WHOOWNS THEUK MEDIA?I N T R O D U C T I O NWhat does it mean to have a ‘free’ media when the nation’s social media platforms, TV channels,news outlets, radio stations and search engines are owned by a handful of giant corporations? Whatdoes it mean to have ‘independent media’ when many of our … Continue reading “the nation’s social media platforms | My Assignment Tutor”
WHOOWNS THEUK MEDIA?I N T R O D U C T I O NWhat does it mean to have a ‘free’ media when the nation’s social media platforms, TV channels,news outlets, radio stations and search engines are owned by a handful of giant corporations? Whatdoes it mean to have ‘independent media’ when many of our most influential news organisationsare controlled by individuals and Boards that are so closely connected with vested interests?This is a revised version of the ownership report that we first produced in 2015. We take a broadand holistic view of media ownership in the UK. Although our analysis of publishing (both printand online) is restricted to news, we examine the ownership structure of television and radioacross the board, and include a section on digital platforms and intermediaries. While there hasbeen a huge amount of activity in the media – with falling levels of trust in journalism, the furtherdecline of national newspaper circulation, the rise of new sources of news, declining audiencesfor linear television and the emergence of debates around ‘fake news’ – broader patterns aroundconcentrated ownership persist and, indeed, the situation is getting worse.This short report shows that just three companies (News UK, DMG and Reach) dominate 83% ofthe national newspaper market (up from 71% in 2015). This is a market that may be shrinking interms of print circulation but, assisted by large online audiences, is crucial when it comes to settingthe agenda for the rest of the news media. When online readers are included, just five companies(News UK, DMG, Reach, Guardian and Telegraph) dominate some 80% of market share (up from79% in 2015). In the area of local news, five conglomerates (Gannett, Johnston Press, Trinity Mirror,Tindle and Archant) account for 80% of all titles (it was six companies back in 2015) while 57 smallerpublishers have less than 20% of the remaining titles. Local newsrooms continue to haemorrhagejournalists while we are facing an increasing number of news deserts given the fact that, as of 2017,two-thirds of Local Authority Districts do not have daily local newspaper coverage.Sky, bought by the US giant Comcast in 2018, is by far the UK’s biggest broadcaster and continuesto dominate the pay TV landscape (although they now face significant challenges from companieslike BT, Apple, Amazon and Netflix) with very deep pockets. ITV still makes huge profits on the backof its format sales and faces fewer and fewer obligations to serve domestic audiences. Meanwhile,Channel 5 is already owned by another large US conglomerate, Viacom, while Channel 4’s publicstatus remains unstable. Two companies have 46% of all commercial local analogue radio licences(up from 40% in 2015) and control two-thirds of all commercial digital stations. Bauer, Global andCelador Radio alone own over 50% of all commercial stations.To what extent is the digital landscape any different to this? UK search is overwhelmingly dominatedby Google while the most popular apps like Instagram and WhatsApp are owned by Facebook,itself by far the most popular social media site. Where there has been a shift since our last reportis in the traffic going to ‘partisan’ sites like The Canary on the left and Westmonster on the right.Yet digital news markets are still very much dominated by legacy news and especially by nationalnewspaper titles with the dramatic rise of The Sun online, since dropping its paywall in 2015, beingperhaps the key game changer in this picture. This means that the reach (and revenue) of someof the newer sites is marginal when we compare them with the big hitters of ‘legacy media’ – thebiggest ‘partisan’ site (The Canary), for example, has a reach of less than 1% of either the Mail orthe Guardian.Of course, the BBC remains a powerful presence in broadcasting and online but its budget hasbeen severely cut by the last two licence fee deals, its independence has been undermined, andit is increasingly being told by government to be mindful of its impact on the wider commercialmarket. Recent studies suggest the BBC’s news agenda is also disproportionately influenced by thepredominantly right-wing national press.We believe that concentration within news and information markets in particular has reachedendemic levels in the UK and that we urgently need effective remedies. This kind of concentrationcreates conditions in which wealthy individuals and organisations can amass huge political andeconomic power and distort the media landscape to suit their interests and personal views. Urgentreform is needed in order both to address high levels of concentration in particular media marketsand to protect against further concentration in others.We hope that this report will provide data and arguments that will be useful to groups and individualswho want to see a far more pluralistic media in which a genuine diversity of views, voices andopinions are aired.N A T I O N A L N E W S P A P E R SMARKET SHARE BY PRINT CIRCULATION (ABC)The UK’s national daily newspaper industry