The Big Ten of mass media
It’s no secret that most of our media is owned by a handful of huge diversified companies or conglomerates. Though these giants come and go, their presence influences the integrity of journalism and the free exchange of information. Here are the Big Ten, their revenues and media interests.
AOL/Time Warner: $36.2 billion (Time, Life and People magazines; Atlantic, Elektra and Rhino Records music labels; HBO, Cinimax, CNN, Cartoon Network)
AT&T Corporation: $66 billion (Largest cable provider; New Line Cinema)
General Electric: $129.9 billion (NBC; Aircraft engines; 14 communication satellites)
News Corporation: $11.6 billion (Fox, National Geographics, +26 TV stations; HarperCollins; NY Post, UK’s Sun, Times; 20th Century Fox; NY Knicks, NY Rangers, Madison Square Garden)
Viavom, Inc: $20 billion (CBS, UPN, MTV, VH1, Showtime, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, +39 TV stations; Paramount Pictures, Blockbuster; 184 Infinity radio stations)
Bertelsmann: $16.5 billion (Publishes 80 magazine worldwide; Random House, Knopf, Bantam Doubleday books; Arista, BMG, RCA record labels)
Walt Disney Company: $25.4 billion (ABC, ESPN, A&E, History and Biography channels; 50 radio stations; Mighty Ducks, Anaheim Angels teams; Beuna Vista, Touchstone picture companies; Hyperion books)
Vivendi Universal: $37.2 billion (USA Network, Sci-Fi Channel; Universal Studios, StudioCanal, Gramercy Pictures; Houghton Mifflin publisher; 27% US music sales, Interscope, Geffen, Island, Def Jam, MCA, Mercury)
Liberty Media Corporation: $42 billion (Ticketmaster; 21 US and 49 Canadia radio stations; 14 TV stations; largest cable provide in Japan)
Sony: $53.8 (Columbia Pictures; Playstation)
For a more comprehensive list: Big Ten