Morocco Media Landscape Explained

GUIDES · MOROCCO

Morocco media explained: who runs the state broadcasters, who owns the main newspapers and news sites, and how the law and the palace shape what is published. Every figure carries its year and every office-holder is current as of October 2026.

Morocco media is a mixed system in which the state controls the biggest television and radio networks, while private owners and a fast-growing online sector compete for audiences. For US readers it matters because Morocco is a trade and security partner whose news ecosystem is shaped by institutions close to the palace.

In the 2026 press freedom index of the group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Morocco rose 15 places to 105th of 180 countries. This guide covers broadcasters, newspapers, digital outlets, ownership, regulation and the open questions as of October 2026.

How the System Is Built

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy under King Mohammed VI, who names the head of government after each election. Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), the largest party after the vote of 23 September 2026, was appointed on 29 September 2026.

Her cabinet was named at a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Rabat on 16 October 2026, with Samir Belfkih as government spokesperson. Broadcasting is overseen by the regulator HACA, the Haute Autorité de la Communication Audiovisuelle, while newspapers answer to the press code and the courts.

The sector has four layers. Each has a different owner and a different degree of independence.

• State-run broadcasters: the public group SNRT, which runs the Al Aoula channel and radio networks and is absorbing 2M and Medi1.
• The state news agency MAP, Maghreb Arabe Presse, which supplies official copy to every newsroom.
• Private print: Arabic-language and French-language dailies and weeklies, many owned by business figures or investment groups.
• Online media: news sites, YouTube channels and social platforms, where 78% of surveyed Moroccans got news in 2025.

Public Broadcasting: SNRT, 2M and Medi1

SNRT, the national radio and television company, is the public broadcaster and took 88% of public media funding in 2017. Its radio networks held a 26.73% audience share that year, according to the Media Ownership Monitor run by RSF and Le Desk.

2M, run by the company SOREAD, reached a 33% television audience share in the same 2017 study. The finance ministry owned 72% of SOREAD and SNI, the royal holding company, owned 20%.

Medi1 is a Tangier-based news broadcaster with television and radio arms. On 16 May 2024 the Competition Council published a notice that SNRT would acquire 100% of the share capital and voting rights of Medi1 TV.

In January 2025 SNRT chief executive Faïçal Laraïchï told a parliamentary committee that SNRT would take full ownership of 2M and Medi1 TV within two months, Morocco World News reported. A plan for a public media holding had been presented to parliament on 25 May 2021 by the then minister Othman El Ferdaous.

On 3 December 2025 the Competition Council published a notice that SNRT had notified the acquisition of 99.99% of SOREAD, the company behind 2M. The notice invited comments until 15 December 2025, and no clearance decision or completion filing was found as of October 2026.

Newspapers and Who Owns Them

Print is split between Arabic-language titles, which were growing in 2017, and French-language titles, which were declining. The Media Ownership Monitor found that Arabic-language owners mostly came from journalism, while French-language shareholders included business and financial leaders.

Businessmen held stakes in five of the nine French-language publications that study examined, including Aujourd’hui Le Maroc, La Vie Éco, L’Économiste and La Nouvelle Tribune. Two of them, Aziz Akhannouch and Moulay Hafid Elalamy, were government ministers in 2017, and Akhannouch led the previous government.

The royal holding company SNI held shares in four media companies in 2017. Three of them ranked among the five largest by turnover.

In June 2026 the project State Media Monitor placed Maroc Soir, publisher of Le Matin and Assahra Al Maghribiya, in its “Captured Private” tier and called its ownership and editorial line palace-aligned. That is an outside classification, and the publisher has not been quoted in the sources reviewed.

Independent titles exist but struggle for money, and advertising tends to favour pro-government media, according to RSF’s 2026 country assessment as summarised by Morocco World News. Lakome, Badil and Enass are named as outlets that keep publishing critical reporting.

Where the Advertising Money Goes

In 2017 television took 39.8% of the advertising market, outdoor posters 29.1%, radio 16.7% and print 13.2%. The same study said advertising was not allocated fairly and recalled boycotts of the magazines TelQuel, Nichane and Le Journal Hebdo in the early 2000s.

Digital News and Social Media

Morocco had 35.5 million internet users in October 2025, or 92.2% of the population, a national digital report found in November 2025. Social media identities numbered 22.8 million, equal to 59.1% of the population.

Facebook’s advertising reach was also 22.8 million in late 2025, and YouTube reached 21.6 million. TikTok reached 16.7 million adults and Instagram 15.1 million.

In the Digital News Report 2025 from the Reuters Institute, 78% of Moroccan respondents got news online and 28% said they trusted most news. For news, 49% used YouTube, 47% Facebook, 32% Instagram, 30% WhatsApp groups and 24% TikTok.

Hespress, founded in 2007, is run by Marocads, owned only by the El Guennouni brothers, and the Media Ownership Monitor calls it Morocco’s most popular news website. The 2025 survey listed Hespress among the online brands with reasonable trust, next to Medi1 and the state channel Al Aoula.

Concern about false information is high, with 54% of respondents worried about telling real from fake news online in 2025. Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, then minister of youth, culture and communication, cited digital media growth and misinformation as reasons for the 2026 press council bill.

Press Freedom and the Law

RSF ranked Morocco 105th of 180 countries in its 2026 index, published at the end of April, with a score of 50.55. That compares with 120th and 48.04 in 2025.

RSF credited gains in political and security indicators but said economic and legal pressure still weighs on the sector. Its tracker listed no journalists killed or detained in Morocco from 1 January 2026 to late April, as cited by Morocco World News.

Prison sentences for press offences were abolished in 2016. Journalists can still be prosecuted under other laws, such as the Penal Code, and critics of the government can face lawsuits.

