The Structure and Ownership in the Creative Media Sectors

Over the past 30 years, there have been some dramatic changes to the creative media industries ownership and structure.

Film - The film industry is one of the most successful types of entertainment, the six main subsectors are; development, production, facilities, distribution, exhibition and export, these roles are filled with both small and large companies. Production companies are often set up and then close down when the production is complete, there are around 400 'permanent' (registered) companies in the film industry but this varies depending on how many productions are being worked on. This industry alone contributed £4.3 billion towards the UK economy in 2006, which was a massive increase from 2004 being £3.1 billion, while there is money to be made in film the amount of illegal downloads and copying of films have reduced the industry by £404 million in 2007.

There are around 27,800 people that work in film, which makes up for 5% of the creative industries workforce, with 91% of the film production workforce being freelance or self-employed. Film production crew earn an average gross income of £33,762, but film work often only forms part of their income as it is common to have other jobs when not in production. For people who are looking to work in film, they often look for the companies that produce box-office hits reviews; these top film production companies are high earners, producing work people want to see. Some of the top production companies include;

·     Fox Entertainment – founded in 1035 and based in Los Angeles, California, this company has many well-known subsidiaries, such as 20^th Century Fox, Fox Search Light Pictures and Fox Atomic; these produce a wide range of programs and feature length films. 20^th Century Fox have produced such franchises as ‘Star Wars’, ‘X-Men’, ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Batman’, ‘Die Hard’ as well as many others.

·     Paramount Motion Pictures Group – this is the oldest production company that’s still making films in America, they have seven subsidiaries and won many awards for films. In 2005, Paramount purchased DreamWorks, but it did not include DreamWorks Animation SKG, however they do distribute the DreamWorks animations. Paramount has produced shows such as ‘Superman’ and ‘Popeye’; they also own rights to most of the Cannon Films Library, New World Pictures Library, Carolco Pictures and CBS Television.

·     DreamWorks Animation SKG –This part of the DreamWorks company is probably the most prominent, including productions such as ‘Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron’ and ‘The Road to El Dorado’. DreamWorks has partnered with Aardman Animations producing ‘Chicken Run’ and also released the ‘Shrek’ films. This company has produced and distributed over ten films that have had box-office totals of $100 million or more.

·     Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group – This company was established in 1953, it was formed under the name of Buena Vista Distribution, this part of the company handles the distribution of films produced by Walt Disney Studios and Marvel Studios (as of 2012). Some of the most popular films produced by this company include; ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ -‘Dead Man’s Chest’, ‘Alice in Wonderland’, ‘The Avengers’, ‘Toy Story 3’ and many more. Disney is the only top Hollywood production studio that made more than four films reaching the $1 billion mark in worldwide grosses, two of them being in one year alone. Since the company works with children’s television, movies and animations, sixteen of the twenty highest grossing films had a PG rating. They also distribute films by Pixar Animation, ESPN Films, Touchstone Pictures, Studio Ghibli and more.

·     Time Warner – Including Warner Bros. Entertainment, Home Box Office, Time Inc. and Turner Broadcasting System, the divisions of this company are well known, Time Warner focuses on growth through initiatives such as Warner Bro’s Studio 2.0 and KidsWB.com. This film company produces videogames, including ‘LEGO Harry Potter’ and ‘Batman Arkham Asylum’.

Radio - The radio industry is hard to define now let alone in the future as audio content can now be distributed through many platforms as media and telecommunications are being merged across the board. Companies who broadcast through radio have a regulator, known as OFCOM, they do regular checks to make sure that what they are broadcasting is not offensive or abusive to anyone. Over 22,800 people are employed in the radio industry in a wide range of occupations, which is more than terrestrial TV, this makes up for about 5% of the entire creative industries workforce that has around 350 organizations.

Radio has a highly skilled and well qualified workforce, of which almost two thirds are graduates and a quarter are freelance or employed on contracts of less than a year. The average income received by the radio workforce is low at £29,200, compared with the creative industries workforce as a whole, £32,200. Permanent employees in the radio industry have a much higher average income than those working as freelancers (averages of £31,800 and £20,500).  Employers in this industry vary in size, from the BBC and larger commercial radio companies to non-profit community radio stations (run mainly by volunteers), there are three main sectors;

·         Publicly funded - this type of broadcasting receives funding from the public (such as TV license fees, public and commercial financing and from individual contributions) this includes radio, TV (the BBC) and other electronic media outlets. this consists of radio stations like Radio 1 and the BBC, the biggest single employer in the industry with almost 11,000 people, these consist of 11 national UK services, the World Service and a range of more local stations. BBC investment in its UK radio services was over £430 million in 2006 / 2007, they have a current share of over half all listening hours, this is mainly of listening to national networks (80%) rather than local services (20%). This sector is funded by taxes and also the lottery and employs around 48% of the radio industry.

