What impact does media ownership have upon the range of products available to audiences in the media area you have studied? NOT FINISHED

Media Ownership arguably has a huge impact on the range of products available at the cinema, this being because 87.5% of films seen in the cinema involve at least one of these. There are six major companies which dominate the film industry; Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Columbia Pictures, Universal Studios and 20^th Century Fox. These are all very rich companies and will have even more money available from investors.

These huge, global companies will have a lot of contacts in the film industry and also have second-to-none resources, unlike smaller companies.  This will impact on the range of products available as they will be able to be involved in more than 1 film at the same time meaning that the range of media will be wider. Adding on to this they will also be able to get the production finished quicker, and arguably, better than companies which are miniscule to them.

Some companies such as British ones like DNA films and See-Saw productions will not have an excellent quality of sets. Compared to that of Warners Bros and Walt Disney it is clear to see which 2 excel. As the main type of film seen at the cinema is action these companies already have an advantage as the sets which they are able to work with are absolutely amazing compared to that of others. This would make the film seem better overall with high quality effects. The range of products would increase as these firms will be able to produce films such as Spider Man and Batman whereas smaller firms will not.

Companies like these will also be able to specialise in more than one genre of film, giving them a significant advantage. This means that there will never be an overload in a certain type of film, consequently expanding the range of films available. They will also be able to produce these films to a very high standard.

Next, the big six are also very reputable. People know who they are and some will even go to see a film as they have high expectations – just because these have been involved. This means that films could have more screenings, again making the range of products significantly more. It also means that other films will not have a chance if these companies are involved, hence why 87.5% of the films which are seen in cinemas have involved these.

Smaller corporations will also turn to these to look for a partner in synergy. One instance of this is with the film Paranormal Activity, this film would have been very small and hardly known if Paramount Pictures were not involved.  The maker of said film, Orin Peli made the movie for just $15,000. He really needed to be good on the distribution front therefore he turned to Paramount. This decision made him over $190 million. This stresses how just one single bit of input from a company can widen the range of films available for everyone to see – clearly media ownership plays a big part.