News Corp and 21st Century Fox

In 2013, News Corporation, founded by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, divided itself into two new companies. The new News Corp is a corporate spinoff from the older News Corporation, which was founded by Murdoch in 1979. News Corp is a major multinational media company which focuses on newspaper and magazine publishing as well as Australian broadcasting. The other spinoff company is 21st Century Fox, based in New York City, established to handle other media interests separate from the former News Corporation.

Australian‐born Rupert Murdoch was the key figure in the formation of News Corporation and its two current spinoffs. In 2012, Murdoch stepped down from a string of directorships which controlled News Corporation's newspapers in the UK, then News Corporation divided into News Corp and 21st Century Fox in 2013. In 2015, the 84‐year‐old Rupert Murdoch resigned as CEO of 21st Century Fox, while power there and at News Corp shifted to his sons Lachlin and James. Through the Murdoch Family Trust, he and his family still own both News Corp and 21st Century Fox.

In 2017 it was announced to shareholders that 21st Century Fox had proposed more restructuring. Some businesses were to be spun off, and what the company began calling “a new ‘Fox’”² would be created. Under the proposal, various assets, including Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox News, and Fox Sports, as well as the Los Angeles studio lot and an equity investment in Roku, would remain a part of the “new Fox.” Other businesses would merge with Disney, once the proposed merger is ultimately approved.

Then in late February 2018, reports suggested that the Disney and 21st Century Fox deal might not come about as planned. That was because of two unexpected developments. The first was because of an offer from Comcast, as owner of NBCUniversal, to purchase British media company Sky. Sky had been considered the most attractive Fox asset in the deal.

The other development was the anticipation of increased hurdles to Justice Department approval of the merger, in the wake of the Department's suit to block the AT&T and Time Warner merger. Comcast emerged as the victor in the 2018 bidding war to gain control of Sky, and won European regulator approval. 21st Century Fox owned about 39% of Sky until November 2018. At that time, Sky was acquired by US‐based conglomerate Comcast.

Comcast

Comcast, which was incorporated in 2001, is a major US‐based technology and media company, and is the country's leading cable provider. Its two leading businesses are NBCUniversal and Comcast Cable. Comcast acquired NBCUniversal in 2011, and DreamWorks Animation in 2016. Then in 2018, as already noted, Comcast won the bidding war for UK‐based Sky, at nearly $39 billion. The company's primary brands are:

• Comcast Business
• Comcast Spectacor
• Comcast Technology Solutions
• Comcast Ventures
• NBCUniversal
• Xfinity

Comcast Spectacor is involved in sports arena management and ownership. Xfinity offers cable services, including Internet and voice services, to residential and business customers. The NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks are operated by Comcast's Broadcast Television division. Movies are produced generally under the brand names Universal Pictures, Illumination, Focus Features, and DreamWorks Animation, but sometimes as joint ventures with other companies. Through its Theme Parks division, the company owns such properties as the Universal theme park at Universal Studios in Hollywood, as well as Universal Orlando (Table 6.2).

In 2018, the Justice Department in the United States was expected to scrutinize the Comcast–NBCUniversal merger, which had occurred six years earlier but only on a probationary basis. Comcast bought a controlling share of NBCUniversal in 2011, then bought what remained of General Electric's (GE's) share in 2013.

In order for that merger to be approved in 2011, Comcast signed a consent decree forbidding the company from withholding NBC programming from other cable suppliers or from web‐based OTT streaming TV services. Comcast also agreed with the Federal Communications Commission to not influence the operations of streaming video service Hulu, which is a joint venture of NBCUniversal and several other companies.

When accusations of overcharging for NBC programming surfaced, hints suggested that the merger might unravel under government scrutiny. Under Obama the merger was approved, but as of early 2018, indications that the Department of Justice under the Trump administration is viewing the merger as a huge mistake⁴ and as potentially harmful to consumers.

In addition to the above assets, NBCUniversal is engaged in joint ventures with United International Pictures, EuronewsNBC, and Hulu. Hulu is a joint venture involving NBCUniversal, Fox Entertainment Group, ABC (which is owned by Disney), and Turner Broadcasting System (which is owned by Time Warner). NBC acquired the Telemundo and Bravo networks in 2002. Telemundo grew out of 1950s TV broadcasting in Puerto Rico, later to emerge as a major Spanish‐language terrestrial (over‐the‐air broadcast) network in the US. Bravo began operations in 1980, and was an early pioneer in cable programming which focused on fine arts and film. The Arena network in Australia was rebranded in 2008 as an Australian version of Bravo.