has seen substantial circulation decline since 2015.With the exception of The Times which registered a 5 per cent increase in print circulation betweenJuly 2015 and November 2018, all titles saw at least double-digit declines in the amount of printcopies sold. The Daily Mirror suffered the most precipitous fall, from almost 900,000 copies in 2015to just over 500,000 in 2018 – a drop of over 40%. Other tabloid and mid-market newspapersexperienced the greatest circulation declines, while the broadsheet press – with the exception ofthe Telegraph – was slightly less badly affected. In year-on-year comparisons with November 2017,all papers saw declining circulation, including The Times. Despite the fall in absolute numbers ofnewspapers sold, the daily market continues to be dominated by the Sun and Daily Mail whichtogether account for over half of all circulation. The daily print market was reduced in March 2016when the Independent switched to digital-only publication. PublicationSunDaily MailDaily MirrorTimesDaily TelegraphDaily StarDaily ExpressiFinancial TimesGuardianTotalAverage DailyCirculation(Nov 2018)1,403,7791,222,611519,224415,577359,110340,816322,798238,771177,196136,8345,136,716YoY %Change (vsNov 2017)-5.88%-11.66%-11.67%-5.65%-21.67%-15.14%-11.68%-8.00%-5.22%-6.76%-10.33%Share ofCirculation(Nov 2018)27.33%23.80%10.11%8.09%6.99%6.63%6.28%4.65%3.45%2.66%100.00%Average DailyCirculation(July 2015)1,856,7901,657,706878,527394,910489,459411,725429,810276,137207,179168,3696,770,612% Changefrom July2015-24.40%-26.25%-40.90%5.23%-26.63%-17.22%-24.90%-13.53%-14.47%-18.73%-24.13% Sunday newspaper circulation decline was even greater than in the daily market between 2015 and2018. In slightly over three years, the combined circulation of all Sunday titles fell by over a quarter,from just over six million copies to just under 4.5 million. The smallest decline – again for a paper inthe Times stable – was over 10 per cent, while the Sunday Mirror followed the decline of its sisterpaper with a fall of over 43 per cent.PublicationAverage DailyCirculation(Nov 2018)YoY %Change (vsNov 2017)Share ofCirculation(Nov 2018)AverageDailyCirculation(July 2015)2% Changefrom July2015Sun on Sunday 1,187,848 -6.52% 26.50% 1,545,244 -23.13%Mail on Sunday 1,028,736 -12.58% 22.95% 1,425,840 -27.85%Sunday Times 727,079 -3.17% 16.22% 813,023 -10.57%Sunday Mirror 434,436 -14.06% 9.69% 763,521 -43.10%Sunday Telegraph 283,751 -16.53% 6.33% 380,185 -25.37%Sunday Express 280,404 -11.39% 6.26% 372,346 -24.69%Daily Star Sunday 205,702 -14.25% 4.59% 311,437 -33.95%Sunday People 168,690 -15.15% 3.76% 262,372 -35.71%Observer 165,868 -5.69% 3.70% 188,312 -11.92%Total 4,482,514 -11.04% 100.00% 6,062,280 -26.06%TABLE 1: AVERAGE DAILY PRINT CIRCULATION, NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS(NOV 2018)Concentration in the national newspaper print market is more clearly demonstrated by calculatingthe share of weekly circulation by each publishing company (calculated by combining dailycirculation with Sunday circulation, where applicable)1. Three publishers – News UK (publishers ofthe Sun and Times papers); DMG Media (Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday); Reach Plc (Daily Mirror,Sunday Mirror and Sunday People) – account for over four-fifths of print copy sales. PublisherWeekly CirculationShare of CirculationCumulative ShareNews UK Newspapers LtdDMG Media LtdReach PlcTelegraph Media Group LtdJohnstone Press PlcThe Financial Times LtdGuardian News & Media LtdTotal12,831,0638,364,4028,186,2602,438,4111,432,6261,063,176986,87235,302,81036.35%23.69%23.19%6.91%4.06%3.01%2.80%100.00%36.35%60.04%83.23%90.13%94.19%97.20%100.00%N/A TABLE 3: WEEKLY COMBINED MARKET SHARE OF NATIONAL NEWSPAPERCIRCULATION, BY PUBLISHER (NOV 2018)1 For example, for individual papers the Sun’s daily circulation is multiplied by six (Monday – Saturday) plusSun on Sunday circulation. This method does not account for fluctuations in daily newspaper circulation(i.e. on Saturdays) and is therefore an approximation.TABLE 2: AVERAGE WEEKLY PRINT CIRCULATION, NATIONAL SUNDAYNEWSPAPERS (NOV 2018)45Source: ABCSource: ABCSource: ABCIn 2018 the previous method of calculating combined print and digital reach for the UK’s newspaperindustry (the National Readership Survey Print and Digital Data (NRS PADD)) was replaced by thePublishers Audience Measurement Company (PAMCo), applying a new measurement of TotalBrand Reach (TBR) for each newsbrand. Table 4 shows the daily combined reach in print and onlineof the UK’s print publishers, excluding the Financial Times, for which no PAMCo data is available2.As with print-only circulation, the Sun and Daily Mail reach the largest number of people eachday: over seven million in the case of the Sun and almost 6.5 million for the Daily Mail (althoughthe Sun figures cover 11 different sites, compared with the Daily Mail’s one). Table 4 also includescombined print-and-digital reach for the UK’s two major free newspapers, the Evening Standard,which circulates in print in London but has a reach comparable to national newspapers, and theMetro, owned by Daily Mail publisher DMG Media and circulated across transport networks inurban areas in England, Scotland and Wales.2 Times, Express and Star brands do not include third party platform data (e.g. Facebook Instant Articles orGoogle AMP) NewsbrandDaily TBRMarket