Media conglomerate

A media conglomerate, media company, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, video games, amusement parks, or the Internet. Despite ownership over several companies and diverse mediums, by definition, media conglomerates only maintain holdings over media and not other enterprises.[1]

Some media conglomerates use their access in multiple areas to share various kinds of content such as: news, video and music, between users.[2] The media sector's tendency to consolidate has caused formerly diversified companies to appear less diverse to prospective investors in comparison with similar companies that are traded publicly and privately. Therefore, the term media group may also be applied, however, it has not yet replaced the more traditional term.[3]

History

While cross-industry corporate conglomeration began to dominate the market in the mid-twentieth century, with the success of companies like Ling-Temco-Vought, some media companies first began integration in the 1920s.[4] In 1924, The Chicago Tribune bought the WDAP radio station and changed its name to WGN (AM), marking an early example of vertical integration to form a conglomeration.[5] In 1948, the Tribune began WGN-TV, a broadcasting affiliate that operated out of the newspaper's headquarters, further integrating the conglomerate into numerous enterprises within the media industry.[6]

Following the first instances of media conglomeration, the federal government under President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1934. The FCC, created under the Communications Act of 1934, consolidated transferred ownership of radio and public broadcasting to the federal government.[7]

Criticism

Critics have accused the large media conglomerates of dominating the media and using unfair practices. During a protest in November 2007, critics such as Jesse Jackson spoke out against consolidation of the media.[16] This can be seen in the news industry, where corporations refuse to publicize information that would be harmful to their interests. Because some corporations do not publish any material that criticizes them or their interests, media conglomerates have been criticized for limiting free speech or not protecting free speech.[17] These practices are also suspected of contributing to the merging of entertainment and news (sensationalism[18]) at the expense of the coverage of serious issues. They are also accused of being a leading force behind the standardization of culture (see globalization,[17] Americanization) and are frequently criticized by groups that perceive news organizations as being biased toward special interests of the owners.[17]

Examples by country

In the 2025 Forbes Global 2000 list, Comcast is the world's largest media conglomerate, in terms of revenue, with The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Global completing the top four.[25]

In 1984, fifty independent media companies owned the majority of media interests within the United States. By 2011, 90% of the United States's media was controlled by six media conglomerates: GE/Comcast (NBC, Universal), News Corp (Fox News, Wall Street Journal, New York Post), Disney (ABC, ESPN, Pixar), Viacom (MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures), Time Warner (CNN, HBO, Warner Bros.), and CBS (Showtime, NFL.com).[26][27]

In 1941, the Federal Communications Commission

See also

• Media imperialism
• Media proprietor
• State media
• Multinational corporation
• Lists of corporate assets
• Dispersal of ownership