Media cross-ownership is the common ownership of multiple media sources by a single person or corporate entity. Media sources include radio, broadcast television, specialty and pay television, cable, satellite, Internet Protocol television (IPTV), newspapers, magazines and periodicals, music, film, book publishing, video games, search engines, social media, internet service providers, and wired and wireless telecommunications.
Much of the debate over concentration of media ownership in the United States has for many years focused specifically on the ownership of broadcast stations, cable stations, newspapers, and websites. Some have pointed to an increase in media merging and concentration of ownership which may correlate to decreased trust in 'mass' media.
Ownership of American media Over time, both the number of media outlets and concentration of ownership have increased, translating to fewer companies owning more media outlets.
Technology Apple Produces iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV products, the iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems, music streaming service Apple Music, video streaming service Apple TV, film/TV studio Apple Studios, news aggregator Apple News, and gaming platform Apple Arcade. Alphabet Owns search engine Google, video sharing site YouTube, proprietary rights to the open-source Android operating system, blog hosting site Blogger, Gmail e-mail service, and numerous other online media and software outlets. Amazon Owns the Amazon.com e-commerce marketplace, cloud computing platform AWS, video streaming service Amazon Prime Video, film/TV studio Amazon MGM Studios, music streaming service Amazon Music, and video live streaming service Twitch. Meta Owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Reality Labs. Microsoft Owns business-oriented social network LinkedIn, web portal MSN, search engine Bing, cloud computing platform Microsoft Azure, Office productivity suite, Outlook.com email service, and Windows operating system. Microsoft Gaming is the second-largest video game company in the United States. It produces Xbox video game consoles and services, and it is the largest video game publisher in the United States. Its five development and publishing labels consist of Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King. SpaceX Owns the social media platform X. Elon Musk is the controlling shareholder of SpaceX.
Video The Walt Disney Company Owns Disney+, Hulu, Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Searchlight Pictures, 20th Century Studios, Disney Experiences, Disney Music Group, Disney Theatrical Group, National Geographic, ABC, FX Networks, Disney Channel, Disney Jr., Disney XD, and Freeform. Disney is the majority owner of ESPN.See: List of assets owned by The Walt Disney Company. Netflix Owns Netflix and many of the films and television series released on the service. NBCUniversal Owns Peacock, Universal Pictures, Universal Television, Universal Destinations & Experiences, NBC, Cozi TV, NBCSN, NBC American Crimes, NBC Sports, NBC News, NBC Owned Television Stations, NBC Sports Regional Networks, Focus Features, Illumination, DreamWorks Animation, Telemundo, TeleXitos, Universo, and Bravo. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast. Brian L. Roberts is the controlling shareholder of Comcast.See: List of assets owned by NBCUniversal. Skydance Corporation Owns HBO Max, Paramount+, Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, Paramount Television Studios, Warner Bros. Games, HBO, DC Studios, CBS, CBS Studios, CBS Sports, CBS News and Stations, CNN, Skydance Animation, Skydance Sports, Showtime, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Comedy Central, BET, MTV, Pop TV, TV Land, CMT, Pluto TV, Cinemax, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, HGTV, Food Network, Magnolia Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, Investigation Discovery, Oprah Winfrey Network, Science Channel, TNT Sports (including Bleacher Report), Start TV (50% owned), Dabl (operated by Weigel), and The CW (a joint venture with Nexstar Media Group). Larry Ellison is the controlling shareholder of Skydance.See: List of assets owned by Skydance Corporation. Sony Pictures Entertainment Owns Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, and Sony Pictures Animation), Sony Pictures Television, and Crunchyroll. Operates cable networks, Game Show Network and Sony Movie Channel, and digital multicast networks, Get. and Game Show Central. Fox Corporation Owns Fox One, Fox, Movies! (50% owned), Fox Sports, Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Television Stations, Bento Box Entertainment, and Tubi. Lachlan Murdoch is a significant minority shareholder in Fox Corporation.See: List of assets owned by Fox Corporation. Versant Owns CNBC, USA Network, MS NOW, Golf Channel, E!, Syfy, Oxygen, and Fandango Media. Brian L. Roberts is the controlling shareholder of Versant. Lionsgate Studios Owns Lionsgate Films and Lionsgate Television. AMC Global Media Owns AMC+, AMC, Acorn TV, BBC America, IFC, Hidive, Allblk, WE TV, Independent Film Company, Shudder, RLJE Films, and Sundance TV. James Dolan and his family are the controlling shareholders of AMC Networks.See: List of assets owned by AMC Networks.
