Airtasker (ASX: ART) Secures A$5m Nine Entertainment Media Deal: Buy the Momentum or Wait for Proof?

Airtasker Shares Jump on Nine Deal: What Next?

Airtasker (ASX: ART) has announced a A$5 million media partnership with Nine Entertainment, one of Australia’s largest media companies. The deal gives Airtasker access to Nine’s national TV, streaming, digital and publishing platforms over the next two years. It is structured as a convertible note, meaning Nine provides the advertising now and Airtasker settles later, either in cash or by converting the note into equity. On the surface, this looks like a smart, capital-efficient growth move. But before investors get too excited, it is worth understanding exactly what kind of deal this is and what it does not guarantee.

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What the Nine Entertainment Deal Actually Means for Airtasker

Here is the important thing to understand: Airtasker is not earning A$5 million from this deal. It is receiving A$5 million worth of advertising across Nine’s TV, streaming and digital channels. The hope is that this visibility translates into more people posting tasks and more workers joining the platform. In a business that runs on network effects, brand awareness genuinely matters.

What makes this deal interesting is the company it keeps. Nine Entertainment reaches millions of Australians through the Nine Network, 9Now streaming, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review. That is a premium, broad audience, and for a platform like Airtasker, getting in front of those consumers could accelerate growth in a way that digital-only spend cannot.

This is also not Airtasker’s first rodeo with media partnerships. The company has run similar deals with ARN, oOh!media in Australia, and Channel 4 and iHeartMedia internationally. Management credits this strategy with helping deliver double-digit Australian revenue growth and record marketplace volumes in FY25. We believe the Nine deal is a credibility signal. Adding one of Australia’s biggest media networks to the roster suggests management has genuine conviction in the model.

Airtasker’s Monetisation Model: Is It Finally Getting Traction?

Airtasker is growing, and the direction is encouraging. Revenue grew 12.8% in FY25, and momentum has continued into FY26, with group revenue up 13.5% to A$29.1 million and Australian revenue up 12.9% to A$23.1 million in the first half alone. The monetisation rate, which measures how much revenue is earned per dollar of marketplace activity, also improved, meaning the business is getting better at converting its user base into actual income.

The honest catch is that Airtasker is still running at a net loss. The company is not yet profitable on a bottom-line basis, which means it is still in the prove-it phase rather than the harvest phase. Each media deal also comes with a convertible note attached, and if enough of those convert into shares at a discount, existing shareholders face dilution. That is not a dealbreaker, but it is a risk worth keeping in mind.

The Investor’s Takeaway

The Nine deal fits neatly into a growth strategy that has shown early signs of working. The business is moving in the right direction on revenue, cash flow and marketplace volumes. In our view, the Nine partnership strengthens the medium-term case for Airtasker.

That said, the analyst views on ART are mixed, with at least one Sell rating carrying a A$0.20 price target, while the broader analyst consensus sits in the A$0.48 to A$0.51 range. For growth investors comfortable with early-stage risk, the momentum here is worth watching. For more cautious investors, it is reasonable to wait for the next earnings result to see whether the media partnerships are genuinely converting into accelerating growth before making a move.