The best-known recent case is Hamid El Mahdaoui, editor of the news site Badil. A Rabat court sentenced him on 11 November 2024 to 18 months for defaming Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi, and an appeals court upheld the sentence on 30 June 2025.

Ouahbi kept the justice portfolio in the cabinet named on 16 October 2026. According to RSF’s assessment, reporting on these topics can still bring legal or financial pressure:

• The monarchy and religion.
• The security services and protests.
• Western Sahara.
• Corruption.

The Press Council and Self-Regulation

The National Press Council is meant to let journalists and publishers police their own ethics. Its legal basis has been contested, and the Constitutional Court ruled on an earlier text.

On 24 December 2025 the upper house, the House of Councillors, adopted an earlier reorganisation text after four opposition groups walked out over rejected amendments. In January 2026 the Constitutional Court struck down five of its articles, and the government revised the bill as Draft Law 09.26.

On 4 May 2026 the House of Representatives approved Draft Law 09.26 by 70 votes to 25, and a House of Councillors committee backed it on 15 June 2026 by five votes to three. The law entered into force in July 2026, when a temporary committee took over the council’s duties until elections could be held.

Bensaid said the bill creates a commission to oversee council elections and gives the council more autonomy. Opposition lawmakers objected that using publisher turnover to set representation favours large economic players.

Morocco World News reported that the council would shrink from 19 to 17 members and that more than 130 amendments were tabled at committee stage. Critics say the mix of elections and appointments could skew representation.

Journalists voted for their representatives on 15 September 2026, and on 21 September the new council elected Mokhtar Laghzioui as president by 11 votes to 3. Hanane Rihab was elected vice president with 11 votes.

State and Palace Influence

Influence runs mainly through ownership, money and the courts rather than formal censorship. The Media Ownership Monitor found in 2017 that nine of the 36 companies it studied were linked to the state, the government or the royal family.

Public funding is concentrated in SNRT, and television and radio ratings come from bodies run by coalitions of economic interests. The study said the regulator HACA declined its request for up-to-date broadcast data.

Self-censorship is described as a common result of court cases and doubts about judicial independence. Editors take most care with the monarchy, the security services and Western Sahara.

Government officials describe the press council reform as a step that strengthens independence and ethics. Both views are on the record and can be weighed against the ownership and legal facts above.

What It Means for US Readers

Investors and companies should treat state broadcasters as an official voice and check corporate news against filings and several outlets. Data are patchy, since 16 of 40 media companies surveyed in 2017 published no financial information.

Travellers will find English-language coverage on Hespress English and Morocco World News, while everyday media runs in Arabic and French. The Rio Times language guide explains how those languages divide up in daily life.

Expats who publish commentary should know that defamation cases such as El Mahdaoui’s are brought under the Penal Code. Anyone relying on Moroccan sources should check who owns them, because the state or palace-linked investors hold stakes in many large outlets.

What Is Not Known

It is not confirmed whether SNRT has completed the takeover of 2M and Medi1. The Competition Council notice on 2M dates from December 2025, no clearance decision or completion filing was found, and the detailed ownership monitor dates from 2017.

The cabinet list of 16 October 2026 names Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid minister of Youth, Culture and Sports and lists no communication minister. It is therefore not stated who now carries media policy, a brief that Bensaid held until that date.

Whether the new government will change course on press regulation has not been stated. Survey data on news habits come from online panels and may not reflect Moroccans who are offline.

Frequently Asked Questions

How free is the press in Morocco?

RSF ranked Morocco 105th of 180 countries in 2026, up 15 places from 120th in 2025, with a score of 50.55. The country sits in the “difficult” band, and prosecutions under the Penal Code and financial pressure remain concerns.

Who owns the main television channels in Morocco?

The state controls most of them through SNRT, which runs Al Aoula and is absorbing 2M and Medi1. In 2017 the finance ministry owned 72% of 2M’s operator SOREAD and the royal holding company SNI owned 20%.

What is the most popular news website in Morocco?

The Media Ownership Monitor describes Hespress as the most popular news website in the country. It was founded in 2007 and is edited by Marocads, owned by the El Guennouni brothers.

Where do Moroccans get their news?

In the Digital News Report 2025, 78% of respondents got news online, and YouTube (49%) and Facebook (47%) led among social platforms. Trust in news overall was 28%.

What is Morocco’s National Press Council?

It is the body that lets journalists and publishers regulate their own ethics, and it issues press cards. Law 09.26 reorganised it, and the new council elected Mokhtar Laghzioui as president on 21 September 2026.

Can journalists be jailed in Morocco?

Prison sentences for press offences were abolished in 2016, but journalists can be prosecuted under the Penal Code. Hamid El Mahdaoui received 18 months in November 2024 for defaming the justice minister, and an appeals court upheld it on 30 June 2025.

Sources: Royal Palace statements on the appointment of the head of government, 29 September 2026 and on the new government, 16 October 2026; RSF and Le Desk, Media Ownership Monitor Morocco, November 2017; Morocco World News on the 2026 press freedom index, 30 April 2026; Morocco World News on Draft Law 09.26, May 2026; Hespress on the House of Councillors vote, 24 December 2025; Hespress on the El Mahdaoui appeal, 30 June 2025; Morocco World News on SNRT, 7 January 2025; Competition Council notice on Medi1 TV, 16 May 2024; Hespress, public media holding plan, 25 May 2021; Media Ownership Monitor entry on Hespress; Digital News Report 2025, Morocco, 17 June 2025; national digital report, 8 November 2025; State Media Monitor, Morocco; Competition Council notice on SOREAD, 3 December 2025; RSF country page, Index 2026; Morocco World News on the press council president, 22 September 2026; Morocco World News on the temporary committee, 25 July 2026. All accessed 17 October 2026.

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