"There is a strong business case to consolidate our soccer-interest publications and digital offerings rather than running two separate entities, which, in essence, serve the same market – just from different perspectives," says Raj Lalbahadur, GM at Media24 Lifestyle. "Soccer Laduma, in which Media24 owns a 74% stake, offers the perfect new home to Kick Off."

Soccer Laduma has a readership of 3.4 million for its weekly newspaper, 1.7 million monthly unique users consuming 48.2 million page views on the Soccer Laduma website in July, and a total social media audience of 3.1 million. In addition, SL Radio has more than 730 000 listeners with 1.3 million podcast downloads and its Supporters Club has more than 100 000 members.

The monthly Kick Off magazine, in turn, has a print readership of 3.8 million, the largest for all consumer magazines in South Africa, and in July had a million unique users (with 16.9 million page views) on its digital properties. It has a total social media audience of 1.7 million.

Peter du Toit, CEO of CT Media, says, "Soccer Laduma and Kick Off have both made incredible inroads in South African society, yet still have enormous potential for growth. In addition to the operational and commercial synergies, the collective strengths of both titles will allow us to further broaden our content offering, enhance the already 24/7 publishing cycle, and offer advertisers expanded reach."

He adds, "The move will further support our commitment to our ‘bosses’ – the readers, online users, and advertisers. We look forward to an exciting joint future."

According to Ishmet Davidson, GM of print media at Media24, this decision is part of Media24's strategy to strengthen its position as Africa’s leading digital publisher with a successful print media portfolio. "The media landscape is constantly changing and we continuously review print and digital portfolios for opportunities to best serve our audiences and advertisers," concludes Davidson.

Consultations with the affected Kick Off staff are in a final stage and the majority of them will be taking up new positions at CT Media.

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