Media conglomerate
A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According to the magazine The Nation, "Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets around the world."[1]
Terminology
A conglomerate is a large company composed of a number of smaller companies (subsidiaries) engaged in generally unrelated businesses.
Some media conglomerates use their access in multiple areas to share various kinds of content such as: news, video and music, between users. The media sector's tendency to consolidate has caused formerly diversified companies to appear less diverse to prospective investors in comparison with similar companies that are traded publicly and privately. Therefore, the term media group may also be applied, however, it has not yet replaced the more traditional term.[2]
Criticism
Critics have accused the large media conglomerates of dominating the media and using unfair practices. During a protest in November 2007, critics such as Jesse Jackson spoke out against consolidation of the media.[3] This can be seen in the news industry, where corporations refuse to publicize information that would be harmful to their interests. Because some corporations do not publish any material that criticizes them or their interests, media conglomerates have been criticized for limiting free speech or not protecting free speech.[4] These practices are also suspected of contributing to the merging of entertainment and news (sensationalism[5]) at the expense of the coverage of serious issues. They are also accused of being a leading force behind the standardization of culture (see globalization,[4] Americanization) and are frequently criticized by groups that perceive news organizations as being biased toward special interests of the owners.[4]
Because these conglomerates have so much power and influence, critics bring up the question of whether that amount of power is justifiable. It can and is easily abused. Some wonder if it's better to lessen the amount of conglomerates to reduce the likeliness of unfair practices.[4]
There is also criticism that the concentration of media ownership reduces diversity in both ownership and programming of TV shows and radio programs. Because there are fewer independent media, there is less diversity in news and entertainment and therefore less competition. This can result in the reduction of different points of view as well as vocalization about different issues.[6] There is also a lack of ethnic and gender diversity as a majority of those in media are white, middle-class men. There is a concern that their views are being shared disproportionately more than other groups, such as women and ethnic minorities.[7] Women and minorities also have less ownership of media.[7] Women have less than 7 percent of TV and radio licenses, and minorities have around 7 percent of radio licenses and 3 percent of TV licenses.[8]
Examples by country
In the 2020 Forbes Global 2000 list, AT&T was America's largest media conglomerate, in terms of revenue, with Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, & ViacomCBS (controlled by National Amusements through supervoting shares) completing the top four.[9][10]
In 1984, fifty independent media companies owned the majority of media interests within the United States. By 2011, 90% of the United States's media was controlled by six media conglomerates: GE/Comcast (NBC, Universal), News Corp (Fox News, Wall Street Journal, New York Post) Disney (ABC, ESPN, Pixar), Viacom (MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures), Time Warner (CNN, HBO, Warner Bros.) and CBS (Showtime, NFL.com).[11][12]
Between 1941 and 1975, several laws that restricted channel ownership within radio and television were enacted in order to maintain unbiased and diverse media. However under the Reagan administration, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, then led by FCC Chairman Mark S. Fowler, began a concerted deregulation over the years 1981 and 1985. The number of television stations a single entity can own increased from seven to 12 stations.
The industry continued to deregulate with enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Signed by President Bill Clinton on 8 February 1996, it was considered by the FCC to be the "first major overhaul of telecommunications law in almost 62 years".[13] In the radio industry, the 40-station ownership cap was lifted, leading to an unprecedented amount of consolidation. Since this period, Clear Channel Communications grew from 40 stations to 1200 stations, in all 50 states, while Viacom grew to owning 180 stations across 41 markets.
As media consolidation grew, some in the nation began to speculate how it might negatively impact society at large. In the case of Minot, North Dakota,[14] the concerns regarding media consolidation is realized. On 18 January 2002, a train containing hazardous chemicals derailed in the middle of the night, exposing countless Minot residents to toxic waste. Upon trying to get out an emergency broadcast, the Minot police were unable to reach anyone. They were instead forwarded to the same automated message, as all the broadcast stations in Minot were single-handedly owned by Clear Channel Communications. As the FCC reviews media ownership rules, broadcasters continued to petition it for the elimination of all rules, while those who are against this easing would often cite the incident in Minot as how consolidation could be harmful.