ShareCumulative ShareSunDaily MailGuardianMetroDaily MirrorDaily TelegraphEvening StandardDaily ExpressTimesDaily StariAggregated Total7,162,0006,461,0004,049,0003,597,0003,539,0003,348,0002,412,0001,654,0001,642,0001,006,000593,00035,463,00020.20%18.22%11.42%10.14%9.98%9.44%6.80%4.66%4.63%2.84%1.67%100.00%20.20%38.41%49.83%59.98%69.95%79.40%86.20%90.86%95.49%98.33%100.00%N/A MARKET SHARE BY REVENUE 3Breaking down the revenue of the UK’s national newspaper publishers (and reinstating theIndependent) shows that three companies account for over three-fifths of total revenue, with thenewspaper publishing businesses of News Corp UK & Ireland (Sun and Times titles) and DMGMedia (Daily Mail) accounting for almost half of all revenue. The financial figures here do notcover a further consolidation in the market when Express Newspapers Ltd was purchased byTrinity Mirror (later rebranded as Reach, Inc) in 2018. CompanyTurnoverMarket ShareCumulative ShareNews Corp UK & Ireland LtdDMG Media LtdThe Financial Times LtdTelegraph Media Group LtdMGN Limited (Reach Inc)Johnstone PressGuardian News & Media LtdExpress Newspapers LtdIndependent Newspapers (UK) LtdTotal£727,793,000£676,277,000£321,434,000£278,100,000£217,442,000£201,600,000£199,250,000£165,330,000£29,384,000£2,816,610,00025.84%24.01%11.41%9.87%7.72%7.16%7.07%5.87%1.04%100.00%25.84%49.85%61.26%71.14%78.86%86.01%93.09%98.96%100.00%N/A COMBINED PRINT AND ONLINE: TOTAL BRAND REACH (PAMCO) DATA3 Latest accounts filed precede the restructuring of Trinity Mirror into Reach Inc, or the subsequentpurchase in 2018 of Express Newspapers by Trinity Mirror/Reach.TABLE 4: TOTAL DAILY BRAND REACH, NEWSPAPER NEWSBRANDS(DEC 2018)TABLE 5: MARKET SHARE BY REVENUE, NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS(2018)67iDaily StarTimesDaily ExpressEvening StandardDaily TelegraphDaily MirrorMetroGuardianDaily MailSun 20.20%18.22%11.42%10.14%9.98%9.44%6.80%4.66%4.63%2.84%1.67%Source: PAMCoSource: Company accountsL O C A L N E W S P A P E R SThe UK’s local newspaper industry has seen several rounds of mergers and acquisitions since 2015,with the absorption of Local World by Trinity Mirror in late 2015 the most significant. Medium-sizedpublishers such as CN Group and KM Group were taken over by Newsquest and Iliffe, respectively.The market as seen in 2015 was already heavily concentrated, with six publishers accounting forover 80 per cent of all titles, and the remainder spread across 56 smaller publishers.This concentration is even more pronounced in 2018. 80 percent of all titles are now published byfive, rather than six, publishers (largely a result of the purchase of Local World).Research by Press Gazette shows a recorded net loss of 245 UK local news titles between 2005 and20184 with the closure of 54 titles since 2015.Fewer accounts for publishers are available for scrutiny than in 2015, as more now qualify forthe reporting exemptions made available to smaller companies. Those publishers whose turnoverfigures are available for public scrutiny are listed in Table 7. PublisherTitlesShare of TotalCumulativeShareGannett UK Ltd (Newsquest)Johnston Press PLCTrinity Mirror Regionals (Reach Regionals)Tindle Newspapers LimitedArchantRemaining 57 publishers2362242151127121022.1%21.0%20.1%10.5%6.6%19.7%22.1%43.1%63.2%73.7%80.3%100.0%1,068100.0%N/A PublisherTrinity Mirror Regionals LimitedNewsquest PLCDC Thomson & Company LimitedJohnston Press PLCArchantIliffeMidland News AssociationIndependent News and Media LtdTindle Press Holdings LimitedScottish Provincial Press LimitedNewbury News LtdThe Barnsley Chronicle LtdBaylis Media LtdOne Media and Creative UK LtdNo. of Titles21523652247140174112152252Revenue (Latest Figures)£374,670,000£273,570,765£207,315,000£171,016,000£96,600,000£36,054,349£31,648,000£29,384,000£27,078,792£10,056,000£5,151,776£4,335,829£2,922,280£1,335,819RevenueYear20172017201820172017201820172017201720172017201720172017 As with the UK’s national newspaper market, revenue is heavily concentrated in the hands of afew publishers, who account for the majority of titles.TABLE 7: TURNOVER OF LOCAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS (DEC 2018)TABLE 6: LOCAL NEWSPAPER TITLES BY PUBLISHER (DEC 2018)4 https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/more-than-40-local-news-titles-closed-in-2018-with-loss-of-some-editorial-275-jobs-new-figures-show/The 2015 version of this report included an analysis of the extent of local daily newspaper coverageand the concentration of ownership at a local level5. Though this data was subsequently used infurther reports including in 20176, a degradation of the data means that consistent longitudinalanalysis of these points is difficult. This is due to the fact that the most consistent metric of newspapercoverage (geographic print circulation) is both increasingly redundant in a digital era and becomingmore difficult in practice to measure as the NS Database is no longer available7. Where data isavailable, churn in the local newspaper industry due to launches, mergers and closures combinedwith lag times in ABC circulation data (and the increasing likelihood of independent titles not beingaudited by the ABC) means that continuous updating of the 2015 figures is difficult.However, the recording of the closures and launches of local titles by Press Gazette andholdthefrontpage.co.uk means that assertions of changes