Evaluate the impact of media ownership on the media texts which get produced.
In the film industry, media ownership plays a critical role in the production, marketing, and distribution processes. This is especially true for large corporations, such as disney, who have a network of cross-media platforms built around them, giving them control of all the processes needed to make and show their movies.
Through synergy conglomerates are able to produce, market, and distribute the best film possible. This is empirically true as over three-quarters of the market-share in the film industry is owned by five major companies: disney, universal, paramount, warner bros., and columbia. All five of these companies operate within a network of other companies owned by their respective conglomerate. As a result these companies do far better in the film industry than smaller film studios who do not have direct access to the resources available to the big five. For example, Disney is a multi-media conglomerate which has been around since the 1920's and has extended its reach beyond film-making. It is vertically integrated, having control of a considerable number of procedures necessary to make and distribute its motion pictures at the highest level.
This process begins with the production stage. Throughout production Walt Disney Pictures works alongside other subsidiaries who fall under the Walt Disney Studios conglomerate. For example, in the movie Guardians of the Galaxy Disney used synergy throughout the production process while working hand in hand with other Walt Disney Studios daughter companies such as Marvel Animation, Marvel Music, and Walt Disney Imagineering. This synergy makes it easier for conglomerates such as Disney to efficiently produce their film as they already have access to all of the necessary components for creating a film.
In the marketing stage the use of synergy only gains importance. During this part of the film-making process it is crucial that marketing is effectively done in order for the film to gain traction among its intended audience. As marketing increases so too does the consumers desire to watch that film when it is released. This kind of marketing was seen when Disney was preparing to release Beauty and the Beast. The stars of the film appeared on ABC’s ‘The Bachelor’ to promote the upcoming release of the movie. Moreover, a similar kind of promotion was seen in the marketing of Guardians of the Galaxy when a few of the main characters appeared in a super bowl commercial. Both of these examples are representative of the importance of synergy in the marketing of films as both drew in a larger audience by promoting their film during the exhibition of another piece of media. This is an effective marketing strategy as they are promoting their films at times when they know a large audience will be watching.
During the distribution stage synergy only gets more extensive. Once the film is released merchandise follows it and this too is handled by subsidiaries. This allows the parent company to not only make more money off of their film but they can also continue to draw viewers to watch their film. Additionally, during the distribution of the film the parent company uses the opportunity to market any other films which they are producing at the same time. Indeed, this was done when Beauty and the Beast was released in 2017. To build anticipation for the newest installment Disney aired the original movie on TV more often.
Media ownership has a major impact in the production, marketing, and distribution of a film as the parent company gives its subsidiaries a network of additional media platforms which are crucial in the filmmaking process. Having access to these subsidiaries gives corporations, such as Disney, an edge over smaller filmmaking studios who do not have immediate access to these resources.