In 2004, two years after the Telemundo and Bravo acquisition, NBC Universal (two words, at the time) was created through a merger of NBC and Universal. NBC Universal acquired the Weather Channel and UK‐based Carnival Film & Television Ltd. in 2008. In the same year, Hulu was launched as, in its original form, a joint venture of NBC Universal and News Corp. Then, in 2011, NBC Universal became NBCUniversal (one word) as a result of the joint venture involving Comcast, GE, and NBC Universal. The renamed NBCUniversal is now a much larger global stakeholder in the evolving global multimedia sector.

In the US, NBCUniversal has been the primary broadcaster for the International Olympic Games. The 2018 Winter Olympic games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, were covered by NBCUniversal in the US, but by a host of other broadcasters in other parts of the world.

NBCUniversal divides its operations into eight distinct areas: broadcast, local media, cable, digital businesses, film, parks, TV studios production, and international. NBC operates the 24‐hour cable channels CNBC and MSNBC. Two of the world's leading media companies, Dow Jones and NBC, came together in 1997 to create the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC).

This global alliance was a powerful combination: Dow Jones produces vital world business and financial news and information, while NBC is the leading television network in the United States. This move united the world's most recognized business news brands, including the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, and Dow Jones. CNBC is available to more than 370 million households worldwide, and is watched by millions of people around the globe every day.

While NBC, as a major traditional US broadcast network, is home to such hits as The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and America's Got Talent, the network has, of course, been losing market share to cable channels and the Internet. The NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division operates 28 NBC and Telemundo local TV stations. Telemundo, which is discussed in Chapter 7, reaches Hispanic viewers through 17 owned stations and 57 affiliate stations in the US. Telemundo serves 210 US markets and owns a local station in Puerto Rico.

NBCUniversal also operates NBC UNIVERSO, formerly known as mun2, a network which is aimed at Hispanic millennials. As mun2, it focused on music programming. Now, as NBC UNIVERSO, the network has expanded to include sports coverage, movies, and other types of programming. NBCUniversal also operates SyFy (formerly the SCI FI) channel); and the USA Network.

Disney

Depending on criteria, both Disney and Alphabet, the holding company for Google, have been classed as the world's largest communication empire. Disney's annual revenue is over $55 billion. The company was started in the early twentieth century under the leadership of Walter Disney, who had a vision for using animated cartoons and feature films as major commercial ventures. His brother, Roy Disney, provided the financial acumen to help build what has now grown into a media giant.

The venture produced global icons and widely recognized characters, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Buzz Lightyear. During the 1950s, the major film subsidiary Buena Vista was established, and a number of Disney shows were made for television. Disneyland opened in 1955 in California, with ABC‐Paramount as a major investor. This early symbiotic relationship resulted in Disney programs produced for the ABC television network as well as for ABC radio.

By 1932, Disney animated shorts were receiving Academy Awards, and Disney soon began releasing a succession of animated feature films. The first was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937. Critics thought its high cost ($1.5 million) would bankrupt Disney, but the film grossed $6.5 million and became the year's most successful film. In addition to more animated features, a string of other huge Disney hits followed, including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), The Shaggy Dog (1959), The Absent‐Minded Professor (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), and The Love Bug (1968).

Later features included the technologically groundbreaking Tron (1982), known for its early use of computer graphics, and such box office hits as Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989). The 1995 feature Toy Story unleashed an unprecedented vast abundance of global franchising, merchandising, and branding opportunities, and inspired at least half a dozen attractions at Disney theme parks. The worldwide success of Toy Story also created a tremendous upsurge of interest in computer‐based animation on the part of other media producers.

After opening Disneyland in 1955, Walt Disney World, another major theme park, opened in Orlando, Florida, in 1971. Tokyo Disneyland opened its doors in 1983, and in the same year the Disney Channel began as a cable TV service. Disneyland Paris began operation in 1992 and quickly became controversial because of its US cultural orientation. Hong Kong Disneyland appeared in 2005, and attracted over five million customers during its first year of operation. This Disneyland is jointly owned by the Chinese government (57%) and Walt Disney Company (43%).

The Disney Corporation purchased Capital Cities/ABC in 1995 and became a major television broadcast network owner (see Table 6.3). Disney bought Pixar in 2006 and Marvel, of comic book fame, in 2009. Building on its acquisition of Pixar and its animation traditions, Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4 billion from George Lucas, its sole owner. Disney immediately announced plans for a new Star Wars movie, to be followed by two more within the decade. Lucas's first big movie success was American Graffiti in 1973, and his studio went on to make the hugely successful Indiana Jones and Star Wars movies. Lucasfilm also developed new digital technologies for special effects and computer animation.

