The eMedia Holdings group says it is investing in its technology platforms as a way to defend its place in the market, while looking for growth beyond traditional analogue broadcast.
“The group is forging ahead with numerous technology advances and strategic planning to continue to be the audience-share market leader,” the e.tv parent company said on Thursday as it reported full-year earnings to March 2025.
Worth R1.44bn on the JSE, eMedia owns television and radio broadcasting businesses that include eNCA, OpenView and Yfm, together with production studios.
“The investment in OpenView provides the group with strategic flexibility and is the plan to address the challenges of the transition that digital migration brings. The group also intends to launch a number of digital developments to enhance its revenue-generation capabilities and take advantage of its highly in-demand content,” said eMedia.
The group said it remained focused on its core business “of broadcasting, content creation, platform advancements and a granular focus on technology that improves the broadcasting process and offering”.
Advertising, the group’s largest source of revenue, rose 3% in the period to R2.23bn. “This is the highest television advertising revenue earned by the group in its history, surpassing the record set in the prior year.”
Unlike its rivals, eMedia is heavily dependent on advertising. In addition to advertising, DStv operator MultiChoice makes the bulk of its revenue from subscriptions, while national broadcaster SABC also takes in funds from TV licences and the government as a state-owned enterprise.
Total revenue for eMedia rose to R3.15bn in the period, from R3.06bn previously. Profit for the period from continuing operations declined 9.2% to R303m.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) was 17% lower at R548.6m. Headline earnings per share, which strip out the effects of one-off financial events, fell 10% to 45.63c.
The group reported that the prime-time market share for e.tv had shown an increase of 0.5% to 21.2% audience share, making it the biggest TV channel in SA “during both prime time and shoulder time for the second year running”.
During the period, the group’s legal costs were R7.4m higher, owing to legal battles with MultiChoice, and an ongoing battle with the department of communications and digital technologies regarding the country’s long delayed analogue television broadcast switch-off, a process known as digital migration.
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