MIGRAIN: Ownership and Control

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, Comcast, 21st Century Fox, Facebook, Viacom, News Corp, Time Warner. If you were absent or don't have the notes, research any of the companies above and find examples of all the terminology outlined in the notes at the start of this blogpost.

Viacom:

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Viacom is home to the world's premier entertainment brands that connect with audiences through compelling content across television, motion picture, online and mobile platforms in over 160 countries and territories. The official Viacom site contains information about our brands and company culture.

With media networks reaching approximately 700 million global subscribers, Viacom's leading brands include MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, BET, CENTRIC, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nick at Nite, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV Land, SPIKE, Tr3s, Paramount Channel and VIVA.

2) Do you agree that governments should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant? Write an argument that looks at both sides of this debate.

I would agree that the government should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant because I think that if one company becomes to powerful then the rest of the companies are not gonna have any chance of selling and making any money in that industry and I think that this would be a bit unfair even on the customers because some customers may not like watching the companies movies because the movie is quite poor but cant really go to another company because there isn't really an alternative option because the rest of the companies cant promote their films due to the power of the top company.
Also, if one company is to powerful there is no point in other new companies entering the industry which means that the competition in the industry will disappear which is quite bad, and I think that other companies need to be given an opportunity because they could gain a lot of power if they promote their business in the right way and create good content which the audience will like which means competition will increase. So, I think that, the government should prevent media conglomerates from becoming too dominant.  

Media Magazine 52 has a good feature on the changing relationship between audiences and institutions in the digital age. Go to our Media Magazine archive, click on MM52 and scroll to page 9 to read the article 'Two Key Concepts: The Relationship Between Audience and Institution'.

3) 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.

4) What the different funding models for media institutions?

ITV relies on income generated by advertisers. This means that appeal to a large audience are seen as more valuable than ones with smaller niche audiences
Sky One needs an income from subscribers and may well invest in programming that attracts a loyal audience, who are more likely to invest in a long term subscription to guarantee early access to the shows they enjoy.
The MailOnline receives more income the longer a reader stays on the site, so stories will feature lots of images and videos, and sensationalised or controversial.
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.

5) 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.

The magazine talks about Disney and how they are a family company and they show films which are animated and on each of their films they have different several logos which means that they can be recognised by different logos and symbols and that is why so many people know them and this is how they gain a lot of power and become very powerful. Besides that they also own other companies.
Marvel is also another company which makes films to do with superheroes and they are a company which makes films for kids and families. Marvel superhero films may well contain lots of violence; but they will also reinforce mainstream values around duty, sacrifice, personal responsibility and the need for the strong to protect the weak.

6) 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 have been sought. Sponsorship, merchandising, and the income generated by live shows are some of the ways it seeks to recoup its investment. Music artists no longer just sign away the rights to their music; a ‘360 deal’ is a contract that gives the record company a percentage of all the income generated by a musical artist. This would include income from live performances, merchandising deals and any other income the musician generates.
The movie industry has invested enormous sums of money into 3D technology, in order to encourage audiences into cinemas.
The BBC is reconsidering its funding structure now on-demand viewing is becoming more popular. • Some online newspapers now require audiences to subscribe to access their content or provide premium content to those who pay for mobile apps.
Advertisers find it harder to target audiences via traditional media (TV and magazines, for example) and alternative strategies are employed, for instance, using targeted marketing based on social media data-mining (see Nick Lacey’s article in this issue), or sponsoring YouTube stars to include their products in their lifestyle blogs.

7) 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, produce and ‘broadcast’ their own TV shows, such as Transparent, Orange is the New Black and Community.
Facebook has bought the virtual reality technology. One potential benefit for audiences is that it allows users to ‘attend’ and ‘experience’ events without leaving their own homes.

8) Do you agree with the view that traditional media institutions are struggling to survive?
I would agree with this statement because I think that some of the media institutions are not adapting with the change in the world of technology and I think that the media institution need to keep up with the technology because the technology is getting more complex and I think that the public think that they would expect more ambitious camera movement and sounds because of the technology being developed and also a very complex setting. This is why some the media institutions wont survive due to there films not being that ambitious and the audience are getting bored of the same dilemmas and setting and sounds which are really not that effective. 

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

Diversification is when a media company branches out into a different area of the industry. For example, many media companies have had to diversify to internet-driven distribution (e.g. streaming) as a result of new and digital media.
I think that, this will help media companies because it will allow the audience to access different platforms so that they can view the movie because some people may not want to pay to watch the movie in the cinema or online so there are other options for them so they can watch the movie which means the company will make more money because lots of people are watching it.  

10) 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 think that the relationship between the audience and the institution will eventually start to get weak because I think that the audiences expectations will be quite high but I think that the films will not really deliver. Due to this happening, I think that the audiences will gain increasing power and the major global media conglomerates maintain their control.