Nine Entertainment chief executive Hugh Marks has poured cold water on the possibility of the free-to-air network acquiring a regional television broadcaster should the government be successful in its bid to change media ownership laws.
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Addressing a Senate committee on Friday, Mr Marks said the government's proposed changes to media-ownership regulations were not "critical to our business" rather they were an important first step in a wider examination of media regulations.
Mr Marks said he was sceptical of a M&A flurry if there were a removal of the reach rule – which prevents TV networks from broadcasting to more than 75 per cent of the population – and a lifting of the "two out of three rule", which prevents media companies from owning a TV station, radio network and newspaper in the same market.
"I don't know if they will be a rush of mergers and acquisitions ... my focus is [on being] a content business ... as a content business the platform becomes less relevant," Mr Marks said.
Acquiring a regional broadcaster in that circumstance could add "perhaps very little".
"I don't see it high on our priority list," Mr Marks said.
He noted that Nine supports the changes the government is proposing as an "important first step" in a pathway to wider regulation changes.
He advocated for the change of quotas of things such as children's content, which Mr Marks admitted Nine does not make a profit from.
"Unfortunately kids are not watching our kids content on our kids platforms....we spending quite a bit of money on it ... but we probably allocate that money to thinly across too many hours," he said.
Instead, Mr Marks said by reducing the quotas, the metro broadcaster could put the funds into fewer, but higher quality children's shows.
Network Ten chief executive Paul Anderson, who also spoke to senators, also supported the government's changes as the first step in more holistic media deregulation.
"Our market is changing so rapidly, the current laws we have constrain the three offline players we have [TV, radio and newspapers] ... we have to be able to have the ability to configure our businesses in the changing dynamics," Mr Anderson said.
The changes were also supported by Greg Hywood, chief executive of Fairfax Media, which owns The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, who said the status quo was providing significant advantages to global players who were not restricted by media laws.
"Let's get cracking and get something done now, we're not against further consideration or further reform," Mr Hywood said.
"We need to make sure that the gathering of news and information is economically viable in its own right. The greater the value of media companies and more they can monetise that content ... the better the environment to expand employment."
Mr Hywood said the changes the government was proposing would have been more relevant 10 years ago, a point that was backed up by News Corporation Australia executive chairman Michael Miller.
"In terms of urgency, in many ways we're too late ... we're supportive of the legislation, we do feel that it hasn't go far enough, our position is that we get on with this and more," Mr Miller said.
Mr Miller said he believed that all cross-media and ownership laws should be removed.
He also reiterated News Corp's call to review the anti-siphoning list, which gives free-to-air broadcasters first rights to bid on the sports listed. News Corp is a 50 per cent owner of pay TV business Foxtel.
Mr Miller called the anti-siphoning regime "anti-competitive" and "world's worst practice". He also rejected the notion that any deal had been done for a later review on anti-siphoning in return for News Corp's support for the current media laws changes being proposed.
"News Corp has received no deals, no promises, no winks or a nod."
