GLOBAL MEDIA MOGULS: And Then There Were Nine | ||||
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Michael Eisner, Disney Annual revenues: $23 billion (FY 1998) Non-US sales: 21% Non-US sales in 1984: 8.4% Disney has established a strong presence in China, Japan, Europe and Latin America. Its ESPN International is broadcast in twenty-one languages to 155 million households in 182 nations. |
C. Michael Armstrong, AT&T John Malone, Liberty Media (not pictured) Annual revenues: $53 billion (FY 1998)/$1.5 billion (Liberty) Non-US sales: n/a As part of its merger with Tele-Communications Inc., AT&T acquired Liberty Media, which has holdings in South America and Asia in cable, satellite and broadcast television. It also owns stakes in Time Warner, News Corporation, CNBC and Sprint PCS Group. |
Nobuyuki Idei, Sony (not pictured) Annual revenues: $56.6 billion (FY 1999)/$10.4 billion (media) Non-Japan sales: 78.2% Non-Japan sales in 1989: 68.6% Among Sony's global media activities are local- language film production in Europe and Asia, television programming on five continents and Sony Music Entertainment sales in Latin America, Asia and Europe. |
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Jack Welch, General Electric Annual revenues: $100 billion (FY 1998)/$5.3 billion (NBC) Non-US sales: 43% Non-US sales in 1988: 22% GE's media assets include NBC and CNBC. Its channels in Europe and Asia reach 70 million households. |
Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation Annual revenues: $13.6 billion (FY 1999) Non-US sales: 26% Still the biggest English-language newspaper producer in the world, News Corporation's US TV stations reach some 40 percent of the viewing population. Murdoch is expanding his media properties in Asia and Latin America but News Corporation will receive the majority of its income from the United States for at least another decade. |
Edgar Bronfman Jr., Seagram Annual revenues: $12.3 billion (FY 1999)/$7.4 billion (media) Non-US sales: 50% (co. est.) Seagram's Universal Music Group is the largest recorded-music firm in the world. In 1998 the company purchased Polygram for $10.4 billion. Seagram also owns Universal Studios, with theme parks in Asia and TV channels throughout Europe and Latin America. |
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Gerald Levin, Time Warner Annual revenues: $26.8 billion (FY 1998) Non-US sales: 21% With 200 subsidiaries, Time Warner is a major global player in virtually every media sector except newspapers and radio. Two examples: CNN International reaches 200 nations, and HBO has expanded throughout Europe, Latin America and most of Asia. |
Sumner Redstone, Viacom Annual revenues: $12.1 billion (FY 1998)/$6.8 billion (CBS) Non-US sales: 23% Non-US sales in 1988: .006% Viacom's Paramount Pictures and MTV distribute heavily outside the United States. It owns Nickelodeon, which operates customized channels from Uzbekistan to the Philippines, and Blockbuster, which has 6,000 stores in twenty-seven countries. Its purchase of CBS is pending approval. |
Thomas Middelhoff, Bertelsmann (not pictured) Annual revenues: $16.4 billion (FY 1998) Non-Germany sales: 72% The Germany-based Bertelsmann is the largest TV and radio firm in Europe. Bertelsmann's BMG Music does considerable business in Asia, South Africa and Brazil. It owns Random House in the United States and publishing companies in Germany, Britain and Argentina. | ||
Source: Rich Media, Poor Democracy by Robert W. McChesney. Additional research: Alison Mann. Illustrations by David Smith | ||||