·         Commercial - the revenue that comes from advertisements is used to fund this sector and employs around 43% of the radio industry, he majority of local and regional commercial radio stations are in group ownership, some groups focusing on one part of the country and others on particular formats while the two largest groups have a different range of services  across most of the UK.

·         Community and voluntary - this sector of the radio industry primarily provides local services for the good of the public, or particular communities. The people that provide this service do not make any financial profit and uses any profit that is produced for securing or improving the service given.

Games - The computer gaming industry has recently experienced a massive growth in its audience and incredible advantages in technology and creative possibilities. 8,850 people are employed in this industry, which makes up for 2% of the whole creative industries, there are around 220 businesses; 115 being game development companies, 30 games publishing companies and 35 games support companies, but 8% of the workforce is either freelance or self-employed. With 68% of the workforce having a degree, 27% of the degrees held by employees in the games industry are media related.

The average income received by this sector is £37,364, which is higher than the average received by the creative industries workforce as a whole being £32,200, generally salaries of women are higher than men due to a higher proportion of the female workforce being involved in marketing and management posts.

Animation – The animation industry stretched across many of the creative industries, animated content can be found on television, in feature films, advertisements, websites and computer or video games. It can generally be divided into four sections;

·    Stop frame -Stop frame or stop motion animation uses models, puppets or other 3D objects. The model is photographed, then moved a fraction by the animator and photographed again. When the photographs (or frames) are played at normal speed, the images appear to move.

·    2D drawn or traditional - 2D drawn animation consists of a series of images which the animator draws on special paper. Each image represents one stage of a movement, for example, of a character walking or smiling. Traditionally the images are traced onto film and coloured. Scenery is then added by layering sheets of film. Increasingly, however, the images are scanned into a computer and coloured using specialist software. When viewed at speed and in sequence the images appear to move.

·    2D computer generated - the animator works with a specialist software package which is used to create and animate characters, and add scenery and a soundtrack.

·    3D computer generated (CG) -3D CG animation uses specialist software to create animations. This technique is often used in feature films and computer games.

Although some animators create their own characters and stories, others follow a brief from a director, animation director or key animator. Often they work with established characters and layouts. The starting salary for a newly-qualified animator may be from around £19,440 a year. UK animation companies employ around 4,700 people with a further 1,100 employed in key animation roles in other creative industries, 38% of the people are freelance or self-employed and 92% of people working in animation are graduates and 48% of these hold postgraduate qualifications.

In total, the global market for all forms of animation is currently estimated to be worth £50 billion p.a. In order to be a competitor and secure the greatest profit from the international market for animation, the UK's animation businesses will increasingly rely on a highly skilled and specialized workforce that understands the market.

Publishing - The publishing industry is made up of different sub‐sectors, these include: books, journals (including electronic journals), newspapers, news agencies, magazines and business media, directories and databases, newsletters and reports. Newspapers, covering both national and local, are the biggest sub‐sector, employing over 60,000 people, which makes up around 30% of the sector.

The smallest sub‐sector is News Agencies, which has around 24,000 employees. There are over 200,000 people employed in the publishing industry and it generates a turnover of £8.3 billion Gross Value Added, which makes this industry one of the biggest earners for the UK creative media industries.

Interactive Media - Interactive media industry is quickly changing and, much like the radio industry, it is defining it can be difficult. It broadly refers to digital media with which the user actively interacts in order to change or affect their experience, and which can only be experienced through interaction. Interactive media products include web sites, multimedia catalogues, Digital Advertiser Locations and other red-button interactive television destinations, and computer games.

These products are distributed to devices either via a network or on physical media (such as mobile phones, televisions, kiosks). The industry is divided into: web and internet; offline multimedia; companies specializing in mobile content; and interactive TV. This industry is worth several billion pounds, but it’s products support a far larger economy.

Advertising / Marketing – Companies in this industry create advertising campaigns, implement public relations campaigns, and engage in media buying, among other advertising services. Major companies include Interpublic and Omnicom, (both headquartered in the US), Dentsu and Hakuhodo DY Holdings (both based in Japan), Publicis (France) and WPP (Ireland). This industry is intended to persuade their audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action, this usually means for them to purchase or consume a product or service. This is also another sector (like radio and interactive media) that crosses multiple platforms like broadcast, print, billboards and online, this industry leads the way with the cross-platform innovation as campaigns cross boundaries between TV, radio, print, billboards and interactive media.

