Media Industry Profile

Companies in this industry produce, process, or distribute information and entertainment content. US-based media conglomerates include AT&T (owner of WarnerMedia), Disney, Paramount, and Xfinity (owner of NBCUniversal) all of which have a global sphere of influence. Major companies outside the US include Bertelsmann and ProSiebenSat1 Media (both based in Germany).

Globally, the media industry generated about $2 trillion in 2022, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The digital media industry continues to grow as the number of platforms and audience for online media increase, according to Pew Research Center.

The US media industry includes about 154,000 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $1.6 trillion. Software publishing and telecommunications services, which are included in this industry, are covered further in separate industry profiles.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Massive media conglomerates dominate the global content production and distribution industry. The ability to compete successfully depends on the capacity to provide high-quality popular content, adapt to and exploit technological developments, respond to changes in consumer behavior, and achieve widespread distribution.

The explosion of digital content provided by companies such as Facebook and Netflix challenges traditional content providers to keep up. Meanwhile, the proliferation of mobile devices and widespread availability of mobile broadband technology is allowing more audiences across the globe to consume media content. Revenue from digital and mobile advertising continues to grow at the expense of traditional print and broadcast advertising. ...