Media Studies (9257) | Ownership and Media Production

Welcome to Media Industries: Ownership and Production!

Hello! This chapter is incredibly important because it moves beyond just looking at the finished movie or magazine. We are going to become detectives, investigating the companies behind the media we consume: who owns them, how they make money, and who controls the content.

Understanding Ownership and Production (Section 3.5.3.1 of your syllabus) helps you figure out why media looks the way it does. If a company is focused purely on profit, will they take creative risks? If the government owns the news, how objective will the reporting be? Let’s dive in!

💡 Quick Review: What is a Media Industry?

A media industry is any organisation involved in the production, distribution, and circulation of media forms (like film, print, audio, or e-media) and their platforms.

Part 1: The Giants of Media – Ownership Structures (3.5.3.1)

The first thing we need to understand is that media production today is often dominated by large, powerful organisations, not just small, independent studios.

1.1. Concentration of Ownership and Conglomerates

Think about your phone – it probably contains apps owned by a handful of enormous companies (Google, Meta, Apple). This pattern is called Concentration of Ownership.

• Concentration of Ownership: This happens when fewer and fewer companies own more and more of the media market. Instead of 100 different companies owning 100 TV stations, maybe one company owns 80 of them.
  Why it matters: This often leads to reduced competition and a less diverse range of voices or viewpoints.
• Conglomerate Ownership: A single, massive corporation that owns many smaller companies (subsidiaries) that operate in different, often unrelated, areas of the media or other industries.
  Analogy: Imagine a parent company like a massive umbrella. Under this umbrella, they own film studios, theme parks, TV networks, and even cruise ships.

Did you know? The Walt Disney Company is a classic example of a conglomerate, owning subsidiaries across film (Marvel, Lucasfilm), television (ABC, ESPN), and streaming (Disney+).

1.2. How Media Companies Grow: Integration Strategies

Conglomerates don't just happen; they grow through strategic acquisitions (buying other companies). The syllabus requires you to know two main ways they integrate their businesses:

A. Vertical Integration: Controlling the Chain

This is when a company owns multiple stages of the production and distribution process for a single product. Think of it as controlling the journey from start to finish.

• Steps: Production (making the product) → Distribution (getting it to the market) → Exhibition/Circulation (selling or showing it).
• The Advantage: If a film studio (Production) owns its own streaming service (Distribution/Exhibition), it guarantees that its products will be shown, cutting out the middleman and keeping 100% of the profit.
• Example: If Paramount Pictures produces a film and then releases it exclusively on its own streaming service, Paramount+.

B. Horizontal Integration: Controlling the Market

This is when a company buys competitors who operate at the same stage of the production process, but across different media forms.

• The Goal: To dominate a specific stage (like distribution) across many platforms. It reduces competition.
• Example: A newspaper group buys a magazine publisher and a book publisher. They are all involved in print production (the ‘horizontal’ stage), but in different formats.

1.3. Diversification

Diversification means moving into new areas of business that are different from the company’s original purpose. This is a key strategy for media conglomerates to survive if one sector starts struggling.

• Example: A television company (like the BBC) creating merchandise (toys, clothes) for its popular shows, or launching educational websites. It expands their revenue streams.

1.4. Media Barons and Ownership Types

The syllabus highlights the role and power of ‘media barons’ – influential individuals who control large media empires. Because they control so much content, they have significant political and cultural power, often influencing public opinion and political outcomes (e.g., Rupert Murdoch and News Corp).

We also differentiate between types of ownership based on who holds the control and where the money comes from:

• Private or Commercial Ownership: Companies owned by individuals or shareholders whose primary goal is profit (e.g., Netflix, Warner Bros.).
• Public Ownership (State Funded): Media funded and owned by the government or the state, usually with a public service remit (a duty to inform, educate, and entertain).
  Example: The BBC in the UK, funded mainly by the license fee, is mandated to provide impartial news and high-quality, diverse programming.

Key Takeaway for Ownership: Large-scale strategies like Vertical Integration and Conglomerate Ownership reduce risk and increase profit, but they can limit diversity and give huge power to a few key individuals (Media Barons).

