Media ownershipin in film industry

1. Media Ownership
Lesson Objectives: To develop your
understanding of media ownership, and be able to
explain the implications for film institutions and
audiences.

2. KEY WORDS – WHICH KEY OWNERSHIP
TERMS ARE DEFINED BELOW?
Two or more types of media
coming together.
Different elements of a company
working together to promote
related products.
The process by which an
increasingly smaller number of
companies own most media
outlets.
A company which produces two
or more types of media.
A large parent company which
owns a range of smaller
companies.
Smaller companies owned by a
parent company.
When the market is dominated by
a small number of companies.

3. KEY WORDS – WHICH KEY OWNERSHIP
TERMS ARE DEFINED BELOW?
Convergence Two or more types of media
coming together.
Synergy Different elements of a company
working together to promote
related products.
Concentration of media
ownership
The process by which an
increasingly smaller number of
companies own most media
outlets.
Cross-media ownership When a company which produces
two or more types of media.
Conglomerate A large parent company which
owns a range of smaller
companies.
Subsidiary Smaller companies owned by a
parent company.
Oligopoly When the market is dominated by
a small number of companies.

4. The American Film Industry
 The American film industry is dominated by The
Big Six film studios.
 Can you name them? What is the
combined North
American market
share of the Big
Six?

5. The American Film Industry
 The American film industry is dominated by The
Big Six film studios.
 Can you name them?
 Warner Brothers
 Paramount
 20th
Century Fox
 Walt Disney Pictures
 Columbia Pictures
 Universal Pictures
What is the
combined North
American market
share of the Big
Six?
90%

6. Who Owns the Big Six?
Warner Bros.
Time Warner (world’s 2nd
largest media
conglomerate)
Paramount
Viacom (4th
largest media conglomerate)
20th
Century Fox
News Corp (3rd
largest media conglomerate)

7. Who Owns the Big Six?
 Walt Disney Pictures
 The Walt Disney Company (world’s largest media
conglomerate)
 Columbia Pictures
 Sony Corporation (5th
largest media
conglomerate)
 Universal Pictures
 GE (2nd
largest company in the world) and
Comcast (largest telecommunications company in
the US)

8. Ownership and the American Film
Industry
 The American film industry is dominated by 6 major
studios, each of which are subsidiaries of major media
conglomerates.
 The American film industry makes more money from
international revenue ($30 billion) than domestic revenue
($10 billion).
 What are the implications of this ownership structure?
 Concentration of media ownership (bias, stealth
marketing)
 Ability to take bigger risks – bigger budgets – spectacle
 Synergy

9. Film and Britain
 The film market in Britain is dominated by
American products.
 American produced films account for 75% of the
total UK box office.
 18 of the top 20 most successful films at the
British box office were produced by the Big Six
studios.
 http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/media/pdf/1/6/The_UK_box

10. Ownership and Globalisation
 One effect of the concentration of media
ownership is that the global media market is
increasingly dominated by a small number of
Western (mostly American) conglomerates.
 Do you think this is a positive or a negative?

11. Ownership and The UK Film Industry
 What are the different types of institutions in the
British film industry?
 Independent companies
 Television Companies
 Government bodies
 Co-productions with Hollywood studios

12. Film 4
 What do you know about Film 4 in relation to:
 The structure of the company
 How it funds and produces films (e.g. Submarine
 How synergy is used

17. ‘THIS IS ENGLAND’
 ‘This is England’ is a good example of an independent
British production.
 It was produced by 7 different companies including
Film Four, the UK Film Council, Warp Films, and
Screen Yorkshire.
 “I forgot when watching Shane Meadows’
moving evocation of skinhead youth This is
England at the London Film Festival, how
culturally specific its opening montage might
seem…What will people outside of Northern
Europe make of the regalia of 1980’s skinheads
from the midlands? Hopefully they will be
intrigued. This Is England made me realise, too,
that some British films are at last doing exactly
what Sight and Sound has campaigned for;
reflecting aspects of British life gain and maybe
suffering the consequences of being harder to
sell abroad.” Nick James, editor of ‘Sight and
Sound’

18.  Discuss the issues raised by media ownership
within a media area you have studied.
 Relevant to the question
 Accurate factual knowledge
 Specific examples
 Terminology
 Personal experience

19. Essay Structure
 Introduction – state your focus, argument, and
case studies.
 Media Ownership – general overview of key
issues relating to the film industry
 American film industry – using Disney to support
points you make explain implications of
ownership on institutions and audiences
 British film industry – contrast British film
industry using examples from Film Four
 Conclusion – sum up your argument, relate to
your own personal experience as a consumer