Afrikaans is the third most spoken language in South Africa after IsiZulu and IsiXhosa, English is the fourth most spoken mother tongue. Afrikaans speakers make up the second biggest market in SA and 88% of this market likes to see advertising that reflects their culture.

Between press and online, Ads24’s Afrikaans newspaper titles reach 3 229 890 people, this includes Netwerk24 and Media24’s Afrikaans newspapers (Beeld, Die Burger, Volksblad and Rapport) which reach an unduplicated passionate South African audience.

“Just twelve months after the digital properties of Beeld, Die Burger, Volksblad and Rapport merged to establish Netwerk24, we are the fourth biggest news platform in South Africa in any language. In just one year, Netwerk24 has managed to reach 1.5 million unique users per month and we have signed-up almost 20 000 loyal subscribers who are willing and able to pay for excellent content in “die taal van my hart” (my heart’s language),” says Adriaan Basson, editor in chief of Netwerk24 and former editor of Beeld.

He continues; “This is a phenomenal achievement, not only for South Africa’s media industry but internationally where global media giants have yet to crack the code to a digital model that will sustain quality journalism for years to come.”

“It is no secret that newspaper circulation is under pressure globally. That’s why we are continuously strengthening Netwerk24 as our audience moves towards digital, while still producing high-quality newspapers hat inform, entertain and educate from Komatipoort to Cape Town,” Basson says.

“All our newsrooms have a clear digital-first focus and Netwerk24 is gearing up for the next phase as we move some of our best journalists towards becoming fully-fledged digital content producers. We have built studios in our newsrooms and are producing news bulletins and short documentaries. The facts show that our readers are accompanying us as we venture into this brave new world. They know and trust our brands; something we can never put a price on.”

For more information, visit www.ads24.co.za. Alternatively connect with them on Facebook or on Twitter.