Like the United States, Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand[15] also experience the concentration of multiple media enterprises in a few companies. This concentration is an ongoing concern for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the Philippine National Telecommunications Commission, and New Zealand's Broadcasting Standards Authority. Other countries that have large media conglomerates with impacts on the world include: Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, China, and Brazil. Media conglomerates outside of the United States include Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, ProSiebenSat.1, Hubert Burda Meda, Fuji Media Holdings, ITV, Mediaset, Axel Springer, JCDecaux, China Central Television, ABS-CBN Corporation, GMA Network, Inc., Asahi Shimbun Company, Grupo Globo, Baidu, and Bertelsmann.[16]
United States
Notes:
- Although Hulu is now fully controlled by Disney after Comcast relinquished its control, Comcast still owned 33% stakes of Hulu as a silent partner with their agreement for Disney to purchase the ownership stakes of Comcast in Hulu by 2024.[21]
International
References
- Moglen, Eben, Michael Pertschuck, and Scott Sherman, (1999). "Editorials" (Nation, 269: 18). p. 12. ISSN 0027-8378
- "A distinction between Business Groups and Conglomerates:The Limited Liability Effect". SSRN Electronic Journal 01/2009; DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.134299. 1 January 2009. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
- "Critics Turn Out To Protest Media Consolidation". The Washington Post and Times-Herald. 1 November 2007. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 5 August 2018.
- Stoll, Mary Lyn (June 2006). "Infotainment and the Moral Obligations of the Multimedia Conglomerate". Journal of Business Ethics. 66 (2–3).
- Kenix, Linda Jean. "Independent Websites Not So Different from Group-Owned". Newspaper Research Journal. 35 (2).
- Shah, Anup. "Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership". Global Issues.
- Gamson, Joshua; Latteier, Pearl. "Do media monsters devour diversity?". 3 (3). Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - "Diversity in Media Ownership". Free Press. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- "Global 2000 - The World's Largest Public Companies 2020". Forbes.
- Finke, Nikki (16 April 2013). "21st Century Fox Is Rupert Murdoch's Renamed Entertainment Giant "To Take Us Into Future"". Deadline Hollywood.
- Lutz, Ashley (14 June 2012). "These 6 Corporations Control 90% of the Media in America". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- "Timeline". Moyers on America. PBS. 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "Telecommunications Act of 1986". Federal Communications Commission. FCC. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Fisher, Marc. "Sounds Familiar for a Reason". The Washington Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Hope, Wayne; Myllylahti, Merja. "Financialisation of Media Ownership in New Zealand". New Zealand Sociology. 28 (3).
- O'Reilly, Lara. "The 30 Biggest Media Companies in the World". Business Insider.
- "Holdings by Industry". AccessIndustries.com. Access Industries. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
- Hipes, Patrick (18 April 2017). "Len Blavatnik's Access Acquires RatPac Entertainment Stake". Deadline.
- "Amedia | Access Industries".
- "Blavatnik Increases Stake in RGE Media Group". Haaretz. 30 April 2010.
- Sherman, Lauren Feiner,Christine Wang,Alex (14 May 2019). "Disney to take full control over Hulu, Comcast has option to sell its stake in 5 years". CNBC. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- Williams, Christopher (20 August 2016). "Blavatnik's Perform Group rebuffs tech investors to build 'Netflix for sport'". The Telegraph.
- "Perform | Access Industries". Archived from the original on 27 June 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- "NBCUniversal's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "Disney's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "Viacom's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "CBS's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitionswebsite=owler.com". Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "Warner Media's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- Discovery, Inc. 2018 10-K (PDF) (Report). p. 39.
- "Hasbro's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- "Sony Pictures's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- "Sony/ATV's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- "Sony Music's Competitors, Revenue, Number of Employees, Funding and Acquisitions". owler.com. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
- "Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. (TV)". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- "The BCCL empire—towering over the competition". www.thehoot.org/. Retrieved 27 July 2018.