Industries: Ownership and control blog tasks

 Media conglomerate research

1) Type up your research notes from the lesson - what did you find out about your allocated media conglomerate? Selection of companies: Alphabet, The Walt Disney Company, National Amusements, Meta, News Corp, Time Warner, Comcast. If you were absent or didn't have time in the lesson to make these notes, research any one of the companies above and find examples of all the terminology outlined in the notes at the start of this blogpost.

Name of media conglomerate: Disney

Conglomerate ownership: History, Pixar, National Geographic, ABC, ESPN

Vertical integration: Pixar

Horizontal integration: Marvel

Convergence: Mickey Mouse

Synergy:20 Century Fox

Diversification: Disney+

 

Cross-media regulation: Disney and DeSantis

1) Briefly describe the production, promotion and distribution process for media companies.

The production process provides audiences with the media products they want. It needs to consider the audience’s desires and should provide the gratifications the audience expects.

The promotion process researches and identifies the target audience for the product, and uses advertising and marketing strategies to inform and persuade them of the value of the media product.

The distribution process uses the most appropriate methods for getting the product to the audience and making it as easy as possible for them to access it.

2) What are the different funding models for media institutions?

- Licence fee paid by the public

- Fees paid by advertisers buying advertising space on the channel

- Income is generated by subscription fees and advertising revenue

- Sale of advertising space

3) The article gives a lot of examples of major media brands and companies. Choose three examples from the article and summarise what the writer is saying about each of them.

Disney: Disney is known as a family-friendly brand that focuses on children’s entertainment, specifically animation. They have used a number of iconic logos (Mickey Mouse, the dream castle) to build brand recognition across its products.

Marvel: Marvel Studios is owned by Disney yet has a distinctive branding that separates it from Disney media to audiences. Marvel is tied to the superhero genre and while its movies and shows contain violence, they still reaffirm mainstream values around duty and the need for the strong to protect the weak. 

 

The BBC: The BBC is funded by a licence fee and it has a public service remit, it is more likely to screen programmes with a regional interest than other broadcasters. The BBC is reconsidering its funding structure now on-demand viewing is becoming more popular.

4) What examples are provided of the new business models media companies have had to adopt due to changes in technology and distribution?

- The music industry can no longer generate most of its profits through the sale of music itself, so other ways to make money such as sponsorship, merchandising, and the income generated by live shows are used. Music artists sign away the rights to their music and a ‘360 deal’, a contract that gives the record company a percent of all the income generated by them. 

- The film industry has invested huge amounts of money into the advancement of 3D technology to encourage audiences to watch their films in cinemas.

- The BBC is reconsidering its funding structure now that on-demand viewing is more popular.

- Some online newspapers now require audiences to subscribe to access their content or provide premium content to people who pay for their mobile apps.

- Advertisers find it harder to target audiences via traditional media now and instead are relying on the use of data-mining via social media to find their target audiences.

5) Re-read the section on 'The Future'. What examples are discussed of technology companies becoming major media institutions?

- Google now owns YouTube, and has revolutionised the way we access music and moving-image entertainment and information.

- Amazon, Netflix and Yahoo now create their own TV shows, such as Transparent, Orange is the New Black and Community.

- Facebook has bought the virtual reality technology Oculus Rift, one potential benefit for audiences is that it allows users to attend events without leaving their own homes.

6) Do you agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive?

I agree that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive because most audiences are rejecting traditional TV programming, newspapers, and cinemas in favour of on-demand, streaming platforms, and online news websites, and they must adapt to these digital changes in order to make a profit. 

7) How might diversification or vertical integration help companies to survive and thrive in a rapidly changing media landscape? 

Diversification can help a corporation succeed in a fast changing media landscape because if a film is only shown in theatres, it is less likely to generate a profit, but if it is also streamed on other platforms such as Netflix, it can acquire more publicity and maximum profit.

8) How do YOU see the relationship between audience and institution in the future? Will audiences gain increasing power or will the major global media conglomerates maintain their control?

I believe that in the future, viewers will gain more influence because they are required for media corporations to earn a profit. For example, if a company creates a product that is disliked by its target audience, there will be fewer hits and, as a result, no profit.