In 2018, news of Disney's proposed purchase of much of 21st Century Fox for over $52 billion was assumed to be largely motivated by the transition of Hollywood from film to streaming. In fact, the general buzz has been that the merger is all about streaming. Of central concern has been Disney's ability to compete in the newly evolving digital landscape alongside the likes of Netflix and other major streaming services. The merger proposal emerged just as it was revealed that Netflix planned to spend about $7 billion to $8 billion on new content for 2018, with plans to produce 80 movies during the year.⁵

Even before the proposed merger was revealed, Disney had announced its intention to launch two major streaming services. ESPN+, a sports streaming service, began operation in 2018, with an entertainment service, Disney+, to commence in November 2019. The 21st Century Fox merger will enable the streaming service to dip into the inventory of not only Disney content, but that of 21st Century Fox as well. Plans are for the Disney + entertainment streaming service to be offered for “substantially cheaper” than the monthly rates charged by Netflix,⁶ at least in the US.

Lucasfilm, formed in 1971, has been a pioneer in visual effects for film. The company produces original content, audio, and post‐production effects, including CGI work, for film and video gaming, in part through its divisions Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. Lucasfilm also offers Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises.

Lucasfilm's animation studio was spun out as a separate company from Lucasfilm in 1986, when the majority shareholder became Steve Jobs, co‐founder of Apple. Jobs renamed the new company Pixar. Disney acquired Pixar for $4.6 billion in 2006, which for a time made Steve Jobs the largest individual shareholder in Disney, at 7%.

Disney‐controlled ESPN is the worldwide leader in sports, reaching over 200 countries. Its activities include 32 TV networks and over 90 broadband networks, in addition to websites and assets pertaining to print, radio, event management, mobile media, and consumer products. ESPN began operation in 1979 in Bristol, Connecticut.

Disney, through its subsidiary ABC, owns 80% of ESPN, with another 20% owned by the Hearst Corporation. ESPN's international distribution of programming began in 1983, and during the following year, 1984, ESPN was acquired from Getty Oil by ABC. A 20% share was then sold to Nabisco and later to Hearst. ESPN operates the following networks:

• ACC Network Extra
• ESPN
• ESPN2
• ESPN3
• ESPNU
• Goal Line/Buzzer Beater/Bases Loaded
• SEC Network
• SEC Network +
• ESPNews
• ESPN Deportes
• Longhorn Network

In addition, a Watch ESPN website and app make ESPN programming accessible on gaming devices, mobile devices, and web‐streaming devices like Apple TV and Roku.

Today Disney is a highly diversified communication conglomerate, ranging from broadcasting, to feature films, to web‐based options, to theme parks and resorts, to Disney stores which operate in hundreds of locations worldwide.

National Amusements

National Amusements, the parent company of both Viacom and CBS, is based in Norwood, Massachusetts. The company is built on the ownership of nearly a thousand movie theaters located in the US, the UK, Latin America, and Russia. The company is owned by Sumner Redstone and his daughter Shari Redstone. Sumner Redstone was described in 2018 as 94 and “ailing.”⁷

In 2016 the Redstones talked of merging CBS and Viacom, but abandoned those plans later the same year. The aim was to streamline, while better positioning themselves competitively in a media landscape which “emphasizes scale.”⁸ In 2018, a merger of CBS and Viacom appeared imminent, a merger which was viewed, in large measure, as a response to the anticipated acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T.⁹

Calls for the reunification of Viacom and CBS under the Viacom banner which emerged in 2016 were revived in 2018, but expressed in more desperate terms. Pundits insisted that the company needed to grow bigger in order to save its stock, to better compete against huge companies like Disney and 21st Century Fox, and to better confront, head‐on, a general media shift toward web‐based forms.¹⁰ This is a shift which has been impacting traditional media companies, companies which only now seem to be emerging from a rose‐tinted complacency to fight back against the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Roku.

Time Warner

At one time, Time Warner was the world's largest media conglomerate. Time Warner is still one of the world's largest entertainment companies, ranked just behind Comcast and Disney in terms of revenue. In 2019, after legal hurdles to the proposed buyout by AT&T were removed, Time Warner was expected to greatly emphasize web streaming.¹²

The company, which is based in New York City, was formed in 1990 when Warner Communications merged with Time, Inc. Time Warner has holdings in TV, film and, to a lesser extent, in publishing. Time Warner also owns 10% of the streaming service Hulu.

