{"id":12787,"date":"2025-09-09T23:58:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T23:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/12787\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T23:58:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T23:58:10","slug":"media-insider-mediaworks-to-split-up-qms-outdoor-advertising-team-to-report-directly-to-australia-radio-arm-may-be-primed-for-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/12787\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Insider: MediaWorks to split up – QMS outdoor advertising team to report directly to Australia; radio arm may be primed for sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Media Insider reported at the time<\/a>, that massive tender win – in place from October 16 – would lead to inevitable speculation about whether MediaWorks retained its radio arm, or spun it off to focus on its outdoor advertising business. <\/p>\n

Today, MediaWorks confirmed it was splitting into two.<\/p>\n

From October 1, its outdoor advertising business would transition to the QMS brand and report to QMS Australia in a \u201cstrategic alignment\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis important step change … follows MediaWorks\u2019 success in winning the recent Auckland Transport street furniture contract and brings together the scale, capability, and deep operational experience of QMS – proven through its successful management of the world-leading City of Sydney street furniture concession – to drive even greater outcomes for Auckland Transport and the wider OOH business in New Zealand,\u201d said a MediaWorks statement.<\/p>\n

QMS Australian executive Adam Trevena – who played a pivotal role in securing the AT contracts – has been appointed to the role of QMS NZ director. The company said he would be \u201cresponsible for the successful delivery of the Auckland Transport concession as well as the continued expansion of our overall OOH portfolio\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"MediaWorksMediaWorks chairman Barclay Nettlefold and chief executive Wendy Palmer.<\/p>\n

MediaWorks staff have been briefed this morning on the proposal. It is understood there are no job losses planned, but sales staff will be separated into one of the two companies. <\/p>\n

Direct sales staff will remain with the radio arm, while the agency sales team is likely to be split into two, between radio and outdoor.<\/p>\n

MediaWorks chief executive Wendy Palmer – one of New Zealand\u2019s most respected media and radio executives – would continue to lead the radio firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cAligning our OOH division with QMS makes strong strategic sense,\u201d said Palmer in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith QMS\u2019 scale and proven capability, we know our OOH portfolio will go from strength to strength. At the same time, radio is in an incredibly strong position.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve just achieved our largest-ever survey share, revenue is growing every quarter, and we are continuing to invest in local markets and our digital platform, Rova.\u201d<\/p>\n

She called the splitting of the company an \u201cexciting next step forward\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, the move will also renew speculation that the radio arm will now be on the block. Does QMS really want its attention on the growing outdoor advertising sector diverted in any way?<\/p>\n

Locally, there is unlikely to be a lengthy list of potential buyers. <\/p>\n

MediaWorks\u2019 biggest radio competitor, NZME – owner of Newstalk ZB, a suite of music stations and the NZ Herald – might be keen on certain high-performing stations, but it might also find the Commerce Commission has a view on that.<\/p>\n

Some of Australia\u2019s biggest radio firms, including ARN Media, Southern Cross Austereo and Nova Entertainment, could be among potential buyers.<\/p>\n

MediaWorks\u2019 finances<\/p>\n

In May, MediaWorks announced an after-tax loss of $16.2 million for 2024<\/a> but highlighted growth in revenue and Ebitda.<\/p>\n

The result, for the 12 months to December 31, 2024, was a considerable improvement on its 2023 result, when it recorded a $107.4m loss, although that number also contained an $86.5m impairment.<\/a><\/p>\n

The company announced revenue of $213m (including total advertising revenue of $202m) for its full financial year to December 31, 2024 \u2013 up 4% on FY23 \u2013 and Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of $38.9m, an increase of $4.4m (13%) year-on-year. <\/p>\n

\"MediaWorksMediaWorks has won the new contracts to look after all outdoor advertising on Auckland Transport assets, including bus shelters and buses. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n

Radio and digital advertising contributed $150.5 million and outdoor advertising contributed $51.5m to the total advertising revenue of $202m.<\/p>\n

That outdoor revenue number is set to be supercharged – MediaWorks said in July that its AT tender win was a \u201cgame-changer\u201d.<\/p>\n

The four contracts are to look after advertising on street furniture (including 970 shelters), vehicles (such as buses and trains), transport hubs and stations, and billboards.<\/p>\n

MediaWorks and QMS chairman Barclay Nettlefold said today the separation of the New Zealand business was positive. He talked up radio\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cRadio is standing tall, delivering consistent results and growth, while our OOH operation gains the backing of one of the most experienced and capable outdoor businesses in Australasia. <\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, this positions both sides of the business for long-term success. The changes ensure that radio continues to stand proudly on its own two feet, while OOH benefits from the strength and scale of QMS.\u201d <\/p>\n

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand\u2019s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Media Insider reported at the time, that massive tender win – in place from October 16 –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1032,15153,85,5195,15152,2082,2936,7810,1073,15150,111,139,69,657,15154,15151,4965,1560,1133,8692,213,7187,61,810],"class_list":{"0":"post-12787","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-advertising","9":"tag-arm","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-be","12":"tag-directly","13":"tag-for","14":"tag-insider","15":"tag-may","16":"tag-media","17":"tag-mediaworks","18":"tag-new-zealand","19":"tag-newzealand","20":"tag-nz","21":"tag-outdoor","22":"tag-primed","23":"tag-qms","24":"tag-radio","25":"tag-report","26":"tag-sale","27":"tag-split","28":"tag-sports","29":"tag-team","30":"tag-to","31":"tag-up"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}