Concentration of media ownership

Under media concentration is defined as the extent and magnitude, have a dominant position in the media sector with the individual group of companies. This can be observed critical both in terms of diversity of opinion and the corporate cartels. Therefore, a monopolistic position in the press or on television is of particular importance, as is to be feared that the media entrepreneurs could abuse their opinion-forming power for political purposes.

But media concentration has not only a so-called journalistic level. She also has an impact on the media industry. This affects, in particular advertisers, since they are often compelled, for example as a result of so-called combination rates, to buy bundled ad space or have to pay overpriced prices because there is no competition to which you may be directed.

Media concentration and media concentration research

The research focus of media concentration research by Manfred Knoche at the University of Salzburg deals inter alia with the processes and effects of accelerated commodification of information, communications and media sectors. Media concentration can therefore be considered in isolation, therefore, never. A significant emphasis in the media economic research have questions regarding the development of the Austrian media industry in the European context.

Manfred Knoche ( 1996: 109) distinguishes four different stages of concentration, which are characterized by an ever-increasing degree of market and concentration of capital:

Situation in Germany

The situation today

Broadcasting

TV

Television in Germany today is characterized by the dual system, the coexistence of public service broadcasting and commercial broadcasting, not weight about half of the total television viewing. The private television again today is dominated by two media groups, RTL Group and ProSiebenSat.1. Laxe media law provisions will only apply from a total market share of 25-30 per cent, contributed to this concentration of originally four shared private television market ( Tele 5, ProSieben, Sat.1, RTL). Private programs that do not belong to these two groups of stations have only small market shares.

In the pay-TV sector Sky is dominant. The company was formed in 1999 through the merger of the two former single vendor, the old Premiere and DF1. The competition offers the cable operators (in particular Germany and cable Unity Media ) have only small numbers of subscribers. Trying to build a competitive operator for the transmissions of the German Bundesliga with Arena TV, failed after only one year.

Radio

Just like on TV, there are in the radio coexistence of public and private programs. The situation in the individual federal states this because of the different legal requirements of the respective State Media Authorities varies significantly. In general, the regional radio market is dominated by one or two statewide programs, in some states, there are still additional local programs.

Germany Widely regarded possess the RTL Group and dominated by the Axel Springer AG Regiocast most shares in radio programs.

Newspapers

The market nationwide reputable newspapers is dominated by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the Süddeutsche Zeitung; latter is controlled by the West German media holding ( SWMH ). A lesser importance The world and the Frankfurter Rundschau. Nationwide has the Bild newspaper monopoly as the only nationwide tabloid. Only in regional markets such as Munich, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin and Saxony there are local tabloids as competition.

In the area of regional newspapers regional monopolies have been formed in most regions of Germany. In about two thirds of German counties, only a single regional newspaper, several regional newspapers are published in other regions under one roof, so that a corporate monopoly, eg in Bremen ( Weser-Kurier/Bremer messages), appears in Stuttgart ( Stuttgarter Zeitung / Stuttgarter Nachrichten ) and the Ruhr ( WAZ ). A real competition between competing suppliers is only in some larger cities (eg Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt) and in some regions esp. in southern Germany.

The monopole structures can thereby locally to differ. So there is in the central Baden- Württemberg still some family-run newspapers, but only two ( Esslinger Zeitung and the Reutlinger General-Anzeiger ) does not take over one of the national coats of newspapers SWMH ( Stuttgarter Zeitung, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, the Rhine Palatinate, Southwest Press, Heilbronner Stimme ). In Schleswig-Holstein, however, the SHZ owner of almost all regional newspapers of the country ( exceptions are the Kiel and Lübeck's news ), which all assume the same mantle. In addition, Flensburg appears as the second leaf of the city's bilingual ( German / Danish) Flensborg Avis newspaper.

At the beginning of the 1980s emerged in some cities for press diversity initiatives to counteract the concentration of media (eg Kiel Rundschau, Hamburger Rundschau, Karlsruhe Rundschau).

Magazines

The market is dominated by the popular magazines publishers Gruner and Jahr, Burda, Bauer and Axel Springer AG.

Historically

In Germany the media concentration is critically examined primarily from historical experience: In the Weimar Republic the right-wing conservative newspaper publisher Alfred Hugenberg dominated largely the market for daily newspapers and supported so actively the political aspirations of the German Nationalists, who increasingly became stirrup holders of the NSDAP in 1930.

Media Law

The media concentration in broadcasting is determined by the Commission on Concentration in the Media ( KEK ), and occasionally by the Conference of Directors of the State Media Authorities ( KDLM ) pursuant to the provisions of the third State Broadcasting Amendment Agreement dated 15 May 1997.

Antitrust and Competition Law

For press and radio, the ARC sets in § 38; Para 3 a lowered intervention threshold fixed in merger control.