The merger of Time Warner and AOL (America Online), which was initiated in 2000 and completed the following year, was at the time considered the biggest merger in US history. At one time, AOL had been the primary supplier of dialup Internet service in the US. More recently, AOL has been in notable decline. AOL was spun off from Time Warner in 2009 before being purchased by Verizon in 2015.

In 2014, 21st Century Fox tried but failed to purchase Time Warner. AT&T initiated an attempt to buy Time Warner in late 2016, a merger which was accepted by the European Commission. In the United States, however, the Justice Department brought a lawsuit to block the merger. As already noted, a federal district court appeal effectively negated those objections in 2019, paving the way for the merger to occur.

As already noted, the Comcast and NBCUniversal merger is currently under probation by the Justice Department. That merger was approved by the Obama administration on a probationary basis, but its continuance is now coming under scrutiny in the Trump administration. Similarly, the proposed AT&T and Time Warner merger was approved under the Obama administration, but faced opposition from the Justice Department in 2018, with antitrust concerns being expressed that the merger might mean higher costs for consumers.¹³ The last legal objections to the merger were removed, however, in 2019.

Currently, Time Warner is divided into three divisions: (1) Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO); (2) Turner; and (3) Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. Cinemax is a part of the HBO division, with HBO and Cinemax networks available in more than 60 countries in Latin America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia, in addition to the United States.

One of the assets listed in Table 6.6, Warner Bros. Digital Networks, was added in 2016 in anticipation of a growing demand for options involving OTT video streaming devices. The products listed in the table vary in terms of their global significance. HLN, for example, is only available in the United States. CNN (formed as Cable News Network and discussed extensively in Chapter 10) has wielded enormous influence globally, and the Cartoon Network is seen in 192 countries.

As these networks have expanded into other parts of the world beyond the US, however, they have had to adapt, to some extent, to local audiences and their unique needs and expectations. In addition to cartoons popular in America, for example, the Cartoon Network in India has produced cartoons specifically for that market which are deeply rooted in Indian culture. Much the same could be said for Cartoon Network Arabic, aimed at parts of the Middle East and North Africa.

Home Box Office, or HBO, is the most‐watched pay TV service in the United States. This division also operates what was, at one time, a competing service, Cinemax. Together, the two networks draw about 134 million subscribers globally. In addition to Hollywood movies, HBO is a major producer of original content, and is heavily engaged in the shift to streaming options.

Time Warner's Turner division includes such brands as CNN, the Cartoon Network, TBS, Adult Swim, Turner Sports, and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Turner networks are available in the US, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.

Another Time Warner division, Warner Bros. (the company name uses the abbreviation for “Brothers”), is a major global force in the areas of movies, TV, home entertainment, digital networks, technology, consumer products, studio facilities, and live theater, in addition to its DC Entertainment branch. The latter is based on DC Comics, which was formed in 1934, and includes the Vertigo and MAD brands. MAD is based on the magazine of that name, which began publication in 1952. Global box office receipts for Warner Bros. topped $3 billion in 2016, with the majority stemming from sales outside the US.

In an effort to maintain a competitive advantage in a media context which is quickly evolving, Time Warner has launched what the company calls the Medialab. At the Medialab facility, Time Warner is engaged in studying consumer behavior in relationship to media content and distribution across multiple media platforms. The Medialab, as an activity of Time Warner's Global Media Group, is not just concerned with how individuals interact with new television delivery platforms, but with such areas as video gaming, consumer sales of media products, and the theater experience.

Advance Publications Inc.

Advance Publications is owned by descendants of Sam Newhouse, Sam Newhouse, Jr., and Donald Newhouse, a family which entered the publishing field in 1922. Current holdings include a 31% share in Discovery Communications. The company also holds the Condé Nast brand, which publishes such magazines as Self, the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Golf Digest, Wired, GQ, Bon Appétit, Architectural Digest, and Glamour. Advance Publications' majority stake in Bright House Networks was sold to Charter Communications in 2016. Bright House was responsible for digital TV and high‐speed Internet services, as well as security, voice, and automation systems.

Alphabet

Alphabet is a multinational conglomerate best known as the parent company of Google. Alphabet was formed in 2015 as the result of a Google restructuring. In addition to Google, Alphabet subsidiaries include, Google Fiber, a supplier of fiber‐to‐premises high‐speed Internet services, and Nest Labs, a home automation producer founded by former Apple engineers. Another subsidiary, Waymo, is actively pursuing development of a self‐driving car.