in local daily newspaper coverage arepossible (particularly in the case of closures), in combination with the snapshot data collected in2015 and 2017.Closures of local papers compiled by Press Gazette in 2017 and 2018 show a small but significantloss of titles and jobs. In 2017, there was a net loss of 30 titles and at least 45 jobs, despite theaddition of 150 BBC Local Democracy Reporter roles8. In 2018, 43 titles were closed and 29DECLINING LOCAL NEWSPAPER COVERAGE5 https://www.mediareform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Who_owns_the_UK_media-report_plus_appendix1.pdf6 http://www.mediareform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/mapping-changes-in-local-news-2015-2017-interactive-research-report-march-2017.pdf7 http://www.localmediauk.org/LMW-Database-Holding-Message8 https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/some-40-uk-local-newspapers-closed-in-2017-with-net-loss-of-45-jobs-new-research-shows/89Source: MRCSource: Company accountsN E W D I G I TA L J O U R N A L I S MRecent years have seen the emergence and establishment of new, online-only journalistic enterprises,ranging from small domestic enterprises filling gaps in the political market to the left and rightof traditional news media, to larger international organisations with outposts located in the UK.Without dedicated representative bodies to collect and provide information on the online reachof these companies, as with the Audit Bureau of Circulations and PAMCo with print newspapersand BARB/RAJAR for television and radio audience data respectively, it is difficult to give a precisepicture of the size of audience of new digital news outlets. However, like-for-like comparison allowsfor some understanding of their position in the UK’s media markets.Table 8 shows the average monthly visit data (combined desktop and mobile) compiled bySimilarweb for three groups of digital news outlets in online UK journalism.The groups consist of:1. New, digital and partisan news sites, originating in the UK and covering left- and rightwing politics, with a strong politics and current affairs orientation;2. US-based large digital native news and current affairs sites, with current or past (Breitbart)dedicated UK news sites (Similarweb data only covers the main domain);3. UK Legacy news sites including national and regional newspapers, and specialist currentaffairs magazines, for comparative purposes.The monthly visit data is calculated from the proportion of UK visits to each site in January 2019.launched leaving a net loss of 14 titles and at least 222 jobs9. It is worth noting that only a smallproportion of daily local newspaper coverage in the UK was affected by closures and mergerswithin the local newspaper industry. The Oldham Evening Chronicle ceased print publication inAugust 2017 but was relaunched by a new owner as a digital-only brand in February 2018, whilethe Chester edition of The Leader was closed in January 2018, shortly after new owners Newsquestassumed control of the title10. If the new Oldham Evening Chronicle is accepted as replacing theprevious print version – contestable, given differences in audiences and editorial staff levels – thenthe net change to daily newspaper coverage in the UK since April 2017 is the loss of daily newspapercoverage in the Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority Districts. This hardly compensates forthe 245 titles reckoned by Press Gazette to have closed since 2005.Research in 2017 showed that 80 Local Authority Districts in the UK were directly served by alocal daily newspaper and 53 covered by local dailies in adjacent or nearby LADs. By extension,this meant that 67.2% of the 406 LADs in the United Kingdom were not covered by a daily paper.There is also no evidence to suggest that there has been a significant reduction in the level ofconcentration of ownership at the local level. 2015 research showed that over 40% of the LADs inEngland, Scotland and Wales were served by a single local publisher11, while updated analysis in2017 showed that this level had risen to 45%12.67.2%11NEWS DESERTS: TWO THIRDS OF LOCAL AUTHORITY DISTRICTS LACK A DAILYNEWSPAPER9 https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/more-than-40-local-news-titles-closed-in-2018-with-loss-of-some-editorial-275-jobs-new-figures-show/10 https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/newsquest-pulls-chester-edition-of-daily-the-leader/11 https://www.mediareform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Who_owns_the_UK_media-report_plus_appendix1.pdf, p1012 http://www.mediareform.