followthemedia.com - a knowledge base for media professionals
Big Business

Concentration And Focus, Bread And Butter

Times are such when media companies are assessing their portfolios, shedding non-core assets and concentrating on the meat of their business. Shareholders like this. Big media companies, though, find themselves forced to discard the favorite parts.

puddingOf the many and varied subjects touched upon by the ongoing Leveson Inquiry into media ethics at UK newspapers, media plurality and media concentration reach to the heart of the relationship between governments and the Fourth Estate. This week and last Lord Justice Brian Leveson has had the pleasure of hearing from top politicians, past and present. Past prime ministers, generally, complained about news coverage while current politicians, generally, claimed no fault for the sins of others.

Media concentration in hard numbers was raised by opposition Labour Party leader Ed Miliband, who offered (June 12) that there should be “an overall limit about how much control one organization has on the market.” Poking directly at the News International stable of UK newspapers, Mr. Miliband suggested there’d be “no worries of somebody owning up to 20% of the newspaper market” though “there is then a question of between 20% to 30% where you should set a limit.” Newspapers owned by News International, which is owned by News Corporation, have an estimated 37% newspaper market share.

Attempting to keep focus on the media ethics theme, Lord Justice Leveson bristled with concern “about the extent to which it is appropriate for me to start to opine about percentage market shares, because that involves all sorts of competition issues which would require quite detailed analysis.” UK media watchers jumped to debate which newspaper – the Sun or the Times – News Corporation might be forced to sell if rules are changed, only likely under a new government, to further limit media ownership.

Late last week the New York Times reported (June 8) that US cable giant Comcast, which owns NBC Universal, was “mulling” a bid for UK pay-TV company BSkyB. News Corporation owns a 39% stake in the highly successful broadcaster and offered to buy the shares it does not own only to have the deal tangled with certain ethical issues that inevitably led to the creation of the Leveson Inquiry. Spokespeople for Comcast called the story “rubbish” but the NYT continues to stand by insiders understanding that News Corporation now wants to sell its BSkyB stake sooner rather than later as they suspect the next UK government will impose more strict cross-media ownership rules. 

Proximity of News Corporation and its chairman Rupert Murdoch to UK politicians dating back to Margaret Thatcher have permeated the Leveson Inquiry and related parliamentary committee hearings. With the clear appearance that current Conservative Party ministers took a positive – even pro-active – role in supporting the BSkyB bid without regard to the obvious media concentration issue News Corporation may find itself in the unpleasant position of being between a rock and a hard place: selling off one or more newspapers or exiting BSkyB. Current Prime Minister David Cameron will appear Thursday (June 14).

And as if by coincidence, Guardian Media Group (GMG) has put its UK radio business up for bids, noted officially in the Guardian (June 12). Apparently the process is well underway as three bidders were noted: Global Radio, UTV and an unnamed venture group. GMG Radio owns the Real Radio and Smooth Radio networks, which have a combined national market share of 4.3%, according to the Q1 2012 RAJAR survey. Its Glasgow (Scotland) based Rock Radio was sold a year ago (July 2011) to local managers and a Manchester station operating as Rock Radio was folded into the Real Radio brand.

The main thrust for GMG, obviously, is its publishing business Guardian News & Media, publisher of the Guardian, the Observer and, not to be forgotten, web portal guardian.co.uk. GMG is wholly owned by the Scott Trust and has interests in Trader Media Group, a classified advertising publisher, and Top Right Group, the events producer formerly known as Emap, which produces the annual Cannes Lions ad fest. Radio has been a small, but not insignificant part of GMG; reported 2011 radio revenues (UK£47 million) slightly more than 10% of the company total including joint ventures.


See also in ftm Knowledge

Television in the UK

Viewers in the UK love their 'telly'. The BBC is under pressure, BSkyB expanding, ITV and Channel Five are under new management. Hardly a week goes by without a complaint, new rules or other change. 58 pages PDF (October 2010)

Order here

UK Newspapers

The newspaper market in the UK is among the worlds most competitive. The publishers are colorful, editors daring, journalists talented and readers discerning. ftm follows the leaders, the readers, the freebies and the tabloids. 83 pages PDF (October 2010)

Order here


ftm Resources

related ftm articles:

Big Media Owners Get “Fit And Proper” Treatment
Being a media mogul is getting tougher these days. Big competitors rally opinion against them as lesser competitors fall away. That digital dividend keeps getting more expensive. So too the politicians, now more than ever worried about opinions they might shape and money they might make.

Blue Sky Thinking And Ownership Rules
Rethinking media ownership rules has edged up the public policy agenda in many countries. It is, in part, a byproduct of new media becoming more influential or, at least, giving that appearance and economic stress, or the fear thereof, of older, displaced media sources. Ownership rules, generally, have been in place since the last century. Timing couldn’t be worse.

Murdoch To World: Don’t Mess With Us!
Rupert Murdoch wants nothing more than universal acceptance of his media power. From competitors to kings, sultans to lesser politicians Clan Murdoch demands the quid pro quo for its favors. Even when it gets bigger and bigger it’s rarely rejected.


advertisement

ftm Knowledge

Media in Spain - Diverse and Challenged – new

Media in Spain is steeped in tradition. yet challenged by diversity. Publishers hold great influence, broadcasters competing. New media has been slow to rise and business models for all are under stress. Rich in language and culture, Spain's media is reaching into the future and finding more than expected. 123 pages, PDF. January 2018

Order here

The Campaign Is On - Elections and Media

Elections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 84 pages. PDF (September 2017)

Order here

Fake News, Hate Speech and Propaganda

The institutional threat of fake news, hate speech and propaganda is testing the mettle of those who toil in news media. Those three related evils are not new, by any means, but taken together have put the truth and those reporting it on the back foot. Words matter. This ftm Knowledge file explores that light. 48 pages, PDF (March 2017)

Order here

More ftm Knowledge files here

Become an ftm Individual or Corporate Member to order Knowledge Files at no charge. JOIN HERE!

copyright ©2004-2013 ftm partners, unless otherwise noted Contact UsSponsor ftm