Media

Profile: eMedia Investments has a range of media interests, of which e.tv is the most significant. eMedia Investments is the only independent free-to-air television broadcaster in South Africa.

Corporate information

Sustainability measures

eMedia Investments Proprietary Limited (eMedia Investments)

Remgro has an effective interest of 32.3% in eMedia Investments that has a range of media interests, which include South Africa’s only private free-to-air television channels (e.tv, eMovies, eMovies Extra, eExtra, eToonz, eReality, eSeries, ePlesier, eNews Channel Africa (eNCA)), free-to-air satellite platform Openview, Gauteng based youth radio station, Y, an aVOD and SVOD OTT platform, eVOD and various studio facilities and production businesses.

eMedia Investments has a March year-end and, therefore, its results for the year to 31 March 2024 were included in Remgro’s results for the year under review. eMedia Investments’ contribution to Remgro’s headline earnings for the period under review amounted to R113 million (2023: R130 million).

eMedia Investments presents a satisfactory financial performance for its March 2024 financial year-end despite challenges such as continued load shedding, which negatively impacted viewership and led to a further 1% decline in television advertising spend for the market. The Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strike at the beginning of the financial year severely affected Media Film Service, resulting in R32 million less profit after tax compared to the previous year. Additionally, legal battles against MultiChoice increased legal costs by R9 million year-on-year. Despite these challenges, the eMedia Investments achieved favourable results for the 2024 financial year.

eMedia Investments has a prime-time audience market share of 33.5% (March 2023: 34.5%). During the year eMedia Investments prime time share average was 34.4% (March 2023: 34.8%), making eMedia Investments the largest broadcaster in both 06:00 to 24:00 and prime time. This is the third consecutive year in a row that eMedia Investments has outperformed the SABC in prime time. The company continues to manage the impact of the imminent analogue switch-off and is in discussions with the Department of Communication regarding the switch-off date for e.tv analogue transponders.

eMedia Investments takes pride in consistently having four of its channels ranked in the top 10 among all satellite channels in the country. These channels had been a point of contention between eMedia Investments and the DStv platform resulting in a Competition Commission complaint being laid by eMedia Investments against MultiChoice. However, the issues between the parties have been satisfactorily resolved by agreement, which brings an end to any legal proceedings. eMedia Investments has entered into a confidential settlement agreement with MultiChoice on the matter.

The Openview platform has increased the number of activated settop boxes to 3 428 523 on 31 March 2024 (31 March 2023: 3 166 461).

eNCA continues to perform satisfactorily, targeting the discerning news viewer and changing its positioning to “Question, Think, Act”. It remains the leading advertising revenue generator in the news market.

eVOD is positioned as the “Netflix of South Africa”. eVOD offers a platform primarily filled with e.tv’s local content in a video-ondemand format. It is continuously growing in terms of registered viewers which now stands at 1 129 162 viewers with 1.3 billion minutes of watch time. Further enhancements are planned to increase registered viewership and ad revenue.

Other initiatives are Ultraview and Snapeee. Ultraview is the pay-TV and Snapeee transcends near television to a digital experience for the audience through the use of the TV screen and mobile phone realising the opportunity that television viewing has morphed into a double-screen experience.

The construction of the state-of-the-art VFX studio in Hyde Park is ongoing and is expected to be completed in March 2025. Other developments include an enhanced set-top box.