towards this orientation. Monetising online news has been slow in the market, with Google and Facebook taking the lion’s share of ads in Kenya and most websites, including mainstream like Nation and Standard, being forced to display Google ads to earn commissions.
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Local media houses are thus looking for creative ways to make money online making Nation’s move on KenyaBuzz understandable. But media industry will be watching keenly to see if this pulls through or will fizzle out like NationHela, the card-payment solution the company introduced in 2013 but went down a year later.
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