Media conglomerate
Encyclopedia
A media conglomerate, media group or media institution is a company
that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media
such as television
, radio
, publishing
, movies, and the Internet
. Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe.
As of 2010, in terms of revenue, the Walt Disney Company is the world's largest media conglomerate, with News Corporation
, Time Warner
, CBS Corporation
and Viacom
completing the top 5, respectively. Other major players are NBCUniversal, and Sony Corporation of America
.
is, by definition, a large company that consists of divisions of seemingly unrelated businesses.
It is questionable whether media companies are unrelated, . The trend has been strongly for the sharing of various kinds of content (news, film and video, music for example). The media sector is tending to consolidate, and formerly diversified companies may appear less so as a result. Therefore, the term media group may also be applied, however it has not so far replaced the more traditional term.
, and refusing to publicize or deem "newsworthy" information that would be harmful to their other interests, and of contributing to the merging of entertainment and news (sensationalism
) at the expense of tough coverage of serious issues. They are also accused of being a leading force for the standardization of culture
(see globalization
, Americanization
), and they are a frequent target of criticism by various groups which often perceive the news organizations as being bias
ed toward special interests.
There is also the issue of concentration of media ownership
, reducing diversity
in both ownership and programming (TV shows and radio shows). There is also a strong trend in the U.S. for conglomerates to eliminate localism in broadcasting
, instead using broadcast automation
and voice tracking, sometimes from another city in another state. Some radio stations use prepackaged and generic
satellite-fed programming with no local content, except the insertion
of radio ads.
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
such as television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, publishing
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
, movies, and the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets across the globe.
As of 2010, in terms of revenue, the Walt Disney Company is the world's largest media conglomerate, with News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
, CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
and Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
completing the top 5, respectively. Other major players are NBCUniversal, and Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America , based in New York, is the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. It is the umbrella company under which all Sony companies operate in the United States....
.
Terminology
A conglomerateConglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
is, by definition, a large company that consists of divisions of seemingly unrelated businesses.
It is questionable whether media companies are unrelated, . The trend has been strongly for the sharing of various kinds of content (news, film and video, music for example). The media sector is tending to consolidate, and formerly diversified companies may appear less so as a result. Therefore, the term media group may also be applied, however it has not so far replaced the more traditional term.
Criticism
Critics have accused the larger conglomerates of dominating media, especially newsNews
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
, and refusing to publicize or deem "newsworthy" information that would be harmful to their other interests, and of contributing to the merging of entertainment and news (sensationalism
Sensationalism
Sensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...
) at the expense of tough coverage of serious issues. They are also accused of being a leading force for the standardization of culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
(see globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, Americanization
Americanization
Americanization is the influence of the United States on the popular culture, technology, business practices, or political techniques of other countries. The term has been used since at least 1907. Inside the U.S...
), and they are a frequent target of criticism by various groups which often perceive the news organizations as being bias
Bias
Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
ed toward special interests.
There is also the issue of concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
, reducing diversity
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
in both ownership and programming (TV shows and radio shows). There is also a strong trend in the U.S. for conglomerates to eliminate localism in broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, instead using broadcast automation
Broadcast automation
Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator...
and voice tracking, sometimes from another city in another state. Some radio stations use prepackaged and generic
Generic
Generic or Generics may refer to:* Generic mood, a grammatical mood used to make generalized statements like Snow is white* Generic antecedents, referents in linguistic contexts, which are classes...
satellite-fed programming with no local content, except the insertion
Local insertion
In broadcasting, local insertion is the act or capability of a broadcast television station, radio station, or cable TV system to insert or replace part of a broadcast network feed with content unique to the local station or system...
of radio ads.
Media Deregulation: Integrating Film and Television
Media companies have thought of a way to reconstruct and enlarge their company, beyond the traditional operational methods. Often the television networks are part of the film studios, thus having a link to the company. Often there is a grand mixture of these companies working in all aspects of the media conglomerates that own numerous amounts of networks and studios. These small little companies are partly owned by these mass media companies, such as Hollywood film industry is controlled by six firms: Disney, National Amusements, News Corporation, and Time Warner, General Electric and Sony’s entertainment stretch across the film and television industries.Examples
Some of the most well-known media conglomerates include:- ABS-CBN Corporation
- Advance PublicationsAdvance PublicationsAdvance Publications, Inc., is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse, Jr. It is named after the Staten Island Advance, the first newspaper owned by the Newhouse family...
- American Media
- BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
- Bell Media (owned by Bell Canada Enterprises)
- BeloBeloBelo Corp. is a Dallas-based media company that owns 20 commercial broadcasting television stations and two regional 24-hour cable news television channels. The company was previously known as A.H. Belo Corp. after one of the early owners of the company, Alfred Horatio Belo, now the name of the...
- BertelsmannBertelsmannBertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers , which makes it the most international media corporation in the world. In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated...
- Bonnier
- Cablevision
- Clear Channel CommunicationsClear Channel CommunicationsClear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
- CBS CorporationCBS CorporationCBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...
(owned by National AmusementsNational AmusementsNational Amusements, Inc. is a privately owned theatre company based in Dedham, Massachusetts, USA. The company was founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone....
alongside Viacom) - ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
(both through its own media assets & NBCUniversal, co-owned with GE) - Discovery CommunicationsDiscovery CommunicationsDiscovery Communications, Inc. is an American global media and entertainment company. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel. Today, DCI has global operations offering 28 network entertainment brands on more than 100 channels in more than 180 countries in 39...
