Nine Entertainment chief executive Hugh Marks says the network's expected merger with Fairfax Media was not conceived on the basis of cutting costs.
Mr Marks told Nine's annual general meeting in Sydney on Wednesday that, although the cost benefits of the merger are slated to be at least $50 million, the merger was driven by the expectation of growth for the combined company.
Fairfax Media shareholders will vote on the plan on Monday, and Mr Marks and Nine chairman Peter Costello both said Wednesday they expect a thumbs up.
"This was not a merger that was instigated or even justified by cost out," Mr Marks said.
"The really exciting parts for us and for Fairfax, are the top line growth opportunities that will be accelerated by virtue of the combination."
Mr Marks said Stan - the local Netflix rival launched in 2015 as a joint venture between Fairfax and Nine - would particularly benefit from the merger.
Stan, which according to the merger scheme booklet lost $47 million in FY18, has 1.2 million active subscribers.
"I can't think of another domestic business with such rapid subscriber growth at scale over that period," Mr Marks said.
"The opportunity to consolidate ownership of 100 per cent of Stan places Nine in a very strong position to take the next steps critical to accelerate Stan's growth to two-to-three million subscribers."
Mr Marks said the combined entity's merger would also give Fairfax Media's newspapers - which include The Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review - a better shot at competing with the social media giants that have eaten away at traditional media's revenue streams.
"The combined publishing business will reach 8.1 million Australians each day and have a revenue base of more than $500 million," Mr Marks said.
"(That is) a proposition that from an advertising perspective will be very competitive with Facebook in the Australian market - but through a premium content, brand safe environment."
At 1135 AEDT, shares in Nine Entertainment, which have lost more than a third of their value since July, were 2.0 cents, or 1.3 per cent, higher at $1.595.
