# Who Owns South Africa's Media?

> South Africa's media landscape: Naspers, Canal+ and SABC dominate with press freedom ranking 21st globally.
- Title: Who Owns South Africa's Media? · The Rio Times | Shortify
- Summary: South Africa's media landscape: Naspers, Canal+ and SABC dominate with press freedom ranking 21st globally. South Africa ranks 21st of 180 countries in press…
- Keywords: south africa, naspers, canalplus, sabc, media ownership, press freedom, south african media, news, world, politics, Owns, South
- Source: The Rio Times — https://riotimesonline.com/south-africa-media-landscape-explained-2026
- Author: Samuel Ncube
- Published: 2026-10-16T14:53:36+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: south africa, naspers, canalplus, sabc, media ownership, press freedom, south african media, news, world, politics
## Key Facts
South Africa ranks 21st of 180 countries in the 2026 press freedom index, up from 27th.
## Media Mix
The country mixes state broadcaster SABC, commercial channel e.tv, pay TV giant DStv owned by Canal+, and private newspapers led by News24.
## Ownership Structure
Naspers owns Media24 and News24; Canal+ owns MultiChoice and DStv; Arena Holdings publishes the Sunday Times.
## Financial Trends
Broadcasting revenue fell 4.6% to R33.0 billion (about US$2.0 billion) in 2025, with pay TV subscribers dropping 9.6% to 6.7 million.
## Press Freedom Status
RSF ranked South Africa 21st of 180 countries in 2026 with a score of 77.95, up from 27th in 2025.
## SABC Funding
The SABC gets R234 million (about US$14 million) from the 2026/27 budget and has won two straight unqualified audit opinions.
## Digital News Shift
News24 added a paywall, while Daily Maverick and The Mail & Guardian cut staff amid shrinking newsrooms.
## Ownership Changes
Canal+ took control of MultiChoice on 22 September 2025 for about US$3.0 billion, ending its JSE listing.
## Social Media Usage
29.1 million social media user identities in October 2025, with Facebook reaching 27.9 million South Africans.
## Press Council Expulsion
The Press Council expelled Independent Media on 23 October 2024 for refusing to obey its rulings.
## SABC Bill Status
A revised SABC Bill with a new funding model is still to be tabled in Parliament as of October 2026.
## Media Support Package
A R688 million (about US$41 million) media support package was agreed with Google and YouTube for national media.
## Trust in News
Trust in South African news fell to 50% in 2026, down 5 points from the previous year.
## US Reader Impact
US readers can follow credible English coverage on News24, Daily Maverick and TimesLIVE but should weigh paywalls and ownership disputes.
## Future of News
News creators are drawing audiences away from legacy outlets toward personality-driven channels with less ethical journalism.
## What's Next
A revised SABC Bill with a new funding model is expected to be tabled in Parliament by the end of 2026/27.
## Key takeaway

South Africa ranks 21st of 180 countries in press freedom, with Naspers owning News24, Canal+ controlling DStv, and SABC as the public broadcaster.