eMedia Holdings, the owner of free-to-air broadcaster e.tv, news channel eNCA and the Openview satellite platform, has seen strong growth in its video-on-demand platform eVOD in the 2025 financial year.
According to eMedia CEO Khalik Sherrif, the company’s decision to enter the streaming video entertainment market gradually has aided eVOD’s profitability by keeping its costs low as advertising revenue has grown.
“eVOD, our dedicated streaming platform, continued its strong growth in South Africa’s digital entertainment market with a 47% rise in watch time and a 60% increase in registered users from April 2024 to March 2025 compared to the previous year,” eMedia said in its annual report, released late on Monday.
“This growth is driven by eVOD’s focus on local content, including 33 award-winning South African films, original productions, Afrikaans programming and popular catch-up shows,” it said.
Revenue from eVOD, which includes other online sources such as sales across the group’s websites, amounted to R86-million. In total, eMedia made R2.9-billion in revenue in 2025, the bulk of which came from advertising (R2.2-billion).
With data-rich internet penetration still low in South Africa, eVOD remains overshadowed by free-to-air satellite platform Openview in the eMedia stable. Advertising revenue from Openview and multi-channel operations increased from R611-million to R704-million. Openview added 305 405 decoder activations in 2025, bringing the total to 3.6 million – eMedia doesn’t disclose how many of those are active.
According to eMedia, growth in Openview has mostly been from lower-income households who have sought cost-free digital access to news and entertainment due to increasing economic pressures.
Satellite vs terrestrial
This perspective is reflected by developments in the paid satellite television market, dominated by MultiChoice-owned DStv, which has seen a sharp decline in subscriptions over in past two years, though those losses have mainly come at the premium end of the market.
Satellite broadcasting remains key to eMedia’s strategy, especially in light of government’s plans to switch off analogue broadcasts, even though a date for the switch-off is yet to be set.
Read: MultiChoice and eMedia smoke the peace pipe
E.tv successfully interdicted communications minister Solly Malatsi from switching off analogue broadcasts in March, with the court slapping the minister with a costs order. A second part to the court case, to hear the merits of e.tv’s argument, is yet to begin, but Malatsi earlier this month said the department is seeking an out-of-court solution.
eMedia has said previously that digital terrestrial broadcasting technology, the platform government proposed for the migration to digital broadcasting, has failed. According to eMedia, satellite is a more viable alternative. “Investment in Openview offers strategic flexibility in navigating the challenges of digital migration,” said eMedia.
Although eVOD and Openview work in tandem, eMedia is of the view that the satellite platform will only continue to dominate for as along as data-rich internet access rates remain low. As access to the internet rises, eVOD will become the dominant platform, it said.
Plans to increase eVOD’s market penetration are under way, with eVOD soon to be accessible on a wider range of connected devices, including smart TVs and set-top boxes.
New features within the platform are also in the works, including eVOD livestream ad formats during live events, as well as interactive display banner advertisements that will offer brands “more immersive and targeted ways to engage viewers”.
Read: Solly Malatsi seeks out-of-court deal in TV migration fight
“We are satisfied that eVOD will be adequately placed in the future when data per household becomes a utility cost rather than a luxury cost. With growing platforms like eVOD and Openview, and huge investments into digital technology and enhanced production through state-of-the-art facilities, eMedia is well-positioned for the future,” said Sherrif. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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