Welcome to the blog of Dr. Lisa Burns' Media Studies senior capstone class (Section A) at Quinnipiac University. If you're looking for the latest on media industry trends and insightful media analysis, you've come to the right place.
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Media Convergence & Multiple Screens Blog 1, Question 3 (Jan. 31st)
Which major media
conglomerate is best positioned to succeed and which organization will face the
most challenges in 2017? (*Note: You can use readings from last week in your
response.) Limit: 8 responses
After reading through all of the documents presented to us last week in class, it’s evident that 2017 will be a big year for media conglomerates such as: Disney, Comcast/NBCUniversal, TimeWarner, 21st Century Fox, CBS Corp., and Viacom. But to answer this week’s blog question, I would say that TimeWarner is best positioned to succeed and Viacom is going to face many challenges in 2017. In 2016, TimeWarner made around $71.8B, and with AT&T’s recent $85.4B bid to buy the company, there is a huge opportunity for TimeWarner to grow even larger. According to the Associated Press, “AT&T's $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner represents a new bet on synergy between companies that distribute information and entertainment to consumers and those that produce it. The acquisition would combine a telecom giant that owns a leading cellphone business, DirecTV and an internet service with the company behind HBO, CNN, and some of the world's most popular entertainment, including "Game of Thrones," the "Harry Potter" franchise and professional basketball. It's the latest big media acquisition by a major cable or phone company — such as Comcast's 2011 purchase of NBC Universal — and aimed at shoring up businesses upended by the Internet” (Associated Press). Not only does this deal setup TimeWarner to succeed in 2017, it also will help them compete with Silicon Valley giants such as Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook, whose revenues in 2016 were much higher then all of the media conglomerates. The reason why I think that TimeWarner will be able to compete with the tech giants is because an AT&T merger would mean a combination of a great content creator (TimeWarner) with an even larger audience (AT&T subscribers). Now while its important to highlight which media giant will succeed, lets talk about which is going to face many challenges in 2017, which in my opinion is going to be Viacom. Viacom had a rough year only bringing in $15.5B, now while that sounds like a lot of money to most of us, compared to the other media conglomerates it wasn’t. Viacom’s failure last year came out of major film flops such as: Zoolander 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Ben Hur and multiple firings by media mogul Sumner Redstone. According to Paul Bond from the Hollywood Reporter, “Redstone stepped down as chairman of CBS and Viacom, leaving the role to CEOs Leslie Moonves and Philippe Dauman, respectively, while Redstone was crowned chairman emeritus at both companies. In a historic move four months later, Redstone and his daughter Shari fired most of Viacom’s board, setting the stage for a months-long battle that would significantly alter the executive makeup of the company he founded 45 years ago” (Bond). Everyone knows that when there is uncertainty, the stock market goes up and down. The same goes for any media conglomerate, so in the case of Viacom, 2017 will be very difficult as they begin to rebuild the executive lineup and work on strengthening their cable TV networks as well as Paramount Studios.
Bond, Paul. "Firings, Power Struggles and Studio Exits: Hollywood's Year of Executive Turmoil." The Hollywood Reporter. Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2017. .
Press, Associated. "AT&T's $85.4B Deal for Time Warner - A New Bet on Synergy." Yahoo Finance. Associated Press, 23 Oct. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2017. .
The media landscape is intended to look diverse, with many supposed outlets and mediums to watch a variety of different content. The reality is that the American media (and the western world’s media for that matter) is actually an oligopoly. A handful of extremely powerful media organizations that own dozens of channels, brands, and divisions. The major business decisions fall into the hands of very few people, and each conglomerate attempts to be more profitable than the other. Bidding wars for content is common, and buyouts for brands, divisions, and studios is commonplace. This is a very competitive business. It might be difficult to call which specific conglomerate will be in the most successful this year. However, there will be a few things to look for. 2017 will see serious changes to the media landscape in many ways. The public’s diminished trust and skepticism for American news outlets will present a slew of headaches for media executives this year. That, coupled with the fact that exponentially more people are receiving news on a mobile device or means other than a television present new challenges. Every major media conglomerate owns between one and several news outlets. Some of these are profitable enterprises for corporations, others have been a drain (i.e. Time Warner’s recent separation from print publications, which is now Time Inc). Ironically, Time Warner does not presently own anything named “Time.” They may be poised to be the most successful conglomerate of 2017 should the acquisition with AT&T go through. This vertical integration of content and service providing was seen with the Comcast buyout of NBC-Universal from General Electric. This made both entities much more powerful and became one of the most valuable media conglomerates in America. Time Warner will enjoy a similar circumstance should the merger be approved, but with a new American president (with an extra-special detestation of CNN), this deal may not see fruition. My personal favorite is the Walt Disney Company. Their stock price has risen considerably in the long term, and own a very dynamic portfolio of assets that range from traditional television networks to theme parks. All of their properties integrate with each other and it quite literally is magic from a marketing and promotional standpoint. They have made some very wise acquisitions over the years, and although there is turmoil surrounding ESPN, this might be a welcome opportunity to sell it entirely or reengineer it to be more profitable and accessible. To summarize Disney, I agree with The Hollywood Reporter report: “It's hard to say which emotion Disney evokes more strongly in its competitors: envy or fear (Masters, THR).”
