Chapter 3The Media Business:

Consolidation, Globalization, and the Long Tail

Who Are Big Media?

• Time Warner• Disney• News Corporation• Viacom/CBS• Bertelsmann• NBC Universal (General Electric, Comcast)

Time Warner

• 2008 Sales: $46.98 billion• Major player in film, television, cable,

publishing, and online content• Home of Scooby Doo, Harry Potter, Batman• Bigger isn’t always better

Disney

• 2008 Sales: $37.84 billion• Major player in broadcast TV, cable, movies,

theme parks• Home of Mickey Mouse, Pixar (Bought)• Steve Jobs of Apple was largest single

stockholder

News Corporation

• Fiscal Year 2009 Sales: $30.42 billion• Major player worldwide in all media• Home of Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Fox

Broadcasting• Controlled by Rupert Murdoch and family

Viacom/CBS

• Combined 2008 Sales: $28.5 billion• Major player in broadcast television, cable,

movies• Home of MTV Networks (MTV, VH1,

Nickelodeon)• CBS owned Viacom; then Viacom owned CBS;

now separate companies for financial reasons

Bertelsmann

• 2008 Sales: $22.7 billion• Major player in publishing; also magazines

and European broadcasting• Home of American Idol and Idol programs

globally• Privately held German company

NBC Universal

• 2007 Sales: $15.4 billion• Major player in broadcast television, cable,

movies• Currently only major broadcast network not

owned by media conglomerate. (Owned by corporate giant General Electric)

• Cable giant Comcast working on purchase of NBC Universal