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Documented phenomenon

Media ownership concentrationAtlas

Media & Information · Media ownership & control

Research literature reports increasing ownership concentration across multiple communications sectors, including print, online media, advertising, and telecommunications. Critics argue that media ownership concentration can undermine a more democratic distribution of communicative power by limiting speakers’ ability to reach audiences.

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Documented6

  • Documented · A Media Ownership Monitor study reported that four families controlled nearly 87 percent of Albania’s media audience, up sharply from a substantially lower share several years earlier.
  • Documented · After the acquisition of CBS by Westinghouse, the top four TV owner groups’ share of industry revenues was projected to reach roughly one-quarter of the industry.
  • Documented · In the early 1990s U.S. cable market, only a very small share of homes passed by cable had a choice of more than one cable operator, and there were no restrictions on how many cable systems a single entity could own.
  • Documented · Loosening of ownership limitations was associated with increased concentration of TV station ownership nationwide, with the share of industry revenues earned by the top four owner groups rising substantially.
  • Documented · Media ownership concentration became a prominent public and scholarly issue in the United States and parts of Europe amid deregulation and the growth of large media empires.
  • Documented · Research literature reports increasing ownership concentration across multiple communications sectors, including print, online media, advertising, and telecommunications.

Official1

  • Official · The Media Pluralism Monitor treats media ownership concentration as one of the indicators used to assess risks to market plurality, including risks linked to digital intermediaries such as major online platforms.

Contested3

  • Contested · Concerns about media ownership concentration are frequently linked in reporting and advocacy to political control, press freedom, and risks faced by journalists and whistleblowers.
  • Contested · Critics argue that media ownership concentration can undermine a more democratic distribution of communicative power by limiting speakers’ ability to reach audiences.
  • Contested · Some analyses hold that the Internet may intensify rather than resolve problems associated with media ownership concentration.

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