The last few months have been extremely difficult for media practitioners with a huge number of them facing the axe.
The massive firing has been attributed to media companies struggling to maintain good revenue following the digital migration four years ago. A struggling economy has also been named as one of the key factors local companies have been on a retrenching spree this year.
About a month after Mediamax sent home 160 employees, a huge number of Radio Africa employees have found themselves jobless.
Sources close to the matter informed OperaNews that the mood at the 20-year-old company is very tensed especially, after the first batch of employees was sent home.
Those affected are mostly from Kiss TV and Music stream App Songa which has fired the majority of its employees. The two platforms have been scrapped off altogether and will be officially shut down on January 18th 2020.
Songa, a partnership between the company and Telecommunications giant Safaricom, has been in business for only three years. Kiss TV, which has survived several axes before since it’s launch in 2013, wasn’t spared this time round.
In November, Radio Africa Group CEO Patrick Quarcoo admitted that media houses were struggling to stay afloat because it was now hard to maintain revenue through the traditional print and broadcast models.
“In the last four years, the media industry in Kenya and worldwide has undergone radical changes. Many media houses are struggling to maintain revenue through the traditional print and broadcast models,” read a memo sent to the employees.
The firing at Kiss and Songa comes months after X FM was shut down and moved to the Songa app.
Radio Africa group denied that the station had shut down and claimed that they had just gone 100% digital, making it a first of its kind.
“This is not goodbye. Rather, we’re loading out here. And loading in full blast… with real nonstop music on Songa. So, let’s get real with XFM. Now online and on your mobile,” announced the promo.