Big news play: Media24 sells On the Dot, shifts to digital-first focus

Media24 announced on Thursday that it has received approval from the Competition Commission to sell its media logistics business, On the Dot, along with its community newspaper portfolio, including Soccer Laduma and Kick Off, to Novus Holdings. This sale marks the start of a new chapter as Media24 focuses on adapting to a digital-first news model.

Raj Lalbahadur, Media24’s Interim CEO, shared: “We’re moving forward with this sale to Novus Holdings today. The decision supports our goal to shape a strong, sustainable approach to digital journalism that matches current reader habits. We’re grateful to the Competition Commission for their detailed review.”

Lalbahadur highlighted that Media24 will be focusing its resources on enhancing its two flagship digital brands, News24 and Netwerk24. The company plans to improve content quality, speed up news delivery, add personalised features, and expand its offerings to subscribers.

The final print editions of Beeld, City Press, Daily Sun, and Rapport, along with the PDF versions of Volksblad and Die Burger Oos-Kaap on Netwerk24, will be published by 31 December 2024.

Starting in January 2025, Daily Sun will operate as a free-access news website, while Rapport and City Press will be exclusively digital through Netwerk24 and News24 as part of their Sunday offerings. Readers of Beeld, Volksblad, and Die Burger Oos-Kaap will be able to access their news on Netwerk24, alongside nearly 100,000 subscribers who enjoy the platform’s wide-ranging content options.

Print media battles to stay in the game

“In South Africa, like elsewhere in the world, consumer preferences have changed. People now read more news than ever, but most prefer to do so on their cellphones or laptops and publishers have to comply with their preferences,” said former Media24 CEO, Ishmet Davidson, in June.

“Consequently, print media globally has been suffering structural declines in circulation and advertising for decades. Combined with rising fixed distribution costs, this has had a devastating impact on print operations.  

“As a result, our titles in the northern region have been on life support for a while. Combined losses are projected to mount to R200 million over the next three years. After years of cutbacks, we’ve reached the end of cost reductions to try to save these print operations.  We’ve simply run out of options.”

NOW READ: Media24 shakeup: Hundreds of job losses loom