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/mapping-changes-in-local-news-2015-2017-interactive-research-report-march-2017.pdf, p7Although number of visits is not the most precise metric of reach and audience engagement,it is clear that smaller and newer UK-based digital journalism sites (those in group 1), thoughrecipients of impressive audiences given their scope and resources, find it difficult to compete fordigital audiences with legacy news outlets – including specialist magazines – and with larger, moreestablished digital native news sites.Comscore data for the reach of the top 10 news websites in April 2018 shows the percentage of thetotal UK adult (18+) news audience, and the balance between BBC News (with 74% audience reach)and large UK tabloid sites such as the Sun (71%) and the Daily Mail (58%). The figures, collated byOfcom and replicated in Table 9, demonstrate that while the BBC is the most used news publisherin the UK, some commercial news sites have comparable access to audiences. News SiteBBC NewsThe Sun OnlineDaily MailThe GuardianTelegraphIndependentMirrorSky NewsMail Online – NewsMetroReach74%71%58%55%50%46%37%37%33%33%Adults (000s)31,20329,96124,67823,42221,07910,45915,79815,54814,15014,110 TABLE 9: REACH OF TOP 10 NEWS WEBSITES (APRIL 2018)This is also clear (as is the difficulty of compiling comparable data) when comparing the revenuesof new digital news outlets, as shown in Table 10. Of the smaller, partisan-journalism sites, onlyone – Evolve Media Ltd – has filed public revenue data in annual accounts. Westmonster Ltd andCanary Media Ltd are small enough to qualify for reporting exemptions made available to smallcompanies, and have elected to do so. Novara Media Ltd has not yet posted annual accounts. PublisherCompanyNumberRevenue (2017)The CanaryEvolve PoliticsNovara MediaWestmonsterBreitbart UKBuzzfeed UKHuffington Post UKVice UKCanary Media LtdEvolve Media LtdNovara Media LtdWestmonster LtdBreitbart News Network (UK) LtdBuzzfeed UK LtdOath (UK) LtdVice UK Ltd80978809510341172111325761055652509351324083180510346269604531415Exempt£14,830Not yet filedExemptNot available£33,363,004£213,621,000£28,632,993 TABLE 8: MONTHLY VISITS, DIGITAL NEWS SITES (JAN 2019)Of the larger digital news sites originating in the US, but with current or recent dedicated newsites, Breitbart News (which no longer operates a stand-alone UK news site) is sited in the BritishVirgin Islands and is therefore able to avoid publishing revenue figures. Buzzfeed UK and Vice UKdemonstrate substantially larger revenues than the smaller sites of group 1. The Huffington PostUK is part of a considerably larger group, Oath (UK) Ltd, itself part of the US company Oath Inc(rebranded as Verizon Media in January 2019).13 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/116529/news-consumption-2018.pdf (P66)TABLE 10: REVENUE: SELECTED DIGITAL-NATIVE UK NEWS OUTLETS (2017)[ GROUP ] [ DOMAIN ] [ JANUARY 2019 DATA ] 1. DIGITAL NATIONAL/PARTISAN Total Visits UK % UK VisitsThe CanaryLondon EconomicWestmonsterSkwawkboxEvolve PoliticsAnother Angry VoiceNovara Mediathecanary.cothelondoneconomic.comwestmonster.comskwawkbox.orgevolvepolitics.comanotherangryvoice.blogspot.comnovaramedia.com1,000,000830,000730,000570,000330,000130,000140,00081.77%74.82%84.16%87.55%86.92%92.79%67.04%817,700621,006614,368499,035286,836120,62793,8562. DIGITAL INTERNATIONALBuzzfeedHuffPost UKViceBreitbartbuzzfeed.comhuffingtonpost.co.ukvice.combreitbart.com109,000,0007,800,00060,300,00070,891,2046.74%71.57%7.06%2.49%7,346,6005,582,4604,257,1801,765,1913. DIGITAL LEGACY PRINTGuardianDaily MailMirrorSunIndependentManchester Evening NewsSpectatorNew Statesmantheguardian.comdailymail.co.ukmirror.co.ukthesun.co.ukindependent.co.ukmanchestereveningnews.co.ukspectator.co.uknewstatesman.com310,500,000304,000,00091,300,00086,800,00088,000,00020,600,0003,950,0003,850,00033.45%33.52%41.44%41.42%37.17%53.10%52.61%43.21%103,862,250101,900,80037,834,72035,952,56032,709,60010,938,6002,078,0951,663,585 Source: Comscore MMX Multi-Platform Data131213Source: SimilarwebSource: Company accountsP L A T F O R M S A N D I N T E R M E D I A R I E SThe UK’s media markets cannot be considered in isolation from the digital platforms andintermediaries that increasingly determine how audiences access and consume media content.Increasingly, these entities act as the gatekeepers determining how the public obtains information(through search); how people communicate (through social media) and how citizens access newsand journalism. These organisations mostly originate in the United States, in many cases dominatea core component of the online media ecosystem in Western countries (e.g. Google with search;YouTube with video; Amazon with e-commerce) and in almost all cases are orders of magnitudemore powerful and wealthy than the largest UK media organisations. CompanyHQRevenue (£m)Selected Media Function(s)Apple IncAmazon.com IncAlphabet PlcFacebookNetflix IncTwitter IncSnapChatUSAUSAUSAUSAUSAUSAUSA£203,738£178,647£99,620£55,654£12,115£2,222£905Hardware; TVOD; Music StreamingSVOD; TVODVideo and SVOD (YouTube); Search (Google)Social (Facebook; Whatsapp; Instagram)SVODSocialSocial S E A R C HFigure 1 shows the extent to which search in the UK is dominated by Google, which accounts formore than nine-tenths of search queries by UK online users across all platforms. Though an extremeexample, this is indicative of the extent to which the online media space constitutes a ‘winner takesall’ environment in which natural monopolies can emerge and quickly become unassailable.FIGURE 1: UK SHARE OF SEARCH (DEC 2018)1414 “Other” = YANDEX RU (0.06%); Baidu (0.03%); Norton Safe Search (0.03%); Naver (0.02%); Rest (0.07%)S O C I A L M E D I A A N D N E W S C O N S U M P T I O NSocial media across much of the world is dominated by Facebook (2.32 billion active usersworldwide in December 201815) and its subsidiary products the messaging app WhatsApp (1.5billion users, December 201716) and the photo-sharing platform Instagram (1 billion users, June201817). Dominant video-sharing site YouTube, part of Google and owned by Alphabet Inc, claims1.8 billion