Maybe he meant that Star Trek would not have continued without the popularity of Star Wars?
I mean, Star Trek was having a hard time getting off the ground with Phase II. But the popularity of Star Wars put Paramount in a position to to take a shot at the Motion Picture. Which lead to many more sequels, spin off TV shows and a rebooted movie franchise. Though it is interesting to note that the 1979 Motion Picture was mostly inspired by Space Odyssey 2001. Though the second movie took more of a Star Wars approach with Wrath of Khan, and ILM even did the effects for it.
Star Trek's fandom after its cancellation and through the '70s was sort of the prototype for modern fandoms.
But no, you can't carry a franchise on fanboys alone. (Which is something everyone who screeches "But what about my CHILDHOOD?" needs to learn.)
Star Trek conventions were Comic-Con before Comic-Con was cool. Just about everything that you can think of that came out of Star Trek conventions got assimilated into modern fandom culture. Cos play, panels, cast and crew signings/ ask me anythings, and so on. The fan base did keep Star Trek alive in the 1970's, but Star Wars made it a viable option again.