Improvements in the pipeline for Stuff.co.nz

Media Release – For Immediate Release

11 December 2008

Improvements in the pipeline for Stuff.co.nz

Fairfax Media is preparing to launch a major upgrade of the design and underlying infrastructure of its flagship website Stuff.co.nz.

This year, New Zealand's Site of the Year (NetGuide Web Awards 2008) has experienced unprecedented traffic growth, with New Zealand traffic up 58% from last year to 42.8 million1 page impressions.

``Our planned enhancements to Stuff.co.nz early in the new year will significantly improve the user experience and position us for even greater growth in 2009 and beyond,’’ said Stephen Smith, Group Head of Digital for Fairfax Media.

Stuff.co.nz is already New Zealand’s most popular news site, with over 2.6 million2 unique browsers each month. As well as breaking news, video and audio, the site features content from all Fairfax newspapers around the country.

As part of the upgrade, Fairfax Media will also integrate its popular BusinessDay and RugbyHeaven sites into the Stuff.co.nz portal, extending the reach of these unique sites.

``To ensure we continue to offer the fastest and most reliable breaking news at Stuff.co.nz, we are investing in our digital publishing platform’’, said Stephen Smith.

``These improvements will offer readers a technically advanced media experience, including faster page loads and also allow our editors to publish their stories at breakneck speed.’’

``We also have some other exciting changes for our Stuff.co.nz users as part of the upgrade that we will look forward to unveiling in the new year. Watch this space.’’

1Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Domestic Market Intelligence November 2008 vs. November 2007.

2Source: Nielsen/NetRatings Total Market Intelligence November 2008.

ENDS

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