Daily Maverick · Data

Has Media24 cut everything it can — and still can't stop the bleeding?

Revenue and adjusted EBITDA (A-EBITDA) in US$m · Financial years ending 31 March · FY2023–FY2026

−51%

Revenue decline, FY2023 to FY2026 ($207m → $102m)

773

Jobs cut since FY2024 (1,967 → 1,194 headcount)

−60%

Loss widened in FY2026, to $16m (≈R263m)

Revenue (US$m) — prior years

Revenue (US$m) — FY2026

A-EBITDA (US$m, right axis)

4%
publishers' share of SA's R14.5bn digital ad market

Media24 has disposed of assets, shuttered print titles, and eliminated nearly 800 jobs since FY2024 — all while building a subscription base of 221,872 paying readers. But revenue still halved from $207m to $102m in three years, and the adjusted EBITDA loss widened 60% in FY2026 alone. The numbers therefore indict not the operating model but the market: South African publishers collectively capture just 4% of the country's R14.5bn digital advertising spend, with the rest absorbed by Google and Meta.

Daily Maverick · Source: Naspers AFS FY2024, FY2025, FY2026; Naspers AR FY2024; News24 / Karl Gernetzky, 30 June 2026