Media24 has seen revenue decline even as IOL grows.
Naspers has reported a sharp decline in revenue at Media24, the owner of News24, as the publisher restructures to become a digital-first business – even as rival digital news platform IOL moves in the opposite direction, investing more than R200 million in expansion and hiring as it targets market leadership.
Naspers’s annual results show Media24’s revenue fell 28% from $141 million (about R2.3 billion) in the year to March 2026 to $102 million (about R1.7 billion). Over the same period, the division’s adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation loss widened from $10 million (R163.8 million) to $16 million (R262 million).
Naspers said Media24 was transitioning from “a print to a digital-first business,” resulting in lower legacy print revenue and higher investment costs associated with upgrading technology.
Media24 now employs 1,194 people across its online news, magazine, newspaper, book and television content entities. During a major restructuring in 2024, the company proposed cutting up to 400 jobs and transferring another 400 positions to Novus Holdings, alongside the sale of its community newspaper and distribution portfolios.
