Refuting the "Content is King, but a King w/o an army is nothing" claim

Just read the statement in the header on Twitter, a quote from some conference or another.

I can understand where they are coming from, as I assume whomever came up with that statement is a developer of apps/technical solutions/whatever. Code, gadgets, widgets, the stuff that will take the story to the audience. Or they are marketers, specialized in the bringing of the story to an audience and engaging said audience.

As a developer in transmedia and cross media, however, I just think that they are missing the point. If there is no content, there is no king. If there is no king, there is no rallying point.

For sure, the Content (or the King) needs an audience (followers). But a truly great story always has an audience. And that audience is the main delivery channel of that story. Ergo - I still believe Content is the most crucial factor in any development process.

My 2 cents, which seem pretty obvious to me; anyone disagree?