Grow big or die

The merger is necessary to achieve scale and reach. It is a lot easier to compete with global giants with larger scale, locally well known brand name and local content. Unfortunately, this would mean taking ownership of declining newspaper assets. But in any case, there is a still a place for trusted journalism and Free to Air TV. No one will read Facebook or Snapchat for more serious and dependable news. In addition, there are a few crown jewels in the combined entity. The digital verticals such as Domain Holding and Car Advice are good and have enduring competitive advantage. Last and very important asset is Stan. The management did get the point. It is all about exclusive content. Building production capability is absolutely necessary for the future of any media assets.The day of cut and paste or buy and redistribute is over. If you are in the distribution game only, without scale you are dead.