Media conglomerates, M&A, revenue breakdowns and the balance of power across the sector.
7 articles
There will soon be more French speakers in Africa than anywhere else. Almost none of the French-language media they read is made with them in mind, and that gap is the entire opportunity.
A shared language creates the illusion of a shared market. Quebec regulates platforms differently, funds media differently and speaks French differently — and readers notice the third one immediately.
European media groups usually expand by buying audiences they already understand. Vivendi's most interesting international position was built in markets most of its peers never entered.
Europe’s biggest media groups are not the ones with the loudest brands. Ranked by revenue, the continent’s top ten is dominated by a family-controlled German holding, two advertising networks and a Swedish audio platform.
European broadcasters are merging to reach the scale of their American competitors. The cost synergies are real. The audience synergies are not, because Europe's television markets are separated by language, not by borders.
Bertelsmann answers to a foundation with no exit. Vivendi answered to a market that eventually asked it to stop being a conglomerate. The two outcomes are the clearest natural experiment European media has produced.
Every funding model for public broadcasting answers the same question: how far is the money from the government of the day? The answer determines everything else.