Question: What non-US companies are key players in the industry?
Summary: The most global media company in the world is a German based corporation named "Bertelsmann AG".
Bertelsmann is an incredibly broad media company, providing not just radio and television (through its subsidiary RTL), but also newspapers and magazines (through its subsidiary Gruner + Jahr, the largest magazine publisher in Europe), and books (through its subsidiary Random House). It operates Direct Group Bertelsmann, which operates "media clubs, bookstores, online activities, publishing imprints and distribution companies in over 16 countries." It also operates an outsourcing service provider called Arvato, a subsidiary largely distinct from its other, more media-centered subsidiaries.
The company employs over 100,000 people in 50 countries worldwide, making it "the worlds most international media company".
RTL, the company's radio and television subsidiary, accounts for 35% of its revenue, is the largest source of income, partially the product of a plan to expand its television services internationally. RTL now provides services in 11 countries, including production companies in the United States.
Analysis: Bertelsmann is the most international media company, true, but it is certainly not the largest media company in the world. It still has a long ways to go before it catches up to the likes of Disney, which is currently the largest media conglomerate in the world, or even AT&T, the largest telecommunications provider in terms of revenue ($124 Billion vs. Bertelsmann's $15 billion).
What kind of opportunity does it have to expand? While breaking a company like Disney or AT&T off its throne, especially here in the US, is far too much to hope for anytime soon, Bertelsmann does have a great ability to take advantage of new, important markets, which could make it a much larger conglomerate - primarily, digital media. It owns the largest book publisher in the world, Random House. As the digital media slowly but surely eats away at the publishing profits, an entrance into e-books could save some of the lost revenue. Owning Random House also gives it a tremendous jumping point with material to publish, and a large market familiar with the name. It could also enter the digital movie streaming service; Netflix is scheduled to begin offering its services in two European countries in the first quarter of 2012. By establishing itself as a homegrown competitor, Bertelsmann could provide a successful service in Europe.
I doubt that it has enough time to establish itself as a "homegrown competitor" in time to prevent Netflix from entering the European market, but Bertelsmann definitely does have the potential to provide strong competition. From what information I could find however, it lacks any hold in online media - this is a area where they really have a great potential to grow. Its may also profit from expanding more into Asia, where it currently has very low involvement (less than 5.5% of its revenues comes from that region) - it has an advantage over other companies due to its extensive experience of international service providing.
ReplyDeleteFunny how the "most global" media company isn't anywhere near the "wealthiest." In fact, they're relatively unheard of in the United States because non-international companies have so much dominance over the market. I feel that, in enough time, the likes of Comcast or Netflix could easily become the the most global because they have an incredibly high amount of wealth compared to Bertelsmann, though it would take a long time to integrate.
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