monthly active users18, while Twitter (326 million users) and SnapChat (189 million users)bring up the rear19.In the UK, these sites attract considerably larger audiences than most legacy media companies.For example, January 2019 user figures for selected social media sites are as follows:15 December 2018: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_financials/2018/Q4/Q4-2018-EarningsRelease.pdf16 https://www.statista.com/statistics/260819/number-of-monthly-active-whatsapp-users/17 https://www.statista.com/statistics/253577/number-of-monthly-active-instagram-users/18 https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/youtube-brandcast-newfronts-advertising-kevin-hart-demi-lovato-coachella-1202797625/19 Internationally, social platforms such as WeChat in China (889 million users) and VKontakte in Russia alsoenjoy extremely large audiences in comparison with domestic legacy media. Though not included in thisanalysis, they provide further indication of the scale of new digital platforms worldwide.20 https://www.statista.com/statistics/268136/top-15-countries-based-on-number-of-facebook-users/21 https://www.statista.com/statistics/578364/countries-with-most-instagram-users/22 https://www.statista.com/statistics/315405/snapchat-user-region-distribution/23 https://www.statista.com/statistics/242606/number-of-active-twitter-users-in-selected-countries/TABLE 11: PLATFORMS AND INTERMEDIARIES – REVENUE AND MEDIAFUNCTIONSGoogleBingYahooMSNDuckDuckGoOther92%4%2%1%1%0%Source: StatcounterIncreasingly, these platforms are the mechanism via which people in the UK access news content.Research by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism shows the proportion of all UK adultswho use social media platforms for any purpose, and for consuming news content (Table 12).1415Source: Company accounts40 million24 million17.2 million13.6 millionFacebookInstagramSnapchatTwitter20212223 FacebookTwitterInstagramSnapChatBBC37%BBC36%BBC32%BBC33%ITV21%Sky News19%Sky News17%BuzzFeed25%Sky News19%ITV14%ITV13%The Daily Mail17%LADbible12%Guardian/Observer9%BuzzFeed11%ITV16%YouTube11%Channel 48%Channel 410%Sky News15%BuzzFeed11%CNN8%LADbible9%Channel 412%Channel 49%YouTube7%CNN7%The Sun10%Huffington Post8%LADbible6%YouTube7%CNN10%The Daily Mail7%Huffington Post6%The Telegraph9%Local newspaper7%BuzzFeed6%NBC News7%The Sun7%The Daily Mail6%The Financial Times6%CNN7%The Evening Standard6%Guardian/Observer7%Source: Ofcom TABLE 13: NEWS ORGANISATIONS FOLLOWED ON SOCIAL MEDIA (2018)25T E L E V I S I O NOWNERSHIP AND REVENUE – UK TERRESTRIAL TELEVISIONTable 14 provides an overview of the ownership and revenue of three groups of companies thatgive an overview of the UK television market as accessed by the public. This includes the mainPublic Service Broadcasters (PSBs) plus Sky (as the main subscription platform with a significantdedicated content provision function) and BT (a telecommunications company that has recentlymoved into subscription-based broadcasting); telecommunications companies with no contentprovision capacity; and the main providers of Video on Demand. This shows the difference inrevenue between telecommunications providers (below £5bn), content providers (ranging from£960 million for Channel Four to over £23 billion for BT, which merges subscription content withbroadband, fixed-line and mobile services as well as IT services), and the digital platforms thatprovide subscription on demand (Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube Premium) and transactionalon demand (Apple) content. The BBC – the UK’s most iconic public service broadcaster –sits close to the bottom of the revenue scale among the companies displayed in Table 14. PlatformParent CompanyLocation of OwnerRevenueContent providers (PSB + Subscription)BTSky (inc. NowTV)Channel 5BBCITVChannel FourBT GroupSky LimitedViacom InternationalBBC GroupITV PlcChannel Four TelevisionUKUKUSAUKUKUK£23.75bn£13.59bn£10.17bn£5.06bn£3.13bn£0.96bnTelecommunicationsVirgin MediaTalkTalkLiberty Global PlcTalkTalk GroupUSAUK£4.96bn£1.66bnVideo on Demand (SVOD and TVOD)12iTunes (TVOD)Amazon PrimeYouTube (Premium)NetflixApple IncAmazon IncAlphabet IncNetflix IncUSAUSAUSAUSA£203.74bn£178.65bn£129.87bn£12.1bn TABLE 14: UK TELEVISION COMPANIES – CONTENT PRODUCTION;PROVISION AND ON DEMAND SERVICES24 Source data: http://www.digitalnewsreport.org/survey/2018/united-kingdom-2018/25 Ofcom, News Consumption in the UK, 2018: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/116529/news-consumption-2018.pdfOfcom’s report, News Consumption in the UK: 2018, shows which news sources are accessed byUK users of selected social media platforms (replicated in Table 13). The results show that theBBC is especially dominant as the top news organisation (in each case by some distance) acrossFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat. Other broadcasters also score highly – usually themain UK PSB broadcasters, but US-based news networks such as CNN and NBC also feature – whileYouTube also appears on all lists (though as a platform itself, without data on which news content isbeing accessed) and video-heavy site LADbible also appears on all lists. Nearly all of the remainingsources are national UK newspapers or large digital news sites (Huffington Post and Buzzfeed), with‘Local newspaper’ appearing only as a source among 7% of Facebook users. Social Media