NZME Signs Letter of Intent with Google and Updates Outlook

NZME Limited. 2-4 Graham Street, Private Bag 92198, Victoria Street West, Auckland.
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MARKET ANNOUNCEMENT
NZME SIGNS LETTER OF INTENT WITH GOOGLE AND UPDATES
OUTLOOK FOR 2022

AUCKLAND, 25 March 2022: NZME Limited (NZX: NZM, ASX: NZM) (“NZME”) announces that it
has signed a letter of intent with Google setting out the key terms for the proposed supply by NZME
of news content for Google’s News Showcase and for other news products and projects pursuant
to final agreements.

NZME and Google will now enter into a period of negotiation of up to 90 days with a view to finalising
agreements based on the key terms set out in the Google Letter of Intent. The final agreements
are intended to be for a minimum term of five years.

NZME is currently in commercial discussions with Meta
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with regards to them supporting a number
of digital transformation projects over the next year.

NZME’s outlook statement at the time of announcing its full year results on 23 February 2022
included an expectation that EBITDA for 2022 would be more than that of 2021, despite the loss of
the GrabOne contribution from 2021. Based on the key terms of the Google Letter of Intent, if NZME
and Google ultimately enter into the final agreements at the end of the period of negotiation, and
having regard to the current trading performance and other anticipated commercial arrangements,
NZME expects that EBITDA for 2022 financial year would be in the range of $67 – 72 million.

NZME Chief Executive Michael Boggs says today’s announcement further demonstrates NZME’s
commitment to growing and evolving its digital platforms.

“We are pleased to have reached a point with Google where we can partner with them to further
enable digital growth across NZME’s business, boosting digital revenue for NZME and increasing
our audience reach.

“We look forward to reaching final agreement with Google that will see NZME’s news content
supplied and shared through Google programmes, continuing to support the future of high quality,
trusted journalism in Aotearoa,” he says.

Caroline Rainsford, Google New Zealand Country Director says Google is proud to continue to
support original, trusted, and quality journalism.

“We are pleased to build on years of partnership with NZME as a major New Zealand publishing
partner. We’ve helped support the local news industry for two decades and we look forward to
continuing to build on this important work to support the future of journalism in Aotearoa,” she says.

A further announcement will be made in relation to the outcome of the negotiation of the final
agreements with Google and the commercial discussions with Meta.

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The Meta group of companies owns digital platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
25 March 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NZME Limited. 2-4 Graham Street, Private Bag 92198, Victoria Street West, Auckland.
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MARKET ANNOUNCEMENT

As a consequence of signing the Google Letter of Intent, NZME has notified the News Publishers’
Association of New Zealand Inc. and the New Zealand Commerce Commission that it will not be
participating in any collective bargaining with Google unless the parties fail to execute binding
agreements on the terms set out in the Google Letter of Intent.

NZME expects to be in a position to provide an update on the commencement of the on-market
share buyback next week.

ENDS
Authorised by: Michael Boggs, Chief Executive Officer

Investors Media
David Mackrell
Chief Financial Officer
T: +64 21 311 911
Email: david.mackrell@nzme.co.nz

Kelly Gunn
GM Communications
T: +64 27 213 5625
Email: kelly.gunn@nzme.co.nz

About NZME
New Zealand Media and Entertainment (NZME) is an integrated media company, with a portfolio
of market leading news, entertainment and real estate brands strategically positioned across a
network of digital, print and audio platforms.
With a combined audience of 3.4 million New Zealanders*, NZME supports commercial partners to
grow customer engagement with a data driven, audience and customer centric approach. NZME is
listed on the NZX Main Board (code NZM) with a foreign exempt listing on the ASX (code NZM).
*SOURCE: Nielsen CMI Fused Q1 21 – Q4 21 January 2022 AP15+