Amazon

Amazon was once known primarily as a web‐based mail‐order book supplier. Now the company is engaged in a major expansion to various parts of the world as a supplier of web‐based TV programming through its Amazon Video service. In Europe, Amazon is currently adding both live and VOD TV channels from such suppliers as Discovery, Eurosport, and ITV. Part of Amazon's purpose in this move is to compete with video from such entities as Sky and Facebook, with the latter planning to invest heavily in live video.¹⁷

Amazon is regarded as the world's leading ecommerce retailer, with a significant chunk of its business involving the sale of electronics, books and other printed materials, music, and video. Amazon has been seen as a major player in the video‐streaming ballpark, although 2017 saw several strikes against the company. Unlike Netflix, Amazon's original programming has not generally been a tremendous success. Still, the company appears committed, and plans to invest heavily in new original programming.

Ebook publishing took center stage around 2009 to 2010 through two pivotal events. The first was the emergence of greatly improved Amazon Kindle devices in 2009, in the form of the Kindle 2 and the Kindle DX. The Kindle DX International was released in more than 100 countries the following year. In that same year, the first Apple iPad was introduced, and was touted largely as an ebook reading device. The business models pursued by both Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad have largely rewritten the structure of the global publishing industry.

Apple, Inc.

Apple, Inc. has emerged from a tumultuous roller‐coaster history, after its formation in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, to become one of the world's primary media technology companies. Apple revolutionized the music industry through its introduction of the iPod, through its iTunes Store for music and video, and through the launch of Apple Music and associated streaming options.

Apple Mac computers are regarded by many as the default for the editing of graphics, music, and video. Final Cut Pro, despite controversies surrounding its rewrite as Final Cut Pro X in 2011, remains a popular application for non‐linear video editing.

The iPod first appeared in 2001, and surpassed earlier devices to become the first phenomenally successful mp3 player. The mp3 format allows music files to be greatly compressed, or compacted in size. This enables vast numbers of songs to be stored in a tiny device. Once popular, the practice of carrying thousands of songs on a stand‐alone portable device has been largely replaced by web streaming and cloud storage, areas which were pioneered largely by Apple.

The iTunes Store has been in the forefront of controversy in the music industry because of its radical effects on global music industry pricing structures. The iTunes Store began the process of removing digital rights management (DRM) from music beginning in 2007.

As a global music‐streaming platform, Apple Music has not become as successful as Spotify, but the service does wield formidable impact throughout much of the world. Apple Music is based on iCloud storage and web streaming, with the ability to create personal “stations” based on user tastes.

Beats 1 is a live 24‐hour radio station offered to users of Apple Music's pay options. As is the case with music‐streaming options in general, whether via Apple or a competitor, not all services are available in all countries, and prices may differ greatly, depending on the user's part of the world. US‐based Pandora became available only in the US as of 2017, a factor which increased the competitive nature of Apple Music in the world market.

In 2010, the introduction of Apple's iPad, which was preceded by advances in Amazon's Kindle line of ebook readers, dramatically overturned the publishing industry. Not only did ebooks enter the public's radar, but the quick growth in epublishing resulted in new business models, new pricing structures, and new consumer habits in the realm of book, newspaper, and magazine publishing. The iPad and iPhone, along with competing mobile devices, accelerated the drive toward dominance of mobile devices in such areas as video, music, and social media.

Once regarded as a “hobby” for Apple, the company hopes that a beefed‐up presence of its Apple TV device will compete effectively in the global video market as television transitions largely from linear (schedule‐based) broadcast, cable, and satellite programming to non‐linear (on‐demand) streaming options. Apple TV competes with other OTT devices such as Roku, Google Chromecast, and Amazon Fire devices. All of these use web streaming to home TVs. As is the case with competing devices, Apple TV offers the option to transfer material accessed via a mobile device, such as video games or app content, onto the living room TV by means of a mirroring option.

Indications suggest that Apple wishes to compete with Amazon and Netflix in the global TV programming arena, with its own original programming. The company announced in 2017 that it had appropriated a $1‐billion dollar budget for original TV production. Netflix, however, was expected to spend about six times that amount in the same year,¹⁸ and Amazon about four and a half times Apple's amount.¹⁹

Apple iTunes podcasts are available in both video and audio form, and can be accessed via the Podcasts app and Apple TV. Podcasts can be accessed with or without a subscription. As early as 2013, Apple boasted more than a billion podcast subscriptions.²⁰ Popularity lists and charts show marked differences among the top 10 iTunes podcasts in various countries.²¹ Some podcasts, such as Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard or The Joe Rogan Experience, are popular throughout much of the world. Many of the most popular podcasts are in audio form rather than video, perhaps largely due to a common misconception that erroneously insists that podcasts are, by definition, audio‐only.

