The Business Report said that according to Vicki Myburgh, of auditing company PwC Southern Africa, traditional media companies were turning to digital media, which was becoming “the new normal”.

In 2011, digital media accounted for just over a fifth of spending. However, in the next five years, advertising spending in the digital sector was predicted to rise around 21% each year.

This was attributable to the growing broadband internet market and a greater number of television subscriptions.

The turnover for the newspaper and print media industry grew by almost 6%, to R11.4 billion last year. It was expected to slow to 5.1% each year for the next five years before recovering in 2016.

The growth was largely attributed to advertising, as circulation income decreased.

“There is definitely a bottom to the market. I suspect we will reach the bottom by the end of 2016,” Myburgh said.

Thereafter, the decline trend in the print media sector was expected to be reversed.