Billionaires Disrupt Media, Take Profits - September 20, 2021
Most media mergers and acquisitions are rather trance-like. Bland lawyers mingle with equally bland accountants to engage in an incomprehensible kabuki to carve up companies, usually without the knives, and dice up the money. A century ago this was so much more fun, at least made for the movies. Alas, we return to those glory days of high drama.

Radio Channel Slides To The Right, Regulator Blunts Show Host - September 13, 2021
Media proprietors exert undeniable control over their broadcasting and publishing assets. It is the benefit - and sometimes peril - of ownership. Outside of some public broadcasting structures, listeners, viewers and readers either accept what is distributed or, well, not. Most often, though not entirely, private sector media owners seek to monitize the most attractive product offer. There are certain variations.

Consolidation Isn’t Just A Plan: It’s The Only Plan - May 17, 2021
It’s one of those seasons when everybody is a buyer and everybody is a seller. Marketplace changes have run smack into new technologies and a whole different media consumer. On top of that, money is no object.

Testing The Rules Harder Than Finding The Number - April 12, 2021
Audiovisual rules in most countries have been set in stone for ages. More precisely, regulatory levers meant to keep a thumb on operational, commercial and financial behaviors date from the pre-digital era. Early deregulation efforts, largely, did not provide the desired effect of giving bracing control to broadcasters. The internet arrived. Mobile phones arrived. Netflix arrived. Consumers went with the flow.

The Game In Play Is Setting Pieces On The Board - January 25, 2021
Mergers and acquisitions in the media sphere have been moving toward more strategic dimensions. That’s not to say tactical competitive deals are out. These are just on the backburner as national competition authorities press harder on operational issues like employment and debt. As usual, banks and investment funds are cleaning up, literally and figuratively. There are targets of opportunity and many games to play.

Sales Soaring, Publishers Buying And Selling - November 21, 2020
Of course, mergers and acquisitions are heating up again in the media world. It’s a cyclical thing. Some shareholders eye expansion in this time of consolidation. There are bargains to be had. Others are ready to cash-out. Hold on to your hats.

No Good Time To Do This - July 10, 2019
Employment is an established measure of economic stability. Jobs are more personal. There was a bit of schadenfreude in news reports at the beginning of the week with hundreds of bankers streaming out of impressive buildings sobbing, carrying the personal possessions that once decorated the cubical, heading to the nearest bar. Big banks, these days, are not universally loved. The worst time for terminations, say human resources experts, is just before holidays. But, sometimes, the human resources people are the first to go.

So Much TV, So Little Time, Not To Forget Money - March 15, 2019
The delivery of video to homes is fraught with anxiety, certainly among those accustomed to providing that service. Consumers, particularly home consumers, love their television. Without delving too far into the sociological, television provides a bit of entertainment, a bit of information and a bit of noise in the room. Digital technology came along, upending the choice process, and created a new social process, bigger than the living room.

See also...

• Hot Topics - Media in France

• Hot Topics - Media in Italy

• Hot Topics - Music and Media