Charter Communications

Charter Communications is a major American telecommunications business using the branding Charter Spectrum. In 2012, the company relocated from St. Louis, Missouri, to Stamford, Connecticut. Charter operates in 41 states and is the country's second largest cable TV provider. A 27% share in Charter held by Liberty Media, coupled with a minority interest in Time Warner, were spun off in 2014 as a separate company called Liberty Broadband Corporation. In that same year, Charter suggested a merger with Time Warner Cable, after multiple unsuccessful attempts at a buyout. Time Warner Cable rejected the merger.

A merger involving Time Warner Cable and Comcast was then suggested, but this fell through in 2015. This was followed the same year by a proposal for Charter and Time Warner Cable to merge. Also included in the deal was acquisition of telecom company Bright House Networks. The merger received provisional Justice Department approval in 2016. This made Charter the third‐largest pay TV company in the US, behind AT&T and Comcast.

Discovery Communications

The Discovery Channel began in 1985 as a specialized US cable channel. Since then, as Discovery Communications, the company has branched out into a huge multifaceted media business with a presence in much of the world. Discovery acquired another specialized cable channel, the Learning Channel (TLC), in 1991, and launched Animal Planet in 1996.

Since then, various other channels and services have been added, including Investigation Discovery (ID), Science, Velocity, and Eurosport. Eurosport alone reaches 231 million cumulative subscribers in 95 countries. Eurosport began operations in 1989 and has grown to become a leading sports network. Discovery acquired a controlling interest in 2014.

Discovery Networks International, which operates the company's international TV businesses, is but one division of Discovery Communications. Through this division, Discovery offers TV programming in 45 languages in various countries of the world. Major regional operations are categorized as Asia‐Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America/US Hispanic, Northern Europe, and Southern Europe. Discovery programming reaches more than 220 countries and territories and more than three billion cumulative viewers.

Discovery, in partnership with German‐based ProSiebenSat.1 (discussed in Chapter 8) launched a streaming video service in Germany in 2017. This is an AVOD system, meaning ad‐supported video‐on‐demand. The service, called 7TV (“sieben” is German for “seven”), combines nine well‐known German terrestrial channels along with free‐to‐air (non‐pay) channels from Discovery. An Eurosport Zone is expected to be added.

Also in 2017, the same year in which 7TV launched, Discovery acquired a more than a 70% share in Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Some OWN programs have been offered internationally for some time, through a Discovery/OWN programming block. These programs are carried by networks in other countries including the UK, South Africa, Russia, and locations in Eastern Europe.

Facebook

Although major social media platform Facebook is phenomenally popular in much of the world, it is not available in all global regions and countries, including China. Indications in 2017 suggested that the corporation behind Facebook was attempting to move into video in a big way, with recent investment in live TV. This includes plans for expenditures of as much as $1 billion for original programming for Facebook's TV platform, with talk of attracting celebrities and including live sports. Such plans are, of course, indicative of major changes in the TV industry and viewer habits in a general sense, with web streaming and social media both playing significant roles.

As of early 2018, however, the company had moved but cautiously into the live video streaming market, not including streaming options offered by individual, business, or organizational Facebook users. Despite talk of Facebook's willingness to pay $3 million per episode for video drama, the site's new option called “Watch” appeared to be offering only a limited menu of programming in 2018, with emphasis on short‐form video.

Gannett

Gannett Co., Inc., based near Washington, DC, in Tysons Corner, Virginia, is known primarily for its newspaper holdings, including USA Today. The company also owns broadcasting properties, however. Gannett has become a major owner of broadcast stations in the US, largely through its 2013 acquisition of Dallas‐based Belo Corporation and its 2014 acquisition of London Broadcasting Company. Despite its name, London Broadcasting Company was based in Texas.

In 2014, however, Gannett split into two companies, one, called Gannett, with focus on the print media and the other, Tegna, intended to concentrate on broadcasting. The name Tegna comes from, essentially, the name Gannett but in scrambled form.

The new version of Gannett operates about 300 publications and more than 160 local online news brands in the UK, in addition to 109 local media organizations in 34 states and Guam. Its flagship national newspaper, USA Today, reaches an international readership through print and digital forms.

