New Perspectives on Media Mergers: Media Management Series

Author: Dong Lu (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: The integration and collision of capital and the media have long been regarded as a convergence that unleashes immense energy and generates numerous benefits, hence attracting widespread attention. How the operational rules of the two align to form more effective new rules has also become a key focus and challenge of academic research. This book takes this as its starting point, conducting research on the uniqueness of media enterprises and the specificity of their M&A activities, and then expands its discussion into five aspects. The first part emphasizes the important characteristic of media enterprises—decreasing marginal costs, which serves as a significant driving force for M&A among media companies. The second part examines the major bottleneck in the development of media enterprises: the scarcity of high-quality content and marketable creative ideas. M&A in the media sector then becomes an effective means to alleviate content pressures. The third part explores the market characteristics of media enterprises, which serve two types of customers—target audiences and advertisers—and how M&A activities promote a virtuous cycle among the three. In the fourth part, attention is focused on the additional costs associated with media M&A, explaining that the primary obstacles stem from antitrust laws, cultural protection, and the integration of corporate cultures. Finally, the fifth part addresses a highly practical issue: how to accurately evaluate the intangible assets of media enterprises during M&A. The book offers a broad perspective and is rich in data, compiling numerous cases of domestic and international media M&A and integration. It provides a comprehensive view of the essence of the media and the points of connection with capital, presenting innovative achievements in both corporate M&A research and media economics management research. It is suitable for use in university-level management courses for journalism and communication majors, as well as serving as a valuable reference for media investment and financing researchers and media decision-making management personnel.