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EMERGING COUNTRIES
source: www.union-network.org/unimei.nsf
www.advanced-television.com/
2005/news_archive_2005/
Mar21_March25.htm
poste153-198.com.ulaval.ca/
6thwmec/li_dimmick.pdf
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Latin American media systems are experiencing a gradual transition from family-owned, partisan media to globalised corporations… - the transition is happening at unequal pace across the region. It is more evident in larger and wealthier markets such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Although old clientelist practices and favouritism still remain, media corporations swim in different capitalist waters than the empires of the past. Today’s media corporations are conceived primarily as moneymaking enterprises rather than as political tribunes or public avenues for the many ambitions of their owners; (1)
- in Mexico and Brazil, the Televisa and Globo companies respectively, have dominated the media for decades. Taking advantage of their close association with authoritarian governments, both companies were able to consolidate their control, particularly in broadcasting. Currently, they hold extensive interests in television, film, newspaper, music, radio and in other industries. Other media markets are becoming imperfect duopolies, such as Argentina (Grupo Clarin and Telefónica), Colombia (Grupo Santo Domingo and Grupo Ardilla Lule), and Venezuela (Grupo Phelps and Grupo Cisneros); (1)
- in Brazil, the media empire Organizações Globo established by Roberto Marinho who died aged 98 in August 2003, reaches 99.9% of all homes in Brazil through its network of TV channels, radio, newspapers, music, publishing and the internet. Marinho, at his peak worth US$6.4 bn, played a powerful role in Brazilian political life. Until 2002, international investors were unable under Brazilian law from acquiring stakes in Organizações Globo or other domestic media companies. This has now been repealed, so that minority holdings of up to 30% are now permitted. However, the sector is currently undergoing a serious economic crisis, which has resulted in widespread unemployment among media workers;
- global companies have entered many markets partnering with domestic giants in some business (e.g. satellite television), but generally, do not own media properties. An exception is Spain’s Telefonica, which - in the last decade - has become a dominant presence in the Argentine media market and also owns the popular regional portal Terra.
Although no foreign media ownership is officially allowed, Western media giants have long been involved in China to explore its potential… - in China, competition in the media market has been increasing. In the domestic domain, starting from mid 1990s most provincial TV stations have had satellite access to cover the entire country, which puts them in direct competition with the state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV). In response to the increasing competition, Chinese media conglomerates have been formed on both state and provincial levels in China, combining radio, television, cable, and film under one organisation. In December 2000, Hunan Radio, Film & Television Group, China's first provincial-level radio and television heavyweight, was founded. The group consists of 7 TV channels, 4 radio channels and a number of studios. At present, China has 14 TV & Radio groups, and 6 film groups;
- cooperation between Chinese and foreign media firms started in the early 1990s when a joint venture agreement was reached between Murdoch’s News Corp and China’s state-owned newspaper, the People’s Daily, to provide online services, digital mapping, and electronic publishing. In addition, a joint venture agreement was signed in 2001 between News Corporation’s Phoenix Chinese Channel and China Central Television (CCTV) to produce TV programming. The internationalisation of Chinese media and the influence of Western media culture on the society have helped create a customer base in China with high acceptance of international media products. In 2002, there were 26 foreign channels licensed to broadcast in China, most of which have access only to upscale hotels, foreign residential compounds, and selected government offices and research institutes;
- in order to reach remote regions, the State Administration of Radio, Film and TV (SARFT) in China has said that it will launch two new direct-broadcast satellites in the middle of 2006. The domestic-made SinoSat 2 will act as a primary satellite, while ChinaSat 9 made by Alcatel will be used as a backup. The satellites will be able to transmit more than 100 channels of programmes. The penetration rate of TV and radio broadcasting has reached 95% through cable TV and terrestrial broadcasting.. SARFT is planning to reach an additional half a million people in 100,000 villages by the end of 2005 through terrestrial broadcasting.
Concerned about foreign dominance of the country's media industry, the Indian government…- recently capped foreign shareholding in local TV news channels to more than 26%. The move forced Australian media moghul Rupert Murdoch to sell 74% of his flagship TV channel Star News India to the locally owned Ananda Bazaar Patrika publishing group. Still, the cap hasn't deterred Murdoch's competitors from flocking to India and aggressively trying to alter the local media landscape. Bertelsmann, Vivendi Universal and Time Warner have all sent representatives to the sub continent to lay the groundwork for their arrival;
- India now has about 6,000 English and Indian-language daily newspapers with an estimated 180 million readers. Its cable TV sector has grown unchecked to 44m users, the 3rd-highest cable subscriber base in the world. In 2000, 108 FM radio frequencies have been opened to private Indian companies. Some nationalist political parties claim India is being swamped by foreign content.
(1) Silvio Waisbord, “Grandes gigantes: media concentration in Latin America”, February 2002. [ opendemocracy.net/content/articles/PDF/64.pdf]
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