K24 is recruiting new reporters and news anchors to replace some of those fired last week. The TV station has raided rivals KTN, KBC and Capital FM to fill the gaps left by the retrenchment executed last week.
We have reliably learnt that former KTN Kiswahili anchor Mwanaisha Chidzuga (pictured above) is among those who have already signed contracts with Mediamax Network Ltd, which owns K24, and are set to begin work from Monday 16th November 2015.
Ms Chidzuga, who had earlier indicated she was retiring from the screen, was acrimoniously sacked from KTN, receiving her letter as she prepared to get into the studio.
Others who have joined K24 are Juma Balo who returns from KBC where he landed after being sacked in 2013. Up and coming reporter Ian Wafula is also coming in from KTN. It is also understood that Chemtai Goin, whom K24 had offloaded earlier on, makes a comeback after a stint at capital FM. Her colleague Amina Abdi, also a presenter at Capital, is also joining K24.
See: How Mwanaisha Chidzuga was fired as she prepared for her show
They will join Zawadi Mudibo, who reported last week, also coming back from WTV to a television station that had also thrown him into the streets. K24 is sourcing for more affordable journalists as revenues shrink with increased competition brought about by migration to digital advertising.
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The new entry of a new team of news anchors and reporters will coincide with the re-launch of the station scheduled for 23rd November this year, which is expected to breathe life into its news and programming. The last re-launch was in mid-2013 which was anchored by fresh presenters poached from mainly Citizen TV.
Source: GeoPoll
Ratings for K24 improved, helping it overtake KBC to fourth place with about 8.5% of viewership in Kenya after Citizen, KTN and NTV in that order, according to a report by GeoPoll released in July for the period between April 1st and June 30th 2015.
In the first few months of the year, the digital migration had an impact on ratings, as KBC and K24 gained audience share when NTV, KTN, Citizen and QTV were shut off. However, from April – June 2015, Citizen TV regained its number one position. KBC and K24 have lost much of the audience they had gained during the shut-off.
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Citizen TV boasts an average of almost 40% of audience share. Number two is KTN at 15% and NTV at 12%. KBC, the national broadcaster is number five with only 7%.
With this kind of positioning, K24 finds itself struggling to attract both audience and advertising in a market dominated by three rivals with deep pockets.
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