Viusasa slashes rates by 50% to stay afloat

Viusasa has slashed its pay-to-view rates by 50% in what appears to be a deliberate effort to keep the content aggregation company afloat amid reports it is going through financial straits.

For one to access videos, real time news, music and comedy shows on his/her mobile phone, one is now required to fork out Ksh 10 as opposed to the previous Ksh 20.

Royal Media Services, which owns Viusasa, has been running a massive campaign on its various platforms to attract clients. The promo says the platform has been upgraded and promises amazing experiences.

Viusasa is now upgraded with more humor, videos, real-time news and DJ mixes from 10/= a day, get it here >>> https://t.co/qh066bd6tJ pic.twitter.com/EtCYVJtPDR

— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) October 16, 2018

The company started as a great platform that promised to give local content providers an opportunity to showcase their craft and earn money but appears to have been overambitious as the uptake has been slow. There have also been reports of mismanagement.

In August, it emerged that artists had not been paid for seven months while script translators were fired. A number of editors previously attached to Viusasa’s dubbing section were also redeployed to other departments at Royal Media Services.

Those who translated scripts were asked to return their headphones and clear with the company yet their contracts were to run to December. The actors served to provide voices for the dubbed (translated) versions of the shows on the app.

Viusasa (slang for watch now), produces its short comedy shows at the Royal Media studios in Kiswahili, English and various local languages. Viusasa also offers an archive of various soap operas and local programmes shown on Citizen TV. It is headed by George Waititu.