According to reports, Kenya’s Switch TV group’s Chairman, Sahil Shah, announced in a statement dated Friday, December 10, that his broadcasting outfit would cease terrestrial on-air broadcast operations to focus on the digital space.
According to Shah, Switch Media has opted to fully migrate to the audio-visual and digital domain in response to market demands, with the company’s new strategy built around being “digital-first.”
Switch Media also revealed that it would launch new and exciting services and products expanding into the digital space.
Shah explained, “Switch Media has taken an intentional decision to establish a new strategy around being digital-first. In addition to keeping with the company’s core philosophy of being responsive to the demands of the youth to become the go-to media platform for the next generation.”
“Switch Media will be releasing new and interesting services and products in this expanding digital space as a result of this. In addition, the group aspires to build its brand together with the technology that comes with it, assuring stakeholders of their continued presence and support.”
The announcement comes as major news organisations in the country and world shift to a digital-first strategy—for example, the Nation Media Group’s major digital media brand, Nation.Africa was launched last year. The media house established the brand to transform into a modern digital content company. This launch marked the start of the company’s digital transformation journey, intending to take up leadership in Africa’s mobile publishing landscape.
The media house went ahead and built the country’s first paywall, with substantial subscription numbers on its digital platforms. Following suit, the Standard Media Group also launched its digital-first strategy.
The shift to digital has increased industry competition, and the success of digital platforms has been visible. For example, Kenyans.co.ke, the country’s largest digital media news outlet, was voted among the top online news brands in Kenya this year, edging over legacy media companies like KTN News, NTV Online, and BBC Online.
Kenyans.co.ke was placed third in the country’s top brands, after Citizen Digital and Nation Online, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2021. Kenyans.co.ke came in third with 52%, behind Nation Online (55) and Citizen Digital (57).