- E. W. Scripps CompanyE. W. Scripps CompanyThe E. W. Scripps Company is an American media conglomerate founded by Edward W. Scripps on November 2, 1878. The company is headquartered inside the Scripps Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its corporate motto is "Give light and the people will find their own way."On October 16, 2007, the company...
- FininvestFininvestFininvest is a financial holding company controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi.-Structure:...
- Gannett CompanyGannett CompanyGannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
- GMA Network, Inc.GMA Network, Inc.Global Media Arts Network Inc. is a multimedia entertainment conglomerate, incorporated on March 1, 1950 in the Philippines. Its main businesses are into television and radio distribution, program production, and other media related industry...
- Grupo AbrilGrupo AbrilGrupo Abril is the second largest Brazilian media conglomerate with its headquarter in São Paulo. The group is the holding company of Editora Abril, who publishes the weekly newsmagazine Veja....
- Grupo ClarínGrupo ClarínGrupo Clarín is the largest media conglomerate of Argentina.-Overview:Established as such in 1999, it includes the Clarín newspaper , Papel Prensa , the Artear media company, and numerous other media outlets.Rooted in the successful, 1945 launch of the centrist daily,...
- Grupo PRISA
- Grupo Televisa
- Hearst CorporationHearst CorporationThe Hearst Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in the Hearst Tower, Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. Founded by William Randolph Hearst as an owner of newspapers, the company's holdings now include a wide variety of media...
- Hubbard Broadcasting
- ION Media NetworksION Media NetworksION Media Networks is an American television broadcasting company that owns and operates over 60 television stations in most major American markets. It is now a privately owned company.-History:...
(co-owned by Avenue Capital, Black Diamond Capital, & Trilogy Capital) - Jim Pattison GroupJim Pattison GroupThe Jim Pattison Group is Canada’s third largest privately held company and, in a recent survey by the Financial Post, The Jim Pattison Group was ranked as Canada’s 62nd largest company. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur is the Chairman, President, CEO, and sole owner of the Jim Pattison...
- Lagardère Active (owned by Lagardère GroupLagardère GroupLagardère is a French-based multinational conglomerate headquartered in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The group once covered a broad range of industries but is now largely focused on the media sector, in which it is one of the world’s leading companies...
) - Liberty MediaLiberty MediaLiberty Media Corporation is an American media conglomerate and the control is exercised by company Chairman John C. Malone, who owns a majority of the voting shares....
- NBCUniversal (co-owned by General ElectricGeneral ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
& Comcast) - The New York Times CompanyThe New York Times CompanyThe New York Times Company is an American media company best known as the publisher of its namesake, The New York Times. Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. has served as Chairman of the Board since 1997. It is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City....
- News CorporationNews CorporationNews Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
- Next MediaNext MediaNext Media Limited , founded by serial entrepreneur Jimmy Lai, has more than 3,600 employees and is the largest-listed media company in Hong Kong....
- Organizações GloboOrganizações GloboOrganizações Globo is the largest media conglomerate of South America, founded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1925 by Irineu Marinho. It also owns companies on the food industry and the real estate and financial markets....
- Postmedia NetworkPostmedia NetworkPostmedia Network Canada Corp. is a Canadian media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news gathering and Internet operations....
- Quebecor Media
- Rogers CommunicationsRogers CommunicationsRogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
- SchibstedSchibstedSchibsted is a Norwegian media conglomerate with operations in 20 countries, the most important being Norway and Sweden. The company has its headquarters in Oslo, Norway and is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange....
- Shaw CommunicationsShaw CommunicationsShaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
- Sinclair Broadcast GroupSinclair Broadcast GroupThe Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
- Sony Corporation of AmericaSony Corporation of AmericaSony Corporation of America , based in New York, is the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. It is the umbrella company under which all Sony companies operate in the United States....
(owned by SonySony, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
) - Sun-Times Media GroupSun-Times Media GroupSun-Times Media Group is a Chicago-based newspaper publisher. It is known for its prior association with controversial Canadian businessman Conrad Black.-History:...
- Time WarnerTime WarnerTime Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
- The Times GroupThe Times GroupThe Times Group is the largest media conglomerate in India and is headed by brothers Samir and Vineet Jain.The company has eleven publishing centres, fifteen printing centres, fifty-five sales offices, Over 7000 employees, five dailies, including two of the largest in the country with approx 4.3...
(distinct from Times Newspapers of News Corporation) - Tribune CompanyTribune CompanyThe Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
- ViceVice (magazine)VICE is a free magazine and media conglomerate founded in Montreal, Quebec and currently based in New York City.Vice is available in 27 countries...
- ViacomViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
(owned by National Amusements alongside CBS Corporation) - Village Voice Media
- VivendiVivendiVivendi SA is a French international media conglomerate with activities in music, television and film, publishing, telecommunications, the Internet, and video games. It is headquartered in Paris.- History :...
- The Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
- The Washington Post Company
See also
- Conglomerate (company)Conglomerate (company)A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
- Concentration of media ownershipConcentration of media ownershipConcentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
- Media imperialismMedia imperialismMedia imperialism is a theory based upon an over-concentration of mass media from larger nations as a significant variable in negatively affecting smaller nations, in which the national identity of smaller nations is lessened or lost due to media homogeneity inherent in mass media from the larger...
- Media proprietorMedia proprietorA media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in any media enterprise. Those with significant control of a public company in the mass media may also be called "media moguls", "tycoons", "barons", or "bosses".The figure of the media proprietor...
- Lists of corporate assets