Print The New York Times Company Owns The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, The New York Times Book Review, The New York Times International Edition, The Athletic, The New York Times Games, and Wirecutter. The Ochs-Sulzberger family has been the controlling shareholder of The New York Times Company since its patriarch, Adolph Ochs, purchased it in 1896.See: List of assets owned by the New York Times Company. News Corp Owns Dow Jones & Company (The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, and MarketWatch), the New York Post, and book publisher HarperCollins. Lachlan Murdoch is a significant minority shareholder in News Corp.See: List of assets owned by News Corp. Bloomberg L.P. Owns Bloomberg News (Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg Markets, Bloomberg Television, and Bloomberg Radio) and produces the Bloomberg Terminal which is used by financial professionals to access market data and news. Bloomberg is owned by Michael Bloomberg. Condé Nast Owns The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Bon Appétit, GQ, Architectural Digest, Wired, and Condé Nast Traveler. Condé Nast is owned by Advance Publications. Nash Holdings Owns The Washington Post. Nash Holdings is owned by Jeff Bezos.
Record labels Universal Music Group Largest of the "Big Three" record labels. Sony Music Entertainment Second-largest of the "Big Three" record labels. Warner Music Group Third-largest of the "Big Three" record labels. Access Industries is the controlling shareholder of Warner Music Group.
Video games Sony Interactive Entertainment Largest video game company in the United States. It produces PlayStation video game consoles and services. Valve Corporation Third-largest video game company in the United States. It is the developer of digital distribution service and storefront Steam. Electronic Arts Fourth-largest video game company in the United States. Epic Games Fifth-largest video game company in the United States. Take-Two Interactive Sixth-largest video game company in the United States. Roblox Corporation Seventh-largest video game company in the United States. It is the developer of game platform Roblox.
Radio SiriusXM Owns satellite radio service SiriusXM and internet radio service Pandora. iHeartMedia Owns 860 radio stations in 160 markets, iHeartRadio, Premiere Networks, and Mediabase. Cumulus Media Owns 428 radio stations in 87 markets and Westwood One. Townsquare Media Owns 321 radio stations in 67 markets. Audacy Owns 235 radio stations in 48 markets and Audacy. Soros Fund Management holds a controlling stake in Audacy.
Local television Nexstar Media Group Owns or operates over 260 television stations in 116 markets. It also owns The CW (a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance), NewsNation, Antenna TV, Rewind TV, and The Hill.See: List of stations owned or operated by Nexstar Media Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group Owns or operates 294 television stations in 89 markets. It also owns Tennis Channel, Comet, Charge!, The Nest, and Roar.See: List of stations owned or operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Gray Media Owns or operates 180 television stations in 113 markets.See: List of stations owned or operated by Gray Media. E. W. Scripps Company Owns or operates 62 television stations in 43 markets. It also owns Ion Television, Ion Mystery, Ion Plus, Laff, Court TV, Grit, Bounce TV, and Scripps News.: See: E. W. Scripps Company#Television stations
History of FCC regulations The First Amendment to the United States Constitution included a provision that protected "freedom of the press" from Congressional action. For newspapers and other print items, in which the medium itself was practically infinite and publishers could produce as many publications as they wanted without interfering with any other publisher's ability to do the same, this was not a problem.
The debut of radio broadcasting in the first part of the 20th century complicated matters; the radio spectrum is finite, and only a limited number of broadcasters could use the medium at the same time. The United States government opted to declare the entire broadcast spectrum to be government property and license the rights to use the spectrum to broadcasters. After several years of experimental broadcast licensing, the United States licensed its first commercial radio station, KDKA, in 1920.
Prior to 1927, public airwaves in the United States were regulated by the United States Department of Commerce and largely litigated in the courts as the growing number of stations fought for space in the burgeoning industry. In the earliest days, radio stations were typically required to share the same standard frequency (833 kHz) and were not allowed to broadcast an entire day, instead having to sign on and off at designated times to allow competing stations to use the frequency.
The Federal Radio Act of 1927 (signed into law February 23, 1927) nationalized the airwaves and formed the Federal Radio Commission, the forerunner of the modern Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to assume control of the airwaves. One of the first moves of the FRC was General Order 40, the first U.S. bandplan, which allocated permanent frequencies for most U.S. stations and eliminated most of the part-time broadcasters.
Communications Act of 1934