Part 2: The Blurring Lines – Convergence and Globalisation

The modern media landscape is constantly shifting, primarily driven by technology. Two key processes are Convergence and Globalisation.

2.1. Convergence (3.5.3.2)

Convergence refers to the merging or blending of previously separate media forms, platforms, and industries, often due to digitalisation.

• Cross-Media Ownership: When one company owns platforms across different types of media (e.g., owning a newspaper, a radio station, and a streaming site). This makes content easily shareable and reusable.
• Content, Network, and Platform Convergence:
  • Content: A movie trailer (video content) being viewed on a laptop, a mobile, and a smart TV.
  • Platform: Your mobile phone handles calls (audio), websites (e-media/print), and video streaming (film/video).
• Mergers, Demergers, Takeovers: These are the business actions that cause convergence. A merger is when two companies combine (like WarnerMedia and Discovery becoming Warner Bros. Discovery). A takeover is when one company buys another.

Don’t worry if this seems tricky at first! Convergence just means that everything is now interconnected. The music you listen to, the news you read, and the shows you watch all flow through the same wires and devices.

2.2. Globalisation (3.5.3.3)

Globalisation is the process by which media production and consumption become increasingly multinational. Media products are now designed to be consumed across borders and continents.

• Multinational Nature of Production: Instead of a local film studio, a global media conglomerate (like Netflix) produces content in dozens of countries and distributes it simultaneously worldwide.
• Cultural Imperialism: This is a critical concept where powerful nations (often the US/Hollywood) export their cultural products globally, potentially damaging or displacing local cultures and media industries in smaller nations.
  Example: The dominance of US-made films in European or Asian cinemas, making it harder for local films to gain market share.
• International Agreements: Globalisation relies on agreements (or disagreements) between nations regarding trade freedom, copyrights, and content regulation, which affects how media products can be traded and sold globally.

Key Takeaway for Convergence and Globalisation: Technology has flattened the world (Globalisation) and merged the ways we access media (Convergence), making conglomerates immensely powerful internationally.

Part 3: Show Me the Money – Funding and Regulation (3.5.3.4)

Every media product needs money (funding) and rules (regulation) to exist. These factors heavily influence the content itself.

3.1. Funding Models (Where the Money Comes From)

The way a product is funded directly affects its goals and content. Is the goal to please the taxpayer, the advertiser, or the subscriber?

• Advertising: Money generated by selling commercial time or space alongside the content (e.g., TV commercials, banner ads on websites).
• Sponsorship: When a brand pays to be associated with a programme or event (e.g., “The X-Factor, brought to you by [Brand Name]”).
• Product Placement: When specific branded products are deliberately included within the content itself (e.g., a character visibly using a specific smartphone brand in a movie).
• Subscription: Audiences pay a recurring fee for access (e.g., Spotify Premium, newspaper digital subscriptions, Netflix).
• Direct Sales: Money from selling the media product directly (e.g., cinema tickets, purchasing a physical newspaper, or buying a video game outright).
• Franchising: Selling the right to use the brand, concepts, or characters, often generating huge profit from spin-offs, sequels, and merchandise. (Think of how much money the James Bond ‘franchise’ makes outside of the films themselves.)

3.2. Regulation (The Rules of the Game)

Regulation is the set of rules or laws that media industries must follow. This usually involves balancing freedom of expression with the need to protect society (e.g., from harmful content, or from monopolies).

A. State Regulation and Self-Regulation

• State Regulation: Rules imposed by the government or a regulatory body created by the state (e.g., Ofcom regulating UK broadcasting). This can cover issues like impartiality, taste, decency, and competition.
• Self-Regulation: When the industry polices itself, often through internal codes of practice or voluntary bodies (e.g., the press complaints body or the voluntary movie ratings board).
• Deregulation: The process of removing or reducing state regulation and control over media industries, usually in the belief that increased competition is better for the consumer.

B. Current Issues in Regulation

• International Agreements: Media often crosses borders, requiring international discussions on issues like copyright, piracy, and harmful content (e.g., treaties protecting intellectual property).
• Platform Responsibilities: With the rise of the internet, a huge focus is on the responsibilities of platform owners (ISPs, social networks like X/Twitter, TikTok) for the content uploaded by users. Should these platforms be regulated like traditional publishers?