Ownership, Convergence and Conglomeration
Who owns the media: conglomerates, diversification, vertical and horizontal integration, the concentration of ownership, and how convergence brings different media together on one device.
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Who owns the media? 📺
The films, television and music we enjoy are mostly made by a small number of very large companies. Understanding who owns the media, and how those companies are organised, helps to explain why we see the products we do. This module looks at ownership, integration and convergence.
Words for the industry 🔑
Learn these four terms before you study how the media is owned.
Two kinds of integration 🆚
Companies grow by owning more of the market in two different ways.
Grade 9 thinking 💡
A top answer explains the effect of ownership, not just the terms. When a few conglomerates control most of the media, there are fewer independent voices, more cross-promotion of their own products, and less choice for audiences. Always link ownership to what audiences can see.
Match the term 🔗
- conglomerate
- diversification
- vertical integration
- horizontal integration
- a large company that owns many smaller media companies
- spreading a business into different types of media
- owning every stage from production to sale
- owning several companies at the same stage
Match the example to the idea 🧩
- a company owns a film studio, cinemas and a streaming service
- a company owns several different television channels
- watching video, reading news and messaging on one smartphone
- a few large companies control most of the media
- vertical integration
- horizontal integration
- convergence
- concentration of ownership
What is convergence? ❓
What is convergence in the media?
- Different media such as text, sound and video coming together on one device.
- One company owning every stage of production.
- Splitting a large company into many small ones.
Features of a conglomerate ✅
Select the TWO features of a conglomerate.
- It owns many smaller companies.
- It works across different media such as film, television and music.
- It only ever makes one product.
- It is always a small local business.
How ownership concentrates 🪜
An interactive activity.
Summarise ownership 📝
A _____ is a large company that owns many smaller media companies. When one company owns every stage from making a product to selling it, this is _____ integration. When a company owns several businesses at the same stage, this is _____ integration. When a few companies control most of the media, this is called _____ of ownership. Different media coming together on one device is called _____.
Count the types 🔢
An interactive activity.
Find the convergence 🖍️
An interactive activity.
Which idea is it? 🧭
An interactive activity.
Explain the effect ✍️
An interactive activity.