South Africa’s traditional media industry is losing the advertising money that once kept newsrooms, newspapers, broadcasters and community publications alive.
Now the fallout is reaching the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), the state agency responsible for funding community radio, television and small newspapers.
The agency told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies that the collapse of traditional media advertising is putting pressure on both of its industry funding streams.
Print publishers have contributed nothing to the MDDA for about a decade.
“Since the 2015/16 memorandum of agreement with the publishers, the agency has not received any funding from the publishers to support the sector,” chief executive Shoeshoe Qhu said.
Publishers have told the agency they can no longer afford to contribute.
“The reason the publishers have given for their inability to make any financial contribution is the shift of advertising revenue from traditional media to online platforms,” Qhu said.
The problem is now spreading to broadcasters, which provide the MDDA with about 58% of its income through a levy linked to their advertising revenue.
“We are anticipating further drops, as the sector is experiencing some difficulties. The fee is based on the advertising revenue they receive. That is an area of concern, because the majority of our income comes from the broadcast levy,” chief financial officer Tintswalo Baadjie said.
“The funding has not been keeping up with inflation, which puts the agency in a very difficult financial position.”
The consequences are felt most severely by small community outlets that have fewer ways of replacing lost advertising income.
“Financial sustainability, especially where advertising is a key income, is challenging. As advertising revenue moves online, it will constrain the sector,” Qhu said.
For community media operating in poorer areas, even attracting local advertising can be difficult.
Board chairperson Philly Moilwa said about 77% of community media projects already cannot sustain themselves financially.
“The socio-economic conditions make it so difficult for them to generate revenue. There’s very little investment, especially in the so-called media desert areas,” he said.
The crisis is therefore no longer simply about traditional publishers competing with digital platforms.
It is threatening the financial model supporting smaller outlets that provide news in communities where commercial media often has little or no presence.
The Competition Commission’s inquiry into media and digital platforms also found that online platforms are “capturing audiences and monetisation opportunities that traditionally sustained news outlets”.
The inquiry found that South African news media face “declining advertising income and the limited ability of audiences to pay for subscriptions”.
It also found that Google displays and summarises local news without paying South African media for the use of that news.
Committee chairperson Tsholofelo Bodlani questioned the MDDA about the collapse in publisher contributions.
“You spoke about the publishers who have not provided funding. Do we know why? Do we have an explanation?” she asked.
The MDDA wants the platforms benefiting from South African audiences and content to contribute to the sustainability of the industry.
It has called for amendments to the Electronic Communications Act to allow it to levy online platforms.
“Presently, there’s no way for us to derive levies from platform businesses or online-only businesses, including OTT platforms, which is part of the recommendation the agency is making on the ECA,” Qhu said.
OTT platforms are services that deliver content over the internet.
The Competition Commission’s inquiry did not introduce a levy on digital platforms.
In November 2025, Google instead agreed to a voluntary package worth about R688 million for South African media. The package includes language training administered through the MDDA.
Australia has taken a more aggressive approach.
Since August 2026, major platforms there have been required either to reach commercial deals with local news organisations or pay a 2.75% levy on their Australian advertising revenue.
South Africa has yet to adopt a similar compulsory funding mechanism.
For now, the MDDA is using savings and interest income to fund its print grants.
This year, it funded 10 print and digital outlets, 21 community radio stations and one community television station.
Bodlani described the small number of print beneficiaries as “quite painful”.
The numbers underline the problem.
As advertising migrates from newspapers, radio and other traditional outlets to digital platforms, the financial base that supports South Africa’s media ecosystem is shrinking.
And for community media, which already operates on the margins, there may be nowhere else to go.