Hulu

Hulu is a joint venture of several companies including NBCUniversal, Time Warner, and 21st Century Fox. Once a marginally significant website which featured video‐streaming options, Hulu has developed into a major player in media's mad rush toward streaming, but only in a limited portion of the world. Its production of The Handmaid's Tale won an Emmy for best drama in 2017. The Disney merger with 21st Century Fox will have major repercussions, although exactly what they might be remains unclear. One possibility is that Hulu, whose subscriber base remains small compared to that of Netflix, might be absorbed into Disney's own new entertainment streaming service, Disney+. As of 2018, Hulu was only available in the US and US territories, and on US military bases.

Liberty Global

Liberty Global plc is a US‐based company created by the 2005 merger of Liberty Media's international division and UGC, or UnitedGlobalCom. Liberty Global calls itself the “world's largest international TV and broadband company.”²² The company operates in 12 European countries, with brands which include Virgin Media, Unitymedia, Telenet, and UPC. Liberty Global is the world's leading broadband Internet supplier outside of the US. In 2015, the company merged with British telecommunications company Vodafone, headquartered in London. Liberty Global also operates Horizon TV, which is an OTT web‐streaming device for TVs.

Liberty Global is not only the parent company of British TV network Virgin Media, but also owns nearly 10% of ITV, which is another British broadcaster. Both Liberty Global and Discovery Communications (discussed in a previous section) have invested in the electric racing series known as Formula E. John Malone is chairman of both Liberty Media and Liberty Global, as well as Liberty Interactive, Liberty Expedia Holdings, and Liberty Broadband. From 2005 to 2008, when Discovery Communications became a public company, Malone was on the board of Discovery Holding Company.

Netflix

As much of the world heads with ever‐increasing speed toward greater use of web‐based TV, the presence of Netflix in countries far from its US base is becoming formidable. Netflix has been increasing its involvement in original TV programming produced specifically for the European market. Much of this move is directly aimed at major European competitors like Sky.

Such activity on the part of Netflix, as well as competitors like Amazon and Hulu, is not necessarily seen as a threat to European‐based media production. On the contrary, European media entities are busily forming alliances with these invading US‐based juggernauts. As the CEO of UK‐based media producer Left Bank Pictures expressed it,

Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu have changed everything. They're game changers and it's irreversible….We now live in a global TV market….The more buyers, the better. Netflix is a good buyer who commissions high‐quality shows. No one else can afford to fully fund a show in the way Netflix can.²³

Netflix is now calling itself the “world's leading Internet television network,”²⁴ reaching more than 190 countries. This has been the case despite the need to sign deals with foreign carriers, some of whom were initially resistant because of perceived threats to existing localized programming services. In the UK, for instance, Sky declined to include Netflix in its set‐top boxes. Netflix pricing varies depending on country.

As has been the case with various other American‐based media corporations, such as MTV and Fox, Netflix has found that simply exporting US content into another country is not a tenable global expansion strategy. Some countries have exhibited little interest in certain types of Netflix programming, due to cultural differences as well as competition from content which is more culturally localized.

Instead, Netflix has found the best approach to involve adapting to local interests. This has meant that the company has typically moved into another part of the world with minimal investment, until it becomes clear what that country's audiences want. Development of a localized version of Netflix then follows accordingly. In some cases, this has involved expanding into other countries partly on the basis of including programming from other networks which are already in operation in those countries.

Despite such efforts, Netflix has still encountered other types of hurdles to global expansion. One has been that when English‐language programming is shown in non‐English‐speaking countries, audiences may accept subtitles more readily in some countries than in others. German audiences, in particular, expect overdubbing instead, a process which is more expensive.

In more pronounced terms, however, Netflix has encountered serious clashes with France in its drive to expand throughout Europe. This led to what has been termed the Cannes–Netflix clash, a controversy centered around the French “cultural exception” law. That law mandates that a percentage of TV streaming and on‐demand services go to support film production, especially production in France, while requiring a three‐year delay between theatrical release and streaming availability.

Netflix attempted to circumvent this law while theater chains tried to block Netflix from participating in the Cannes Film Festival. This led the director of the National Cinema Center to remark that Netflix was “the perfect representation of American cultural imperialism,” a company “refusing to understand and accept how the French cultural exception works.”²⁵

As 2018 began, Netflix was expected to spend $7 billion to $8 billion on original programming for 2018, and to produce 80 new movies.

