Arena Group Holdings, Inc.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining a system of disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) that is designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by an issuer in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the issuer’s management, including its principal executive officer(s) and principal financial officer(s), or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

In accordance with Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15, an evaluation was completed under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report. Based on that evaluation, our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of June 30, 2026 in providing reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act was recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms due to the material weakness described below.

Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting and Remediation Plan

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Internal control over financial reporting is a process, including policies and procedures, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

In connection with the preparation of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 that was filed with the SEC on March 16, 2026, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2025 due to the following material weakness which we previously reported and continues to exist: we did not design and maintain effective controls over the completeness and accuracy of information received from a third-party programmatic advertising services provider used in recording certain advertising revenues.

This material weakness has not been remediated as of the date of filing of this Quarterly Report. We intend to expand and formalize documentation around the review and oversight procedures performed to validate data provided by the third party providing ad serving services, provide training to relevant personnel on the enhanced documentation requirements, and, as necessary, implement additional controls to independently verify completeness and accuracy of third party data used in financial reporting to address this material weakness. We will continue to evaluate and adjust remediation actions as needed to ensure the remedial measures remain appropriate and sustainable.

We believe that the actions listed above will provide appropriate remediation of the material weakness. Due to the nature of the remediation process and the need for sufficient time after implementation to evaluate and test the design and effectiveness of the controls, no assurance can be given as to the timing for completion of remediation. The material weakness will be fully remediated when we conclude that the controls have been operating for sufficient time and independently validated by management.

We believe that, notwithstanding the material weakness mentioned above, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements contained in this Quarterly Report present fairly, in all material respects, the condensed consolidated balance sheets, statements of operations, stockholders’ deficiency, and cash flows of the Company and its subsidiaries in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles as of the dates and for the periods stated therein.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Except as described above under “Material Weakness in Internal Control over Financial Reporting and Remediation Plan”, there have not been any changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the three months ended June 30, 2026 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Inherent Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls

The effectiveness of any system of internal control over financial reporting, including ours, is subject to inherent limitations, including the exercise of judgment in designing, implementing, operating, and evaluating the controls and procedures, and the inability to eliminate misconduct completely. Accordingly, in designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any system of internal control over financial reporting, including ours, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable, not absolute assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and that management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. We intend to continue to monitor and upgrade our internal controls as necessary or appropriate for our business but cannot assure you that such improvements will be sufficient to provide us with effective internal control over financial reporting.