Use, all Adults (16+)Any PurposeFor NewsParent CompanyFacebookYouTubeWhatsAppFacebook MessengerTwitterSnapChat66%49%44%44%29%12%27%8%5%3%14%2%Facebook IncAlphabet IncFacebook IncFacebook IncTwitter IncSnap Inc TABLE 12: SOCIAL MEDIA AND NEWS CONSUMPTION, UK (2018)241617Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of JournalismSource: Company accountsFIGURE 2: TV NETWORK VIEWING SHARE – % ALL INDIVIDUALS (DEC 2018)26Outside terrestrial broadcasters, Table 15 shows the number of UK households with one or moresubscriptions to the main Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) providers in the UK. 11.1 millionhouseholds hold at least one subscription to services provided by Netflix, Amazon or Now TV(owned by Sky Limited), with Netflix by far the most popular, reaching 9.1 million households. Intotal 15.4 million subscriptions to these services are held in the UK (July 2018 figures), narrowlyoutstripping the number of subscriptions to ‘traditional’ pay-TV services such as Sky.27 PlatformHouseholds (m)NetflixAmazon Prime VideoNow TVTotal (at least one)Combined subscriptions9.14.81.511.115.4 TABLE 15: UK SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO ON DEMAND USERS (2018) 2826 ‘Others’ includes Discovery, UKTV, Disney etc.27 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/116006/media-nations-2018-uk.pdf (P13)28 Source (excluding Now TV): https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/116006/media-nations-2018-uk.pdf; Now TV data estimate: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/dec/23/netflix-toovertake-sky-satelite-tv-subscriptions-by-end-of-yearR A D I O A N D P O D C A S T I N GUK radio provision continues to encompass analogue and digital provision operating atthe UK-wide and local/regional level (including nation-level provision by the BBC). Table 16shows the breakdown of BBC and commercial radio services at the UK-wide and local level. Radio ProvisionBBCCommercialUK-wide Radio Stations (Analogue)Local Analogue (AM/FM) StationsUK-wide Digital DABLocal/Regional Digital DAB5461144328331370 TABLE 16: BBC AND COMMERCIAL RADIO – UK-WIDE AND COMMERCIALSERVICESFIGURE 3: BBC VS COMMERCIAL RADIO – AUDIENCE AND REVENUE SHARES3029 RAJAR (Period ending September 2018; Weekly reach, adults 15+)30 Share of Listening (Adults 15+): RAJAR, period ending September 2018; Revenue: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/117256/CMR-2018-narrative-report.pdf, p40Figure 2 compares the network viewing share of terrestrial television broadcastersin the UK according to December 2018 BARB data. The BBC leads the way with 58per cent, followed by ITV on 38 per cent. Sky, despite considerably larger revenuesthan the BBC, accounts for under one-tenth of terrestrial television viewing in the UK.The BBC continues to provide the majority of expenditure on UK radio broadcasting – anestimated £744m (up from £725m in 2015), in comparison with £557m commercial revenue(Figure 3). This translates into a 51.7% share of listening (down from 53.8%). The BBC’s overallweekly reach among adults (15+) is 34.2 million (63%), compared with 35.8 million (65%) forcommercial radio.29Source: BARBShare of revenue(£m)Share of listeningCommunity / otherBBC Commercial557744 45.7%51.7%1819Source: Ofcom and GuardianSource: www.ukdigitalradio.comSource: RAJAR / OfcomBBCITVChannel 4SkyViacom (Channel 5)Others31%23%10%9%7%20% OwnerNumber of StationsShare of TotalGlobal RadioBauer RadioIndependentCelador RadioUKRD GroupWireless GroupLincs FM GroupNation Broadcasting LtdKM GroupQ Local MediaQuidemMedia Sound Holdings LtdAdventure RadioCommunicorpLycaARITindle Press Holdings LtdNew Wave Media80504023161599776544322128.3%17.7%14.1%8.1%5.7%5.3%3.2%3.2%2.5%2.5%2.1%1.8%1.4%1.4%1.1%0.7%0.7%0.4%Total283100.0% TABLE 17: COMMERCIAL ANALOGUE LOCAL RADIO LICENCES IN THE UK(2018)32U K R A D I O S TAT I O N S – D I G I TA LThe UK has 42 UK-wide DAB stations, of which 11 are provided by the BBC. Local and regionalDAB stations include 44 BBC stations and 370 services provided by commercial providers33. Table18 shows the regional breakdown of commercial DAB stations, including the proportion of stationsrun by the two largest providers, Bauer Radio and Global Radio. Overall, just under two-thirds of RegionNo of DAB Stations(Excl BBC)% of Stations ownedby Global or BauerNorthern IrelandNorth EnglandEastern CountiesSouth WestScotlandMidlandsSouth EastGreater LondonWales8952331485746372587.5%85.3%78.3%77.4%77.1%56.0%54.3%43.2%36.0%Total37066.1% 31 https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/feb/26/scores-of-uk-radio-stations-to-lose-local-programmes32 Data from Ofcom: http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/html/radio-stations/analogue/analogue-main.htm33 Commercial Local Digital Station data from www.ukdigitalradio.com; 2017 data. Ofcom’s 2018 MediaNations data includes digital commercial service overlap across multiple areas.TABLE 18: CONCENTRATION OF UK COMMERCIAL DAB OWNERSHIP,BY REGIONP O D C A S T I N GResearch by Ofcom in 2018 estimates 5.9 million podcast listeners in the UK34. Table 19 outlinesprevious Ofcom research on the most common sources of podcasts accessed by listeners. While‘BBC website or app’ is by some distance the most commonly accessed source of podcast contentamong listeners, US-based platforms YouTube (Alphabet, Inc – revenue: £129.87bn) and