A Pioneer’s Farewell: Cobus Stofberg Retires, Leaving a Transformed Naspers and M-Net Legacy
The South African and global technology landscape recently marked a significant transition with the retirement of Cobus Stofberg from Naspers. After an extraordinary 40-year career, Stofberg, a pivotal figure in revolutionizing the continent’s media sector, stepped down. His visionary leadership, particularly as a co-founder of groundbreaking ventures like M-Net and MultiChoice, was instrumental in propelling Naspers from its roots as a traditional print company into the formidable global technology and media powerhouse it is today, boasting a market capitalization exceeding $45 billion, a testament to the strategic initiatives he championed.
From Print to Pay-TV: The M-Net Revolution
Stofberg’s journey with Naspers commenced in the 1980s, a period when the company primarily operated as a print-based publisher focusing on news and lifestyle content. At this juncture, Naspers faced considerable challenges in the advertising market, largely overshadowed by the dominant presence of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in television. It was against this backdrop that Stofberg, collaborating with Koos Bekker and Jac van der Merwe, conceived and presented a revolutionary proposal: a subscription-based pay-TV service. This audacious vision materialized as M-Net, which proudly launched in October 1986, making history as South Africa’s inaugural pay-television channel. Initially, M-Net delivered 12 hours of programming daily, an offering that swiftly captured the market and established a new paradigm for media consumption in the region. This pioneering step not only diversified Naspers’s revenue streams but also laid the foundational blueprint for its future expansion into digital media and global technology markets, shaping the trajectory of African tech for decades to come.
Cobus Stofberg’s departure truly signifies the closing of a remarkable chapter in the annals of South African media and technology. His strategic foresight and unwavering commitment to innovation transformed a regional print publisher into an international digital conglomerate. The success of M-Net and MultiChoice, conceived under his guidance, stands as a powerful testament to his enduring legacy, forever etching his name into the narrative of global tech advancement originating from Africa. His career exemplifies the spirit of disruption and growth that continues to define the dynamic technology news landscape.
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