KPEX, the Kiwi Premium Ad Exchange consortium created in 2015 by Stuff, NZME, MediaWorks and TVNZ, is to close.
The four media groups, who are all equal shareholders in KPEX, have made this decision due to changing market demands and shareholder priorities.
Dave Hine, Chair of KPEX’s Board of Directors, said in the announcement: “KPEX has helped New Zealand publishers to maintain their digital ad revenues over the last four years, in a market increasingly dominated by Google and Facebook.”
“However, the digital advertising market is a dynamically changing market that has evolved significantly since KPEX’s inception. Equally, KPEX shareholders’ circumstances and priorities have also evolved in different ways, which has made it difficult to achieve ongoing commitment from all shareholders to KPEX. Without that ongoing commitment, KPEX is unlikely to generate sufficient scale to compete effectively in the market or to remain commercially viable. It is due to these changes that the shareholders have agreed it is in their best interests to wind up the joint venture business”.
Hine acknowledges the support of KPEX customers and the efforts of its capable management team.
The business is now working through next steps with shareholders and staff.
