Cross media ownership refers to large media companies owning properties across multiple channels like TV, film, magazines and news. Since the 1980s, media companies have merged and consolidated due to changing economic and technological conditions. This has led to fewer but larger media producers that can leverage resources across their different properties. While this allows for reduced costs, wider distribution and business security, it also concentrates media power in fewer hands and raises issues around privacy, information control and loss of individual media text branding.

1. Cross Media
Ownership

2. What is Media Ownership?
• All Media products are owned by a
particular producer.
• Bauer produce Heat magazine
• News Corporation produce The Sun
• New Line Cinema produced Lord of
the Rings

3. Legal Ownership
• Each of these producers has legal ownership
of the particular media text they produce
• This means that they profit from the
distribution of the media text.
• They are also legally responsible for its
content (complaints, regulation, legal action)

4. Historical Media Ownership
• Historically, Media ownership was reasonably
restricted
• Media producers tended to stick to one
channel of distribution (film, TV, radio,
magazine)
• The producers were smaller, specialist
companies

5. 1980s – What changed?
• Since the 1980s, the world economic climate
has altered rapidly, with companies either
merging or being taken over by other
companies with similar interests.
• This happened in all industries and not just
Media.
• Bigger companies = bigger profits

6. 1980s onwards Media
• As well as the economic changes, the Media
industry has changed rapidly in the last 20
years.
• Since the late 1980s, the technology available
to distribute Media texts has exploded.
• This has impacted upon the companies that
produce these texts.

7. 1980s onwards Media
• To take advantage of the changing technology,
Media companies have seen a significant
amount of merger, takeover and buyout.
• IPC now owned by Time Warner (originally 2
companies, Time and Warner Brothers)
• New Line Cinema now owned by Disney

8. Cross Media Ownership
• As a result of the size of the companies which
now operate, they are able to diversify into
more than one Media area.
• IPC – Film/Magazine/News/TV
• The term to describe this is CROSS MEDIA
OWNERSHIP

9. Cross Media Ownership - Advantages
• 1) Reduced Costs – big companies have more
purchasing power (think Tesco) and produce
products at a reduced cost.
• They can then either pass on this reduction to
the consumer or increase their profit margins.
• 2) Synergy – they are able to pool the
resources of the underlying companies to
produce a better product at a reduced cost

10. Cross Media Ownership - Advantages
• 3) Wider distribution – the markets into which
the media text can be distributed are
increased – bigger audience = bigger profit
• 4) Business Security – the diversity of the
products on offer increases the security of the
business – one market fails, can focus on
another – think Sony

11. Cross Media Ownership – Disadvantages –
Media Power
• The Media is very persuasive – much of this
persuasive power lies in the hands of fewer
producers. Bias and partiality severely
restricted.
• Campaign for Press Freedom: ‘When media
are concentrated in the hands of powerful
proprieters deep damage can be inflicted on
democratic societies.’

12. Cross Media Ownership – Disadvantages –
Media Power
• The issue was again raised in parliament in 2008
when a Lords Select Committee investigates these
concerns.
• They concluded that ‘It is possible for one voice to
become too powerful’ and that any future mergers
need to be carefully scrutinised by the government.
• They also insisted that the current system of
regulation remain to protect media recipients.
• Many believe little has changed.

13. Cross Media Ownership – other
disadvantages
• Privacy – massive databases of personal information
• Flow of Information – information providers control
selection, organisation and flow of information.
• Time Warner own 1,000,000,000 Google shares.
Google own You Tube. ITV own Facebook.
• Branding – media texts become part of a brand and
lose their individual status.

14. Cross Media Ownership
Conclusion
• There are both advantages and disadvantages
of this global change.
• What is clear is that change is happening
NOW.
• TASK = Rewrite your Ownership section of
your Learned Response now to take into
account what you have learnt today.