EXCLUSIVE: KTN News, KTN Farmers Go Off Air, Insiders Explain

Standard Group Limited TV stations KTN News and KTN Farmers TV have reportedly gone off air, in a surprising development that compounds the woes facing the embattled media house which is more than a century old.

Viral Tea did a spot check on the former's live broadcast and found out that even though its 1.00 pm news bulletin ran without interference on Monday, August 5, the rest of it was completely different from the 24-hour news cycle that was synonymous with the TV station.

Instead, the KTN News logo featured at the top left-hand side of your screen has a logo of KTN Home. Established as Kenya's first private, independent TV station, KTN Home has over the years built a strong reputation for bold, objective and exciting entertainment.

A live KTN News broadcast with the KTN Home logo in place instead of the KTN News logo. /VIRAL TEA KE

A quick check on its social media platforms showed no snippet videos from its live broadcast shared, the last one posted at 10.19 pm on Sunday, August 4.

Subsequent posts have been stories from its Standard Digital publication and one news graphic of its own at the time of publishing this story, announcing the resignation of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Viral Tea has now established that KTN News was switched off yesterday (August 4) while KTN Farmers was switched off mid-last month.

Insiders privy to the matter confirmed that both KTN News and KTN Farmers TV have now been merged with KTN Home, amidst perceived plans to do away with the news channel completely.

Two years ago, KTN News rebranded with a new station identity, including a new logo, look and feel to ensure it speaks to the brand’s value of ‘Setting the standard in journalism to make the news count’, and changing the look and feel to bring in vibrancy. This was a change from its red and blue logo.

Since its launch in 2015, KTN News has been the number one 24-hour news channel in Kenya and has been associated with current events and affairs facing Kenya. 

It has been mostly news, updates and stories coverage and was one of the fastest-growing TV stations in Kenya. It had content that included sports, documentaries and investigative series, notably including Jicho Pevu and Inside Story as well as hard-hitting, exclusive interviews.

This switching off of the TV stations comes almost a week after Standard Group announced its intention to declare over 300 employees across various departments redundant.

The media house explained that in reaching this decision, it took into consideration, the difficult operating environment and its long-drawn effect on revenue generation.

"This situation has been witnessed on the back of shifting trends in media consumption, occasioned by technological changes in the digital media landscape and emerging consumer preferences which have necessitated a rethink of our business model," a statement from the Mombasa Road-based media house on July 30 read in part.

"We remain confident that the reorganization of the business through restructuring will place us in good stead by adopting a leaner, more efficient structure for better performance and growth."

Standard Group added that coupled with the new leadership that is coming on board, it considered the reorganization of its business as a necessary step intended to ensure business stability and continuity in the coming months as the Group strives to sustain and enhance the quality of journalism it offers.

"Additionally, we shall rationalize our products to ensure that they remain aligned with the media landscape," added the statement.