WRL

1. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Unit 7: Understanding the Creative
Media Sector
Learning outcome 1:
Understand the structure and ownership
of the media sector
Name: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Understand the structure and ownership of the creative media sector
Use this workbook to help you with this learning outcome. There is some guidance
and further notes which you should read and then remove, replacing it with your own
answers.
Provide a definition of the following different types of ownership and
provide an example of a company which is owned in such a way.
Private ownership is a company who is owned by people rather than being owned
by the government, this is different to public ownership were as the public
company is funded by the public a private company it funded by its owners.
Private company usually have a better quality of product, this can lead to cultural
decay in that popular media can become uniformed and similar.
Public service broadcasting is a broadcasting company who isn't purely for
commercial gain this includes content such as the news, art programs and
religious programs, these types of companies can be state owned or
commercially owned, state owned means its owned by the government and
commercially owned means they make money rough selling advertisements and
product placements. Channel 4 is a commercially owned company making money
through advertising.
Multinationals are large companies who operate in many other countries They can
be, but are not always, owned by larger corporations or they could own them
selves. If the company puts its buildings in the right country and place they can
get away with no tax. The company may have problems when laws change in
different countries and it is hard to keep control of the whole company spread out
across different territories.
Independents are is radio, television, newspapers or the internet that is free of
influence from the government and corporate interests.
Conglomerates are…

3. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Voluntary or not for profit organisations are…
What are some of the challenges faced by independent media companies?
(Use specific examples to help you explain. You could consider independents that
have gone out of business, that have been merged or taken over and also those
which are still in business.)
What are some of the challenges faced by multinational media companies?
(Use specific examples to help you explain. You could consider companies that
have gone out of business, that have been merged or taken over and also those
which are still in business.)
What is cross media ownership?
(Explain the concept of cross media ownership. Use specific examples of media
organisations that are cross media owners. Be specific about the different types of
media they own.)
What is diversification?
(Provide a definition of the term. Provide an example of a diverse media
company. To add more detail, consider the advantages of this type of media
ownership for the company involved.)

4. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
What is horizontal integration?
Horizontal integration is when an organisation owns more than one production
company e.g. Warner Brother Films, Warner Brother Games, DC Comics. This
would happen when a company like EA would buy out Ubisoft to merge their
companies and cover more products.
What is vertical integration?
Vertical integration is when an organisation owns every step of making a product.
From designing it to manufacturing and then distribution, a good example of this is
Apple.
What are some of the advantages of these different ways of structuring a
company?
The advantages of having a horizontal integration is that as a company you have
a wider audience and because of this you will be making a lot more money. The
advantages of having a Vertical integration is that as a company you own every
step of the way to make your products and your in more control over what
happens to that product.
Use the following table to show how the Disney Company is structured.
Production Walt Disney
Studios
Marvel Pixar
Distribution Disney Media Marvel
Television
Buena Vista
Home
Entertainment
Screening Walt Disney
Motion Pictures
Marvel
Entertainment
HollyWood
Pictures

5. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
What different ways can ownership be shared out?
Owner ship can be shared out with share holders, another way it can be shared
out is selling it to other companies, for example when EA bought out Ubisoft.
What is a merger? Why would companies merge together?
A merger is when two companies decide that it is in their best interest to merge
together so they can benefit off of each other.
What is a takeover? Why do companies take each other over?
A takeover is when a larger company buys a smaller company, this can only
happen with the smaller company’s consent. This can come with its problems
though because the larger company buys the smaller company they also get all of
its problems.
What is cross media regulation?
Cross media regulation dictates who can own what across different forms of
media e.g. if a national news paper owns a 20% of the market they can not
expand and own a radio station.
Should we have restrictions on the amount of media outlets people can
own?
Yes because it stop companies becoming too powerful and being allowed to
control the market. It also helps smaller companies from being bought out.

6. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
You should select an organisation to work with to help you answer the following
questions. It can be in any media sector. Researching your company in detail will
help you produce stronger answers.
What income streams does your chosen company have?
Blizzard makes its income by making video games
What is product diversity? How diverse is your company’s product range?
Product diversity
What advantages does this give your company in the market place?
Advantages of product diversity make the company have a wider and more
understanding of the market
Why is the profitability of a product range so important to a company?
(Use examples from your chosen company or others to highlight how some of
their products may be very successful whilst others are not.)
What advantages or disadvantages are there in making big budget,
mainstream products?

7. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
(Think about what your company or other companies make.)
What are some of the objectives of your chosen company?
(Use the company’s website to help you here. You can provide a direct quote if
properly referenced but you should also discuss what you find. Simply quoting is
not a high level answer.)
Blizzard’s mission statement are these following values
1) gameplay first
2) commit to quality
3) play nice; play fair
4) embrace your inner geek
5) every voice matters
6) think globally
7) lead responsibility
8) learn & grow
What are the advantages/disadvantages of taking part in a media franchise?
An advantage of media franchises would be that each company would be making
more money
A disadvantage of media franchises are that with the new deal the company can
easily ruin the larger organisations name
What, if any, products does your company license?
(Think about merchandise here not made directly by the company. For a higher
level answer, discuss why they might do this. If they don't license anything,
consider why that might be.)

8. BTEC Extended DiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Who is in competition with your company? How successful is your
company in comparison?
(This gives you lots of scope for a detailed answer. When considering
competition, you want to look at companies making the same product for the
same type of audience (age, gender and so on), to get the best comparison. Look
at the range of products, market presence and so on to help you establish who is
leading your market place.)
Who are your customers?
(Customers can be categorised in a range of ways. They could be members of
the public or other businesses. They could be buying a product or a service.
Explain who they are and what they get from you. You could go further and
consider the age, gender and class of your audience, particularly if you are selling
directly to the end user.)
Which global media trends are affecting your company right now?
(Look at the list of trends and see how they could affect your company. It mobile
technology changing the services you have to provide? Is online news cutting
sales of your newspaper? Are downloads (illegal or legal), changing the way you
need to provide video games to your customers. Think about each trend, its
impact and what you company is doing about it.)