This sector produces around £6.2 billion annually consisting of around 13,000 businesses. Demand for advertising and marketing services comes largely from businesses that sell consumer products, entertainment, financial services, technology, and telecommunications. The profitability of individual companies depends on creative skills and maintaining client relationships. Large companies benefit from being able to serve the varied needs of major customers. Small companies can compete by focusing on niche markets or by offering lower pricing.

Photo Imaging / Photography - The photo imaging industry includes:

• Image producers (including laboratories and minilabs)
• Photo retail
• Picture libraries and agencies
• Manufacturers
• Support services (such as equipment hire and repair).

There are around 44,000 people who are employed in this industry, with nearly 14,000 companies. The pace that technology is advancing means that businesses and freelancers in the industry must develop strong market awareness and demonstrate flexibility to adapt rapidly to new business opportunities. Wider internet access and the opportunity for image sharing across a number of platforms, makes an understanding of intellectual property rights and how to protect them increasingly important. The average income received by the photo imaging workforce is £20,450, which is low compared with the average income of the creative industries workforce as a whole, £32,200.

Structure of different sectors -

Public Sector - this type of broadcasting receives funding from the public (such as TV license fees, public and commercial financing and from individual contributions) this includes radio, TV (the BBC) and other electronic media outlets.

Private Sector - this type of broadcasting does not receive funding from the public or government but from private investors and is run by companies or individuals; this would include TV channels such as ITV.

Conglomerate - This is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses together into one corporate structure, usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. A media conglomerate describes companies that own large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, films and the internet. The Walt Disney Company is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, along with others, including:

·         News Corporation - in 1980 Rupert Murdoch consolidated his US and Australian holdings into News Corporation, this global media conglomerate has a considerable market share in just about every type of media imaginable. It owns many broadcast television stations, television production companies, motion picture corporations, magazines, newspapers, satellite, cable, book publishing, advertising, digital broadcasting and MySpace.

·         Viacom – short for Video & Audio Communications, in June 1971 Viacom established itself as a public company, then in 1983 they formed a joint venture with Warner Communication Inc. and Warner Amex Cable Company. Today, this company is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, behind The Walt Disney Company and News Corporation, Viacom has revenue of $9.34 billion in the US alone and around 12,000 employees.

·         Time Warner - this is the world's fourth largest entertainment conglomerate, Warner Communications, Inc. and Time, Inc. (along with the assets of a third company, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.) forms the current Time Warner.

·         Comcast - Comcast Cable was originally formed as American Cable Systems in 1963 and was founded by Ralph J. Roberts, the parent company for this conglomerate is NBC Universal, and this is the largest cable and television operator in the US and supplies around 9.34 million residential telephone lines. Comcast also has significant holding in several cable networks (including E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, G4, The Golf Channel and NBC Sports Network), distribution (The Platform), and related businesses.

·         AT&T - formed in 1983, this is one of the largest providers of local and long distance telephone services in the US, they have over 81.6 million wireless customers and more than 150 million total customers.

Merger - a merger is a tool used by companies for the purpose of expanding their operations, aiming for an increase of their long term profitability. Usually mergers occur in a consensual (occurring by mutual consent) setting where executives from the target company help those from the purchaser in a due diligence process to make sure that the deal is beneficial to both parties.

Vertical integration – this is the process in which numerous steps in the production and/or distribution of a product or service is controlled by a single company, in order to increase that company’s power in the marketplace. While you might recognize most products by their brand name printed on it, many companies are involved in developing that product, which mean that these companies are necessarily not part of the brand you see.

There are 3 types of Vertical Integration:

• Backward integration – Where a company tries to own an input product company. Like a car company owning a company which makes tires.
• Forward integration – Where a company tries to control the post production areas, like the distribution network. This would be like a mobile company opening its own Mobile retail chain.
• Balanced integration – This is a mix of forward and backward integration, a balanced strategy to take advantages of both.

Horizontal integration - (also known as lateral integration) this is a strategy to increase your market share by taking over a similar company. Horizontal Integration normally happens when mergers and acquisitions happen in order to increase the reach of an entity. An example of Horizontal Integration would be something like You Tube, which was taken over by Google mostly because it had a strong and loyal user base.