Stan CEO Mike Sneesby has welcomed the new mega-merger between Nine and Fairfax, with the Australian streaming boss confident it will drive "accelerated growth" in a "new media landscape".
Sneesby tells AdNews, the new deal, of which Nine assumes complete control of all Stan assets, will put the company in a stronger position to remain the "leading local streaming service" in Australia.
"It really does position Stan for greater strategic opportunities as this new media landscape begins to unfold," he says.
"For me, a strengthened parent company means we are going to see a continued focus and increased support across the range of our media assets."
Sneesby said the deal would give Stan more access to the "vast amount of group assets", which would help it remain competitive against international players, like CBS and Hayu, who are increasing their presence in this market.
"When we look at the current landscape in the streaming space locally, it's all international except for us, and this deal allows us to move into a better competitive position," he says.
'We've got a very clear picture on how we think the media landscape is going to unfold and the combination in timing with shareholders and where we are in our growth trajectory with Australian's taking to Stan, is phenomenal."
Sneesby says it certainly won't be "business as usual" for Stan, as the streaming service now looks to build upon its earlier success from this year, reaching the one million subscriber milestone in June.
"I am extremely excited by the deal and I've always said from the early stages of Stan, what's been a huge driver of success has been the level of cooperation have made to this venture independently," he says.
"The sum of it for us is, that stronger our parents are, the better it is for us."
Nine CEO Hugh Marks, who will lead the newly merged entity, said last week Stan and Domain assets, not Fairfax's heritage in independent journalism, were the primary motivator for the merger.
He did, however, explain that Stan and Domain’s financial viability and growth prospects would enable Nine to invest in content and its newsrooms.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.