iTunes(Apple, Inc – revenue: £203.74bn) make up the second and third most-accessed sources of podcasts. SourceProportion of UK podcast listenersBBC website or appYouTubeiTunesWebsite or app of the podcast itselfStreaming serviceGooglePlayWebsite/app of a non-BBC radio station/TV channelWebsite or app of a newspaper/magazineOther website/appRadioPlayerSpecialist podcast website/app36%26%25%17%9%7%7%7%7%5%4% TABLE 19: PODCAST USE IN THE UK (2017)3534 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2018/uk-podcast-listening-booms#335 Ofcom, Communications Market Report 2017: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/105440/uk-radio-audio.pdfU K R A D I O S TAT I O N S – A N A L O G U EThere are eight national and 329 local stations operating on analogue licences. The BBC accountsfor five of the national analogue stations; the remaining three commercial stations are AbsoluteRadio (owned by Bauer Radio), Classic FM (Global Radio) and Talksport (Wireless Group). TheBBC operates 46 local stations. A breakdown of the 283 commercial analogue channels is included in Table 17. Of the 283 commercial local stations across the four nations of the United Kingdom, 130 (46%) are owned and operated by two companies – Bauer Radio and Global Radio.Including the next-largest company – Celador Radio, with 23 stations – over half of all commercialstations are owned by just three companies. The danger of a concentrated market was illustratedby the decision of Global, in February 2019, to replace some 40 local breakfast shows with justthree nationwide programmes, resulting in significant numbers of redundancies and the loss ofvital local content31.21Source: OfcomSource: OfcomSource: www.ukdigitalradio.comcommercial digital radio stations in the UK are owned by two companies, ranging from 36 per centof stations in Wales to over 80 per cent of stations in the North of England and in Northern Ireland.22C O N C L U S I O NThe levels of concentration revealed in this report demonstrate that we need action that willchallenge blockbuster media and tech companies and the influence that flows from their dominanceof infrastructure, content and distribution.There is a long-established policy principle in the UK that public responsibilities should be attachedto significant media power. Up to now, this principle has been invoked in respect of broadcastingbut as media markets and services converge and as more and more content is made availablethrough monopolies such as Facebook and Google, it is increasingly applicable to other platforms.There is a need to ensure that dominant media and tech companies that are not currently subjectto public service regulation, are nevertheless held accountable to the public through other effectiveforms of regulation.It is time for an open and honest debate about the impact of media concentration on our democracyand our wider culture. The Media Reform Coalition believes that media plurality is not a luxury inthe digital age but an essential part of a media system in which vested interests should not beallowed to dominate. We want to see independent media that are able to hold power to accountand to serve their audiences and the public in general as opposed to shareholders, proprietors orpoliticians.In order to achieve this, we need a rebooted system of regulation that gets to grips with thecomplexities of media ownership in the twenty-first century; one that encompasses top-downmeasures to check the dominance of individual or corporate interests as well as bottom-up measuresto support genuinely independent and not-for-profit media on the ground. Above all, we need anew system of regulation that addresses both the enduring (and in many ways intensifying) grip oflegacy media on public debate; as well as the control over news and information ‘flow’ wielded bytech giants.Meanwhile, Ofcom, the communications regulator, continues to labour under the assumption thatthe status quo of media plurality in the UK is acceptable, despite the evidence gathered here thatshows we should be seriously concerned. We are witnessing a rapid consolidation of the newsindustry – especially at the local and regional level – which is putting control of newsgatheringand production in progressively fewer hands. The government has long promised regular pluralityreviews that could address dynamic and organic changes in media markets which wield furtherconcentration. To date, nothing has been done to implement this.At a time of intensifying political instability and seemingly continuous elections and referenda, weurgently need a programme of genuinely progressive reform aimed exclusively at a more fair, free,accurate, and accountable media. And if we want to lay the foundations for a media that representsthe full diversity of the UK population – in relation to its opinions, its make-up, its communities, itsconstituent nations and indeed its divisions – then we need to take action to curb media power.For inquiries, please email:info@mediareform.org.ukPlease visit:www.mediareform.org.ukto see the full datasets used in this report.Research carried out by Dr Gordon RamsayDesigned by Grace CollinsPublished in March 2019 by the Media Reform Coalition, c/o Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media ResearchCentre, Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths, University of London,New Cross, London SE14 6NW
