Media Assignment: Who Owns
the Media?
. Viacom - who own Paramount (a major motion-picture and television studio) as well as owning 5 amusement parks in the U.S and Canada, also produce the "Star Trek" television series and feature films, and the television comedy "Frasier." Paramount has also produced many popular motion pictures, such as The Ten Commandments (1923; remade in 1956), The Godfather (1972) and its sequels, and Forrest Gump (1994). Also in 1994, Viacom bought Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, the parent company of Blockbuster Music and Blockbuster Video. Blockbuster Video is the world's largest chain of videocassette sales and rental stores. Viacom also owns The Spelling Entertainment Group, which produces films and television shows, such as "Beverly Hills 90210."
Viacom is based in New York city, in America. Viacom's cable television production ventures are organized into two groups: the MTV Networks (MTV, Nickelodeon etc) and the Showtime Networks (Showtime, The Movie Channel, FLIX). Viacom's music-oriented channels, MTV and VH1, have been successful in attracting young audiences and the advertisers who target them. MTV broadcasts to large proportions of the world, including Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In addition, Viacom partially owns a number of other cable television channels: the USA Network, the All News Channel, the Sci-Fi Channel, and Comedy Central.
Viacom has a division devoted to new media, such as interactive software and video games. It also runs its own cable television service, with more than 1 million customers. Viacom have also, more recently ventured into book publishing, and even have a publishing division called "Simon & Schuster", and are currently a leading publisher of consumer books.
2. Rupert Murdoch's vast control (almost a monopoly) over news broadcasters and Media products attracts a great deal of media attention and a high level of criticism. This control has given him the name of 'the most powerful man ...
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Viacom has a division devoted to new media, such as interactive software and video games. It also runs its own cable television service, with more than 1 million customers. Viacom have also, more recently ventured into book publishing, and even have a publishing division called "Simon & Schuster", and are currently a leading publisher of consumer books.
2. Rupert Murdoch's vast control (almost a monopoly) over news broadcasters and Media products attracts a great deal of media attention and a high level of criticism. This control has given him the name of 'the most powerful man in the world' and sometimes the most dangerous. This is because he owns such a vast proportion of media products and broadcasters that he is able to 'feed' consumers almost anything to his own discretion. Many people believe that consumers of media products are very susceptible to those products and may therefore act a different way according to the media piece. I.e. James Bulger killers.
To some, Murdoch is 'the dirty digger', to others 'the Citizen Kane of the global village'. In 1997 Murdoch was the most likely basis for a new 'Bond villain', played my Jonathan Pryce in 'Tomorrow Never Dies' - a media mogul who attempts to provoke a war in order to promote his news satellite programme. This could be a reflection from the general public's opinion of Murdoch. He is the demon of British media producers and consumers alike. There is evidence to suggest that he has had a considerable effect upon the media environment. But in fairness, people do sometimes blame him as a crude response to a complex situation. He can be used as a 'scapegoat'.
He has also pioneered satellite-based television broadcasting. An advantage to the consumers of the media products from Murdoch could be that he has a fairly high standard (in most cases) of broadcasting which appeal to mass audiences e.g. BSkyB. The Sunday Times and the Sun are skillfully produced newspapers, which lead their markets as much because of the sensational stories (usually inaccurate or exaggerated) or low price.
Murdoch is skilled at buying new companies to win market share, even if it means selling a business in order to raise cash or move to more profitable markets. This is what mostly makes him a disliked figure amongst the population.
However, BSkyB is at the forefront of digital technology, which is an obvious bonus to the consumers, giving yet more choice. But, charge put against Murdoch is that he has undermined the quality ideal in the UK national press and that he threatens to do the same with terrestrial television. As his control expands, competition consequently decreases which allows the production quality to decrease. This would be an obvious disadvantage.
3. Granada is a substantial international producer and broadcaster with strong positions in content creation, free to air broadcasting and pay television and rapidly growing new media businesses. Its production operations make nearly 9000 hours of original television programmes and feature films a year, selling to more than 120 countries. It has production operations in five countries worldwide and a Broadband business, which has an interest in nine pay television channels and encompasses a range of Internet and new media ventures.
Granada owns or controls seven major ITV licences, which account for half the annual advertising revenues generated by ITV, the UK's most popular television channel. Its licences are Granada Television, London Weekend Television, Yorkshire Television, Tyne Tees Television, Anglia Television, Meridian Broadcasting and Border Television, covering 35.7 million viewers (over 60% of UK homes).
Granada Media also owns 50% of ITV Digital, the world's first digital terrestrial television operator and 50% of Boxclever, the UK's leading electrical rental and retail chain with 900 shops across the UK.
Granada Creative is ITV's largest producer and is one of the most prolific commercial television programme producers in Europe. It sells programmes to more than 120 different countries worldwide and makes nearly 9,000 hours of original programmes each year across a range of genres and for all platforms, including digital, satellite, cable and terrestrial. Granada's productions for ITV include a number of the UK's most popular and successful television programmes, including Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Heartbeat, Blind Date, A Touch of Frost, This Morning, The South Bank Show, Stars in their Eyes and Popstars, Trisha, Where The Heart Is, Without Motive. Granada Broadcasting is the home for all Granada's free-to-air broadcast activity, including management of the seven ITV franchises it owns, Granada Television, London Weekend Television, Yorkshire Television, Tyne Tees Television, Anglia Television, Meridian Broadcasting and Border Television all their regional programming and the key relationship with the ITV Network Centre. Granada is the UK's leading commercial broadcaster accounting for £1billion of ITV's advertising revenue - nearly a third of the total UK television.
Darren Johnson SMW
