Comcast And The Media Industry

Any change in the factors that make up the macro-environment can have a direct impact on the Comcast Corporation. These factors can affect the Porter Five Forces that shape their strategy and their competitive advantage over other firms.

Comcast has to balance all of these factors in their macroenvironment while making their internal business decisions and deciding how to price their advertisement slots and subscription charges.

Unfortunately however, a February 2004 poll by the Pew Research Center found that “72 percent of the public has heard nothing about the media ownership [and consolidation] debate” (Connell 2004). Understanding how corporate mergers and consolidation affect the way in which the media function (especially in the realms of production and distribution) and how the media in turn directly impacts our society, our culture, our economy, and our politics – in short, our entire lives – is a necessary

The biggest companies in the media business ranges from Disney to Facebook. These big companies buy other smaller companies to control what information the smaller company's puts out over tv, internet, and other forms of media, These type of companies are called media conglomerates, One of the biggest media conglomerates is 21st Century Fox

Have you ever wondered who controls what we hear, see and read (Free Press)? A media conglomerate is a large company that owns several companies that provide services in the media industry (Media Conglomerates). An example of the major media conglomerates are Comcast, Sony Corporation and Viacom. TV and radio, print, internet and telecommunications all have a set of conglomerates, which control everything from initial production to final distribution (Free Press). For example, Comcast owns most NBC networks. They control what shows go on this network and what they are allowed to do. Viacom owns Atom Entertainment, BET Networks and CMT, along with other major television networks. These powerful media conglomerate corporations have a huge influence on mainstream media (Global Issues).

Media Networks compromise of a immense arrangement of broadcasting, cable, radio, publishing and digital businesses across two areas, the Disney/ABC Television group and the ESPN Inc. Media Networks also includes supporting headquarters, communications, digital media, marketing, distribution, research and sales groups. To break it down, the Disney/ABC Television group is made up of The Walt Disney Company 's world wide entertainment, television news properties, the television networks they own, for example Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family as well as many more networks that are all owned by Disney.

The Time Warner Cable Inc. is one of the oldest and most reputable cable companies in the United States, but it is now faced with the challenges of increased competition. Specifically, the organization encounters difficulties in retaining its customers, and also in signing new ones, and this is due to the increasing number of cable companies, which present the customers with more alternatives.

Large media corporations influence how information provided to us is covered. They do whatever it takes to get people to consider their form of media. “Of all the cartel 's dangerous consequences for American society and culture, the worst is its corrosive influence on journalism (Miller 2001). In journalism, one used to be able to ask questions and have both sides of the story; now, journalism has transitioned to creating drama and making up fact. Once channels, radio stations, and newspapers get dominated, they no longer cover the whole story, instead, they only cover a portion of it and emphasize certain parts more than others. Their goal is to try to sell their form of media and get views. The cartels do not care whether the information provided is factual or not. Lots of people liked what Fox’s owner Murdoch did, it was attracting lots of viewers because of the shouting and the scandals that would go on Fox News; and at that time CNN went to the capital to seek advice from rightist polls to get more viewers (Miller 2001). CNN wanted to get more views like Fox, so they also went to look for advice on how to attract more viewers. While making the decision on how things get covered, the large media corporations also take the time to slip in messages that will benefit

As the owner of the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011,[11][12][13][14] Comcast is a producer of feature films and television programs intended for theatrical exhibition and over-the-air and cable television broadcast.

For over a decade, cable and satellite TV companies have been prominent sources of television entertainment. But that seems to all be changing due to a major increase in the availability of online streaming. Cable and satellite companies are seeing a major decrease in their customer base and new subscriptions. With technology becoming more integrated into people’s everyday lives, it is easier and cheaper to watch the few shows you enjoy online rather than being a cable or satellite customer. When cable and satellite company’s first became popular with consumers, the internet didn’t exist. But over time technology advanced and now everyone is surround by it. With the advancement of smartphones, laptops, tablets and many other devices, watching television has taken on a whole new meaning. People are now able to watch pretty much anything they want without having to actually have a TV and cable/satellite subscription.

In the present time, the media industry is considered one of the most powerful industrial structures in the world. The source of its strength lies not only in that huge funds in which they invest, but also in its extreme influence on individuals, groups, and governments. Media and communication activities occupy an important place in the economy of most countries. In the media industry, there are many institutions and companies that compete in the media market. There are different in terms of the quality of their products, the nature and means, and their size in the market. There are newspapers and print magazines, radio and TV stations, publishing houses, film production companies, and Internet sites. All of these institutions are part of

launched a $100 million lawsuit in 2016 against Comcast stating that the cable giant violated the state’s Consumer Protection Act by using “deceptive sales practices” (Fortune). The recording of the “Comcast Representative from Hell” featuring an audio clip of a Comcast Representative arguing with a customer over the phone sparked a conversation about the largest player in the cable industry (TheVerge). As cord-cutting continues to be pervasive, Comcast recently announced in September that it’s expected to lose nearly 150,000 subscribers from various competitors. Even competitors like DirectTV that are in the Cable business are also showing signs of loss (Caffrey). This month, The Cable trade association has accused Comcast of forcing small firms to raise prices by limits small- and medium-sized operators from selling the basic cable-broadband tier package in its contracts for broadcasting its regional sports networks (Burdo). Essentially, Comcast is using its regional sports networks, which can hold exclusive broadcasting rights for local sports teams, as control in its contracts over more simple cable packages. Comcast customers in different parts of the country are subject to different prices and different rules, often seemingly arbitrarily (TheVerge). Rates can vary around

Satellite television (TV) providers distribute TV programs on a subscription or fee basis through direct broadcast satellites. In general, satellite TV providers earn revenue from monthly subscriptions to basic and premium programming. Revenue from advertising accounts for a small, but increasing, portion of industry revenue.

Cooperation’s like Time Warner, Disney, and individuals like Rupert Murdoc own multiple media outlets making it very difficult for other smaller media outlets to afford to advertise enough to stay in business. Rather than competing, many of these companies hold joint venture investments and it is not in their best interest to compete with each other. Deregulations in the industry has allowed these monopolies to become very powerful limiting the impact of the FCC (Rich Media, Poor Democracy, n.d.).

The consumers or audience have needs and wants. The influence these needs and wants have on media content is huge as these needs need to be met otherwise media will lose its customer base in a sense.