KFM, one of Rwanda’s popular urban radio stations will switch off its transmission signals at midnight on Thursday following a decision by parent company, Nation Media Group (NMG) based in Kenya. The radio will only remain online. The decision made public Thursday morning by NMG’s head of corporate and regulatory affairs, Clifford Machoka through a public statement. He said that the move to shut the radio station alongside two other stations in Kenya was part of implementing a new strategic direction to secure their business direction and position themselves for the future. “In this regard, we wish to announce the rationalization of our broadcasting division. This will entail consolidating our two television stations into one multi-lingual television station under the flagship brand NTV,” the statement reads in part. “We are also scaling down our traditional radio business in Kenya (Nation FM and Q FM) and Rwanda (KFM). We will keep our live signal and maintain our online presence in line with our digital strategy the rationalization steps are effective from 30th June 2016,” the statement read in part.” Speaking to The New Times on phone from Nairobi, Machoka described the move as ‘scaling down’ as opposed to full closure as their online presence will remain. He added that programming of the station would change as the station would only be available online. The firm noted that the downside to their move was a reduction in their work force through job redundancies. Besides KFM, NMG, through its local subsidiary, Nation Media Holdings Rwanda Ltd, operates Rwanda Today, a print outlet that runs as an insert in its regional paper, The EastAfrican.
