QMS has announced its subsidiary MediaWorks will expand its out-of-home (OOH) presence in New Zealand after winning the long-term agreement with Auckland Transport.
From 16 October 2025, MediaWorks will have exclusive rights to Auckland Transport’s street furniture, transit media, transport hubs, and billboards, making it the largest OOH company in New Zealand.
oOh!media, who currently hold the contract, due to expire on 30 September, informed its shareholders of the situation on Tuesday morning, saying it was ‘disappointed’.
The contract is said to have represented 4% of oOh!’s reported revenue in the 2024 financial year.
The agreement follows QMS’ acquisition of Oaktree Capital Management’s stake in MediaWorks in June. MediaWorks reaches up to 3.5 million New Zealanders weekly across radio, digital, and OOH.
Today’s announcement will undoubtedly amplify speculation in the market surrounding a sale for QMS. In April, QMS chief John O’Neill addressed the topic in an interview with Mediaweek:
“There’s always speculation,” he said. “Quadrant have been in the business for a number of years, and as we know, private equity firms generally make decisions to move on.
“With TV networks and radio networks, there’s always discussion and opportunities. And I think if it’s easier for clients to buy it, it would be something that would work really well.
“I don’t really go too much into that speculation, because there’s been so many people talking about it for such a long period of time, so we just have to see what happens.”
The new partnership gives MediaWorks exclusive rights to represent Auckland Transport’s street furniture network, encompassing an existing asset base of almost 2,000 advertising panels across the greater Auckland region, with plans to add more digital assets to the network.
Barclay Nettlefold, QMS and MediaWorks Chairman, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been appointed as Auckland Transport’s partner to develop and grow Auckland’s most prestigious and important OOH assets. This win is a game changer and re-shapes the way OOH will be planned and bought by advertisers in New Zealand.
“We are proud to be entrusted to operate the coveted Auckland Transport street furniture concession and are excited about the development plans that we have for the network.
“Renewing our existing Auckland Transport portfolios of transit, transport hubs and billboards enables MediaWorks to build on the past 10 years of partnership with Auckland Transport and firmly establishes us as the #1 OOH operator across New Zealand,” he said.
The partnership builds on MediaWorks’ local expertise and QMS’ trans-Tasman experience, including its operation of Sydney’s digital street furniture network.
O’Neill said: “This is a great win for MediaWorks and we congratulate the team in New Zealand.
“With the growing trend towards trans-Tasman trading, our shared expertise between QMS and MediaWorks will provide greater opportunities for our media agency partners and their clients to plan and buy across both markets.
“Combined with the City of Sydney, this win further strengthens QMS as the pre-eminent digital out of home operator, the first in history to hold the two marquee street furniture contracts in the ANZ region simultaneously.”
Auckland Transport’s Media Partnerships and Experience Lead, Simon Soulsby, said the contract award is an exciting step for New Zealand’s largest OOH media portfolio.
“After an incredibly competitive process, we are very pleased with the outcome,” he said.
“We look forward to working closely with QMS and MediaWorks to deliver innovative out of home media solutions. This new partnership brings certainty for the industry and great outcomes for Auckland residents.”