APN rules out charging for access to news websites

Brendan Hopkins, chief executive of APN. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The head of New Zealand's largest media company has ruled out charging the public for access to its websites but says premium content could be sold through its iPad application.

Brendan Hopkins, chief executive of APN, which owns the New Zealand Herald, yesterday told potential investors in its $150 million bond offer that the company was not interested in creating pay-walls.

"In the main we are an advertising company, 80 per cent of our revenue is from advertising."

But Hopkins said the company hoped to build up its iPad application to allow differentiation between premium content and grazing.

APN launched its nzherald application in June and so far 24,000 had been downloaded for free.

Hopkins said he hoped to begin earning $1 million to $2 million from the application next year.

Hopkins, who ends an eight-year stint with the company at the end of the year, has been talking to investors around the country since Sunday.

Yesterday he was reluctant to predict how strongly the offer would sell. "We really don't know. We are hopeful, we are getting a very good reaction."

The bond offer opened on Monday with an indicative interest rate of between 7.3 and 7.8 per cent a year. The final rate is due to be set tomorrow.

Hopkins said the money raised would be used to pay off bank debt. He expected debt to stay at $700 million but did not rule out increasing it in the future if there was a good opportunity.

The offer closes on December 10 and the bond matures in March 2016.