Ownership and Structure.

1. Describe the current ownership of the creative media sector.
- The creative media sector is currently owned by a small number conglomerate companies. This is called an oligopoly. For example the supermarket trade is controlled by four major companies, Tesco, Asda, Morrisions and Sainsburys.

2. Who are the big six media conglomerates? What type of media industries are these conglomerates working in? How much is each conglomerate worth?
-Disney $40.1 billion. - ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Miramax, Marvel Studios.
-Time Warner $29 billion. - CNN, HBO, Time, Waner Bros.
-CBS $14.2 billion - Showtime, Smithsonian, Nfl.com, Jeopardy, 60 Minuets.
-GE $13.96 billion - Comcast, NBC, Universal Pictures, Focus Features.
-News-Corp $33.4 billion - Fox, Wall Street Journal, New York Post.
-Viacom $14.9 billion. - MTV, Nick JR, Bet, CMT, Paramount Pictures.


3. What are the benefits of being part of a major media conglomerate?
You get more publicity for your company, this means the company will be earning more money for themselves than they were before. Also a advantage is that the company get to keep their own name, staff and logo.

4. 'Ownership of media is shared by a select few'. How might this affect the industry and audience?

• Competition - There are many little companies out there in the media. This means a lot of fierce competition to get their products known. The little companies have to try and compete with the conglomerates  
• Employment - There may be less jobs going around in the industry because companies are coming together and becoming conglomerates. This means they will already have the people to do the job and the owner of a small company may not get full control over their company.
• Independent media companies - Indie companies will face lots of competition because there are lots of conglomerates out there which will be taking the spotlight as a more 'reliable' company.
• The audience/products - The audience will be drawn to the bigger conglomerates rather than independent companies because they will be more advertised as they will have to money to advertise unlike smaller companies. This means a good product made by an independent company may not be getting the credit it deserves. 

Bauer Media.

Bauer Media.

1. What does Bauer Media do? Bauer Media is a dominant brand in the UK . It is Europe's biggest privately  owned publishing group. Bauer Media is is a worldwide media empire. It offers over 300 magazines in 15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio stations. 

2. What was the turnover of Bauer Media in 2010? Bauer Media turned over 2,129 mil euros in 2010.

3. Which media products does the company produce? (Brands)
- 4Music
-FHM
-Cash For Kids
-Cool FM
-Practical Photography
-More!
-Empire
-Closer
-Heat
-The Hits Radio
-Bird Watching
-KARRANG!
These are just a few of the brands that Bauer Media owns. 

4. How do the products make a profit? The products of Bauer Media make a profit by advertising mostly in print. They do this in magazines, on billboards and posters etc. They also advertise on TV and the internet. Another way they make money is purely from the marked price on the magazines.

5. Which countries does Bauer Media operate in? Bauer Media's headquarters is in Hambug, Germany. They also serve Russia, Europe, the USA and China. 

6. List the two subsidiaries owned by Bauer Media
-CVC- Capital Partner (Investment)
-ACP Media- (Trade Publishing Division) 

7. What advantages might Bauer Media have over its competitors? How might Bauer Media take advantage of its subsidiaries? Bauer Media is a conglomerate company. This means it is larger and covers more areas of the world than any other publishing group. This gives it an advantage over its other competitors because it will be looked at as more reliable. Also the company will have a lot more money than smaller companies so they don't have the need to take out loans etc. For example: People will buy Bauer Media's magazines over a small independent company's magazines because they have been around for much much longer and they are well advertised and more well known than an independent company's magazines. This makes it a first choice for many people.

8. What might be the future for Bauer Media? How could the company grow? What opportunities does Bauer Media have? Bauer Media can collect information and can transfer required information to subsidiaries. They can merge into other companies which would help the company grow. They also have the power to buy out new products, which will result in them making more money and getting their company growing faster. For example: Bauer media might decide they want to buy a smaller, less known magazine. With their power of advertising etc they could get this magazine out their, meaning more people will buy it and they will be getting more money.