Works Cited Masters, Kim. "Disney - Studios' 2017 Forecast: Big Bets, Franchise Fears and Executive Intrigue." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.
Selyukh, Alina. "Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands - In One Chart." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.
One of the companies that will face some challenges in 2017 will be Disney. They’re financial situation is one to be envied, as their holdings in film (Pixar), television publishing and theme parks, and last year netted nearly $8.4 billion on more than $52.4 billion. (Strauss). The challenges that Disney will face have to do with the fact that they plan on releasing much fewer movies in 2017, so the upcoming year will not likely match the record-breaking performance they had in 2016 (Masters). Other challenges that the company will face includes whether or not chairman and CEO Bob Iger will retire, which can definielty change the outlook of the year (Masters). Despite their low expectations for 2017, Disney should be able to pull through due to their vast bank of franchises (Masters). One media conglomerate that is set up to succeed in 2017 is Paramount. Currently, their firms have attracted lots of star power, including actors such as Vin Diesel, Scarlett Johansson, Zac Efron, Matt Damon, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jennifer Lawrence as well as directors such as Michael Bay and J.J. Abrams (Masters). Paramount also plans on releasing popular franchise movies this year, including a fifth Transformers movie. Given how well the last Transformers movie did (grossing $1.1 billion worldwide), there is a good chance that this film will do well too (Masters). Despite their star-studded plans, Paramount could potentially face lots of challenges if Viacom decides it wants to merge with CBS (Masters). Another media conglomerate that looks to have a successful 2017 is AT&T. Late last year, the telecom giant announced plans to purchase Time Warner for $85.4 billion. Assuming that the merger happens, we can see AT&T looking to branch it’s services into entertainment, and not just providing service (AP). The revenue streams generated by owning both an entertainment company and the means in which people can access that entertainment could create a strong future for AT&T, as well as allowing them to compete with Comcast, a company that is also stretching into new businesses (AP). Works cited Press, Associated. "AT&T's $85.4B Deal for Time Warner - A New Bet on Synergy." Yahoo Finance. Associated Press, 23 Oct. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2017. Masters, Kim. "Disney - Studios' 2017 Forecast: Big Bets, Franchise Fears and Executive Intrigue." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017. Strauss, Karsten. "10 Great Media And Entertainment Companies To Work For In 2016." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 June 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
After reading through all of the documents presented to us last week in class, it’s evident that 2017 will be a big year for media conglomerates such as: Disney, Comcast/NBCUniversal, TimeWarner, 21st Century Fox, CBS Corp., and Viacom. But to answer this week’s blog question, I would say that TimeWarner is best positioned to succeed and Viacom is going to face many challenges in 2017. In 2016, TimeWarner made around $71.8B, and with AT&T’s recent $85.4B bid to buy the company, there is a huge opportunity for TimeWarner to grow even larger. According to the Associated Press, “AT&T's $85.4 billion purchase of Time Warner represents a new bet on synergy between companies that distribute information and entertainment to consumers and those that produce it. The acquisition would combine a telecom giant that owns a leading cellphone business, DirecTV and an internet service with the company behind HBO, CNN, and some of the world's most popular entertainment, including "Game of Thrones," the "Harry Potter" franchise and professional basketball. It's the latest big media acquisition by a major cable or phone company — such as Comcast's 2011 purchase of NBC Universal — and aimed at shoring up businesses upended by the Internet” (Associated Press). Not only does this deal setup TimeWarner to succeed in 2017, it also will help them compete with Silicon Valley giants such as Netflix, Amazon, and Facebook, whose revenues in 2016 were much higher then all of the media conglomerates. The reason why I think that TimeWarner will be able to compete with the tech giants is because an AT&T merger would mean a combination of a great content creator (TimeWarner) with an even larger audience (AT&T subscribers). Now while its important to highlight which media giant will succeed, lets talk about which is going to face many challenges in 2017, which in my opinion is going to be Viacom. Viacom had a rough year only bringing in $15.5B, now while that sounds like a lot of money to most of us, compared to the other media conglomerates it wasn’t. Viacom’s failure last year came out of major film flops such as: Zoolander 2, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows and Ben Hur and multiple firings by media mogul Sumner Redstone. According to Paul Bond from the Hollywood Reporter, “Redstone stepped down as chairman of CBS and Viacom, leaving the role to CEOs Leslie Moonves and Philippe Dauman, respectively, while Redstone was crowned chairman emeritus at both companies. In a historic move four months later, Redstone and his daughter Shari fired most of Viacom’s board, setting the stage for a months-long battle that would significantly alter the executive makeup of the company he founded 45 years ago” (Bond). Everyone knows that when there is uncertainty, the stock market goes up and down. The same goes for any media conglomerate, so in the case of Viacom, 2017 will be very difficult as they begin to rebuild the executive lineup and work on strengthening their cable TV networks as well as Paramount Studios.
