MEDIA
CONCENTRATION
Prof George Angelopulo
Unisa
Who own the world’s media?
To what degree is ownership
concentrated in the hands of a
few?
C4 Ratio
share of market controlled by 4 largest firms in an industry
low concentration
0%-50%
medium concentration
50%-80%
high concentration
80%-100%
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)
firm size relative to competing firms in an industry
unconcentrated
0-1500
high concentration
2500+
monopoly
10000
Media Ownership and Concentration Diversity Index (MOCDI)
- number of voices active in an industry
high diversity/pluralism
0-900
medium diversity/pluralism
900-1250
low diversity/pluralism
1250-10000
monopoly
100000
C4 Ratio
share of market controlled by 4 largest firms in an industry
low concentration
0%-50%
medium concentration
50%-80%
high concentration
80%-100%
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)
firm size relative to competing firms in an industry
unconcentrated
0-1500
high concentration
2500+
monopoly
10000
Media Ownership and Concentration Diversity Index (MOCDI)
number of voices active in an industry
high diversity/pluralism
0-900
medium diversity/pluralism
900-1250
low diversity/pluralism
1250-10000
monopoly
100000
C4 Ratio
share of market controlled by 4 largest firms in an industry
low concentration
0%-50%
medium concentration
51%-80%
high concentration
81%-100%
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)
firm size relative to competing firms in an industry
unconcentrated
0-1500
medium concentration
1501- 2500
high concentration
2501-9999
monopoly
10000
Media Ownership and Concentration Diversity Index (MOCDI)
number of voices active in an industry
high diversity/pluralism
0-900
medium diversity/pluralism
901-1250
low diversity/pluralism monopoly
1251-9999
10000
30
countries
3
media
types
4 yearly
1984 – 2012 (or most recent)
study
parameters
financial indicators or next-best
1st truly international measure of
media concentration
study
strengths
measures ‘plurality’ plus
concentration
establishes baseline for countries,
industries and regions
ends 2011/2
financial/economic – not social,
demographic
study
limitations
<despite changes in SA media sectors,
significant changes estimated only in
online and telecoms>
the national view
Findings… by 2012…
(Selected) media sectors and their degree of concentration
Concentration
Ranking
Medium
C4
HHI
Noam
1
Television
100%
3616
2088
2
Radio
95%
2553
1142
3
Newspapers
93%
2450
926
4
Magazines
61%
1780
514
Findings… by 2012…
SA is characterised by a multitude of titles,
publishers, stations and channels
By ownership, however, concentration is
more evident, with between one and at
most four companies dominating every
media sector
the international view
Countries’ per capita number of voices
(voices = companies with >1% market share)
South
Africa
(11th lowest
but highest
of BRICS)
Countries’ unweighted average C4 – all media
South
Africa
(2nd most concentrated)
Countries’ unweighted average C1 – all media
(C1 = market share of top company in each media sector)
South
Africa
(3rd most concentrated)
Countries’ weighted average HHI – all media
South
Africa
(2nd most concentrated)
% foreign ownership in country markets
– all media
South
Africa
(ranked 19th)
% public (govt) ownership in country markets
– all media
South
Africa
(ranked 6th)
what does this mean
on the ground?
Follow-up study 2014
Access to all news media by
Gauteng / metropolitan / LSM 8-10
↔
Eastern Cape / small town / LSM 1-4
newspapers television radio magazines
2014 study findings
• South Africans across demographic groups
experience constricted news access.
• A small number of companies dominate news.
• Living standards (and economic status) play
the greatest role in experienced levels of
media concentration.
• Larger communities generally experience less
concentration than smaller communities.
Conclusions
SA has a small number of dominant media
companies
Media concentration is amongst the highest
in the world
5 companies dominate:
Telkom
SABC
Vodacom
MTN
Naspers
THANK
YOU
Prof George Angelopulo
Unisa