Global media corporations
Global media corporations
Media technology
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Technology
Printed books
15th century
Newspapers
17th century
Magazines
18th century
Film
c. 1900
The number of platforms has expanded
Music records
c. 1900
rapidly in the last 100 years.
Radio
c. 1920
Global media corporations are usually
Television
1936 (BBC)
Video
1970s
Internet
1990s
Social media
Mid 2000s
Streaming media
Mid 2000s
Information, data and entertainment can be
delivered using different technology
‘platforms’.
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‘multi-platform’, meaning they deliver
content to millions of people (mass media) in
diversified ways
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Date
There are seven main forms of mass media:
Broadcast
Film
Print
Internet
Audio
Video
games
Outdoor
Global media corporations
Global TNCs
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The largest media TNCs are from the USA, and to a lesser extent Europe.
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Many have their roots in Hollywood movies and US television stations, but
have diversified into telephone and internet provision as well as print media.
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Media TNCs with a global reach originate from the Western, capitalist world
and English is their ‘first language’.
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Many operate worldwide in multiple languages.
TimeWarner subsidiary companies
Turner
Broadcasting
System
Warner Bros
Entertainment
Home Box Office
Time Inc
Television production
and broadcasting
Movies
Pay TV
Newspapers, magazine,
news and lifestyle internet
sites
CNN, Cartoon
Network, TNT, TCM
Warner Brothers
pictures
HBO, Cinemax
Time magazine, MarieClaire, Nuts, Fortune
Global media corporations
10 largest global media corporations
TNC
Comcast
USA
2012 revenue
($ billion)
63
Walt Disney Co.
USA
42
Disney, ABC, ESPN, Pixar
News Corporation*
USA
34
Fox, HarperCollins, NatGeo
Time Warner
USA
29
Warner Bros, CNN, HBO
Bertelsmann
Ger.
22
Penguin, RTL, Direct Group
Viacom
USA
14
MTV, Paramount
CBS Corp.
USA
14
CBS, Simon & Schuster
Liberty Media
USA
11
QVC, Barnes & Noble
UK
11
Sky
USA
5
BSkyB
Gannett
Country
Selected brands
NBC, Universal, CNBC
USA Today
*Split in 2013 into News Corp and 21st Century Fox.
Global media corporations
Mergers and acquisitions
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A key feature of the global media
industry since 1980 is the merger of
small companies into larger ones, and
the acquisition of small companies by
large TNCs.
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This has reduced the number of
dominant media TNCs from about 50 in
1980 to around 10 today.
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Small, local, media companies
operating in one language have been
replaced by globally-known brands
operating worldwide in multiple
languages.
Global media corporations
State ownership
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In many countries, some media channels
(especially TV and radio) are state-owned or
state-chartered (like the BBC).
Country
Company (and TV
channel)
France
This reflects the power of mass media
messages, and that governments want to
either control the ‘message’ or at least
broadcast ‘their ‘version’.
France Televisions (France
24)
Qatar
Al Jazeera Media Network
(Al Jazeera English, Al
Jazeera America)
In the globalised era, state-sponsored TV
channels aimed at a worldwide audience are
increasingly available on cable and satellite.
Russia
RIA Novosti (Russia Today /
RT)
Iran
IRIB (Press TV)
Japan
NHK (NHK World)
China
China Central Television
(CCTV-News)
This allows a state-sponsored message to be
transmitted to the widest possible audience
— usually in English and other languages.
Global media corporations
Costs and benefits of global media corporations
Benefits
Costs
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Capable of investing in new technology
and platforms to reach more people
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Local news and content is reduced by
standardised national/global content
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Spread news to areas once isolated
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Large enough to react and report from
anywhere on the globe
All TNCs present a very similar view
worldwide (pro-capitalism, prodemocracy) which stifles debate
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May be a force for freedom and
democracy, and have a role in
uncovering corruption and wrong-doing
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Media content is standardised and
‘dumbed down’ to appeal to a mass
market, reducing choice and innovation