ReplyDeleteWork Cited
ReplyDeleteBond, Paul. "Firings, Power Struggles and Studio Exits: Hollywood's Year of Executive Turmoil." The Hollywood Reporter. Hollywood Reporter, 22 Dec. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2017. .
Press, Associated. "AT&T's $85.4B Deal for Time Warner - A New Bet on Synergy." Yahoo Finance. Associated Press, 23 Oct. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2017. .
The media landscape is intended to look diverse, with many supposed outlets and mediums to watch a variety of different content. The reality is that the American media (and the western world’s media for that matter) is actually an oligopoly. A handful of extremely powerful media organizations that own dozens of channels, brands, and divisions. The major business decisions fall into the hands of very few people, and each conglomerate attempts to be more profitable than the other. Bidding wars for content is common, and buyouts for brands, divisions, and studios is commonplace. This is a very competitive business.
ReplyDeleteIt might be difficult to call which specific conglomerate will be in the most successful this year. However, there will be a few things to look for. 2017 will see serious changes to the media landscape in many ways. The public’s diminished trust and skepticism for American news outlets will present a slew of headaches for media executives this year. That, coupled with the fact that exponentially more people are receiving news on a mobile device or means other than a television present new challenges. Every major media conglomerate owns between one and several news outlets. Some of these are profitable enterprises for corporations, others have been a drain (i.e. Time Warner’s recent separation from print publications, which is now Time Inc). Ironically, Time Warner does not presently own anything named “Time.” They may be poised to be the most successful conglomerate of 2017 should the acquisition with AT&T go through. This vertical integration of content and service providing was seen with the Comcast buyout of NBC-Universal from General Electric. This made both entities much more powerful and became one of the most valuable media conglomerates in America. Time Warner will enjoy a similar circumstance should the merger be approved, but with a new American president (with an extra-special detestation of CNN), this deal may not see fruition.
My personal favorite is the Walt Disney Company. Their stock price has risen considerably in the long term, and own a very dynamic portfolio of assets that range from traditional television networks to theme parks. All of their properties integrate with each other and it quite literally is magic from a marketing and promotional standpoint. They have made some very wise acquisitions over the years, and although there is turmoil surrounding ESPN, this might be a welcome opportunity to sell it entirely or reengineer it to be more profitable and accessible. To summarize Disney, I agree with The Hollywood Reporter report: “It's hard to say which emotion Disney evokes more strongly in its competitors: envy or fear (Masters, THR).”
Works Cited
DeleteMasters, Kim. "Disney - Studios' 2017 Forecast: Big Bets, Franchise Fears and Executive Intrigue." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.
Selyukh, Alina. "Big Media Companies And Their Many Brands - In One Chart." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.
One of the companies that will face some challenges in 2017 will be Disney. They’re financial situation is one to be envied, as their holdings in film (Pixar), television publishing and theme parks, and last year netted nearly $8.4 billion on more than $52.4 billion. (Strauss). The challenges that Disney will face have to do with the fact that they plan on releasing much fewer movies in 2017, so the upcoming year will not likely match the record-breaking performance they had in 2016 (Masters). Other challenges that the company will face includes whether or not chairman and CEO Bob Iger will retire, which can definielty change the outlook of the year (Masters). Despite their low expectations for 2017, Disney should be able to pull through due to their vast bank of franchises (Masters).
ReplyDeleteOne media conglomerate that is set up to succeed in 2017 is Paramount. Currently, their firms have attracted lots of star power, including actors such as Vin Diesel, Scarlett Johansson, Zac Efron, Matt Damon, Samuel L. Jackson, and Jennifer Lawrence as well as directors such as Michael Bay and J.J. Abrams (Masters). Paramount also plans on releasing popular franchise movies this year, including a fifth Transformers movie. Given how well the last Transformers movie did (grossing $1.1 billion worldwide), there is a good chance that this film will do well too (Masters). Despite their star-studded plans, Paramount could potentially face lots of challenges if Viacom decides it wants to merge with CBS (Masters).
Another media conglomerate that looks to have a successful 2017 is AT&T. Late last year, the telecom giant announced plans to purchase Time Warner for $85.4 billion. Assuming that the merger happens, we can see AT&T looking to branch it’s services into entertainment, and not just providing service (AP). The revenue streams generated by owning both an entertainment company and the means in which people can access that entertainment could create a strong future for AT&T, as well as allowing them to compete with Comcast, a company that is also stretching into new businesses (AP).
Works cited
Press, Associated. "AT&T's $85.4B Deal for Time Warner - A New Bet on Synergy." Yahoo Finance. Associated Press, 23 Oct. 2016. Web. 29 Jan. 2017.
Masters, Kim. "Disney - Studios' 2017 Forecast: Big Bets, Franchise Fears and Executive Intrigue." The Hollywood Reporter. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.
Strauss, Karsten. "10 Great Media And Entertainment Companies To Work For In 2016." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 21 June 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.