Ownership and funding
- Many media products are made by large conglomerates that own companies across different media.
- Vertical integration: owning different stages of production and distribution (such as a film studio that owns cinemas). Horizontal integration: owning several companies at the same stage (such as several magazines).
- Funding comes from advertising, subscriptions, sales, sponsorship, and the licence fee (for the BBC).
Public service and commercial media
- Public service broadcasting (PSB), such as the BBC, aims to inform, educate and entertain everyone, and is funded by the licence fee, so it has no adverts.
- Commercial broadcasters, such as ITV and Channel 5, make money from adverts and must attract large audiences. Channel 4 is publicly owned but funded by adverts.
- Streaming services, such as Netflix, are funded by subscriptions.
Regulation
- Ofcom regulates TV, radio and video-on-demand in the UK.
- IPSO (the Independent Press Standards Organisation) regulates most newspapers and magazines.
- The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) regulates adverts.
- The BBFC classifies films (such as 12A and 15), and PEGI gives age ratings to video games.
Technology and convergence
- Convergence is when different media come together on one platform, such as TV, news and games on a smartphone.
- Digital technology lets products reach global audiences, and lets audiences create and share content.
Key terms
- Conglomerate
- A large company owning businesses across different media.
- Vertical integration
- Owning different stages of production and distribution.
- Horizontal integration
- Owning several companies at the same stage.
- Public service broadcasting
- Broadcasting that aims to inform, educate and entertain everyone.
- Regulation
- Rules and bodies that control the media.
- Ofcom
- The UK regulator for TV, radio and video on demand.
- Convergence
- Different media coming together on one platform.