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Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership, also known as media consolidation or media convergence, is a process wherein fewer individuals or organizations control shares of the mass media. Research in the 1990s and early 2000s suggested then-increasing levels of consolidation, with many media industries already highly concentrated where a few companies own much of the market. However, since the proliferation of the Internet, smaller and more diverse new media companies maintain a larger share of the overall market. As a result, many of the references below on this page are of declining relevance in comparison to the influence of digital media companies such as Meta, ByteDance or X.
Globally, some of the largest media conglomerates include Bertelsmann, National Amusements (Paramount Global), Sony Group Corporation, News Corp, Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox Corporation, Hearst Communications, Amazon (Amazon MGM Studios), Grupo Globo (South America), and Lagardère Group.
As of 2025, the largest media conglomerates in terms of revenue are Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Skydance.
Media mergers occur when one media company buys another. In 2008, Joseph Straubhaar, Robert LaRose and Lucinda Davenport described the landscape of corporate media ownership in the United States of America as an oligopoly.
Some believe media integrity to be at risk when ownership of the media market is concentrated. Media integrity refers to the ability of a media outlet to serve the public interest and democratic process, making it resilient to institutional corruption within the media system, economy of influence, conflicting dependence and political clientelism.
Net neutrality is also at stake when media mergers occur. Net neutrality involves a lack of restrictions on content on the internet, however, with big businesses supporting campaigns financially they tend to have influence over political issues, which can translate into their mediums. These big businesses, that also have control over internet usage or the airwaves, could possibly make the content available biased from their political standpoint, or they could restrict usage for conflicting political views, therefore eliminating net neutrality.
Concentration of media ownership is very frequently seen as a problem of contemporary media and society.
Johannes von Dohnanyi, in a 2003 report published by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media, argued market concentration among media—whether driven by domestic or foreign investors—should be "closely monitored" because "Horizontal concentration may cause dangers to media pluralism and diversity, while vertical concentration may result in entry barriers for new competitors." Von Dohnanyi argues that to "safeguard free and independent print media and protect professional journalism as one of the cornerstones of constitutional democracy" there should be standards for editorial independence, better labor protections for professional journalists, and independent institutions "to monitor the implementation and observance of all laws and regulations regarding concentration processes, media pluralism, content diversity and journalistic freedoms."
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Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership, also known as media consolidation or media convergence, is a process wherein fewer individuals or organizations control shares of the mass media. Research in the 1990s and early 2000s suggested then-increasing levels of consolidation, with many media industries already highly concentrated where a few companies own much of the market. However, since the proliferation of the Internet, smaller and more diverse new media companies maintain a larger share of the overall market. As a result, many of the references below on this page are of declining relevance in comparison to the influence of digital media companies such as Meta, ByteDance or X.
Globally, some of the largest media conglomerates include Bertelsmann, National Amusements (Paramount Global), Sony Group Corporation, News Corp, Comcast, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox Corporation, Hearst Communications, Amazon (Amazon MGM Studios), Grupo Globo (South America), and Lagardère Group.
As of 2025, the largest media conglomerates in terms of revenue are Comcast NBCUniversal, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Paramount Skydance.
Media mergers occur when one media company buys another. In 2008, Joseph Straubhaar, Robert LaRose and Lucinda Davenport described the landscape of corporate media ownership in the United States of America as an oligopoly.
Some believe media integrity to be at risk when ownership of the media market is concentrated. Media integrity refers to the ability of a media outlet to serve the public interest and democratic process, making it resilient to institutional corruption within the media system, economy of influence, conflicting dependence and political clientelism.
Net neutrality is also at stake when media mergers occur. Net neutrality involves a lack of restrictions on content on the internet, however, with big businesses supporting campaigns financially they tend to have influence over political issues, which can translate into their mediums. These big businesses, that also have control over internet usage or the airwaves, could possibly make the content available biased from their political standpoint, or they could restrict usage for conflicting political views, therefore eliminating net neutrality.
Concentration of media ownership is very frequently seen as a problem of contemporary media and society.
Johannes von Dohnanyi, in a 2003 report published by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s Office of the Representative on Freedom of the Media, argued market concentration among media—whether driven by domestic or foreign investors—should be "closely monitored" because "Horizontal concentration may cause dangers to media pluralism and diversity, while vertical concentration may result in entry barriers for new competitors." Von Dohnanyi argues that to "safeguard free and independent print media and protect professional journalism as one of the cornerstones of constitutional democracy" there should be standards for editorial independence, better labor protections for professional journalists, and independent institutions "to monitor the implementation and observance of all laws and regulations regarding concentration processes, media pluralism, content diversity and journalistic freedoms."