The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company was formed in the US in 1923 by Arthur C. Nielsen, Sr., and has traditionally been the firm responsible for most TV audience measurement data in the United States. Similar services for American radio were performed most prominently by Arbitron, until the company was acquired by Nielsen, which rebranded Arbitron as Nielsen Audio. Nielsen has expanded into various forms of media and consumer measurement. With its growth has come increased competition, however.

In the US, Nielsen began encountering competition from Rentrak and comScore in some aspects of TV measurement. Then in 2016, comScore bought Rentrak, with Rentrak operating as a subsidiary. Both comScore and Nielsen exert a global influence. In particular, comScore claims to measure movie viewership from more than 95% of what it terms “the worldwide box office.”²⁶

Some years ago, Nielsen, on the other hand, was the subject of multiple controversies and criticism. Introduction of the “People Meter” for broadcast audience measurement caused skepticism in the 1980s. Allegations in the 1990s claimed that US TV ratings were inconsistent and inaccurate.²⁷ Outsourcing some of the company's work in India resulted in controversy in 2008.

More recent criticisms express concern about accuracy as TV and radio audience behavior shifts, as the result of new technologies, in ways which make audience measurement more challenging. This especially becomes an issue as global audiences increasingly access TV through such means as mobile apps and OTT devices like Roku and Apple TV.²⁸

Still, Nielsen operates in more than 100 countries and is engaged in various forms of measurement and data analytics. Nielsen TV ratings include measurement of programming seen via such services as Hulu, Netflix, and the new YouTube TV pay service.

Nielsen does not just measure TV and radio audience size, however. The company also measures such areas as consumer trends and brand effectiveness, and not just in the United States. Nielsen has been establishing a growing presence in India, for example.

Twitch

Web‐based Twitch is discussed in Chapter 7 as a major platform for video game live streaming. Twitch.tv also includes other channels, however, which are not sports‐oriented. Channels aimed at creative communities, accessible via Twitch Creative, offer audiences the ability to watch individuals engaged in various creative endeavors. Channels include Painting, Illustration, Tabletop Miniatures, Woodworking, Automotive, FiberArts, Photography, Dance, Music, and even Programming.

Walmart International

Walmart, the US‐based retail juggernaut, has expanded into various other countries, but not always with success. Still, the company has launched stores in a number of nations, beginning in the 1990s. Walmart operated store locations in 27 countries in 2017, although not all stores outside the US exhibit the Walmart name.

The shift away from disc‐based consumer audio and video has greatly impacted Walmart in particular, since the company had been a major retailer of audio CDs, DVDs, and Blu‐ray disks. This first became an issue in 2008, when it was reported that iTunes had overtaken Walmart in sales of recorded music.²⁹

Walmart attempted to operate a digital music store, but shut it down in 2011, its failure being at least partly attributable to its dependence on Microsoft's WMA (Windows Media Audio) format.³⁰ Then in 2014, the chain, which had been the largest retailer of audio CDs in the US, cut its US in‐store CD inventory by nearly half.

Walmart operates a video service, Vudu, which makes movies and TV programming available on a streaming basis via a mobile app and an Apple TV channel. Vudu also offers the ability to convert about 8000 disc‐based movies to digital by scanning the movie's barcode. In 2018, Walmart was entering an agreement with Rakuten, the largest e‐commerce retailer in Japan, to operate grocery delivery in Japan, along with ebook and audiobook sales in the United States.

Around the mid‐2010s, Walmart was a formidable competitor to other retail chains in the video game area. Since then, increasing brick‐and‐mortar competition in the US has come from store chains like warehouse retailer Costco. At the same time, consumer behavior has increasingly shifted toward online sales, where Walmart does not necessarily dominate.

In terms of video game sales, Walmart has to compete with the likes of the PlayStation Store, the Nintendo eShop, the Xbox Games Store, and the Amazon Digital Game Store. In 2018, GameStop was being termed the largest game retailer in the world, “by a long shot, with over 6,000 stores around the planet.”³¹ That is, of course, referring to the number of brick‐and‐mortar stores. At the same time, some were predicting the demise of brick‐and‐mortar video game retailers by 2020.³²

Throughout the 2010s, Walmart has battled to hold onto a position of dominance in music and video sales, while losing that dominance through a shift away from disc sales. At the same time, the chain has attempted to maintain a vibrant position in electronics sales. This has been the case while consumer behavior has continued to shift toward online sales, with China‐based Alibaba and US‐based Amazon as the world's largest ecommerce sites.