1. This document outlines an examination unit on understanding the ownership models of media institutions, including cross-media conglomerate production companies and public service companies. 2. It provides learning objectives and success criteria for the unit and examples to consider, including Disney as an illustrative example of a conglomerate company. 3. The document guides the reader through tasks to demonstrate their understanding of independent media companies, cross-media conglomerates like Disney, and features of public service media companies.

1. BIG PICTURE
LA1 – Understanding the
Ownership Models of Media
Institutions
KEYWORDS
Cross-Media – Conglomerate –
Synergy – Public Service – Non-
Commercial
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Understand the key features of cross media and
conglomerate media production companies and
public service companies
SUCCESS CRITERIA
• A series of short tasks, tied in to likely
exam questions on these subjects.
Take your seat. Bag under your desk.
Have your equipment and planner out.
Unit 1 – Media Products and Audiences
• What do you
know about the
history of the
Disney company?

2. TELL ME
STUFF!
TAKE ME
THROUGH
IT…
LET ME
HAVE A
GO…
DO I GET
IT?
1 2 3 4 5 6
SETTING THE
SCENE
JOINING UP
LEARNING
LINKS TO LAST
TIME
PASSING ON
KNOWLEDGE
GUIDED PRACTICE
& MODELLING
INDEPENDENT
PRACTICE –
APPLYING THE
SKILLS TO NEW
SITUATIONS
ASSESSMENT &
FEEDBACK
PULL IT TOGETHER
JOINING UP
LEARNING
LINKS TO NEXT
TIME

3. 1. This is an examination unit marked by the
exam board
2. The exam is 2 hours long and you will sit it
in January
• We are working
through the content
in the 'right' order
for us rather than
starting at Learning
Aim 1 and ending at
Learning Aim 6 – so
we have now reached
LA1!
This work today is about the different ownership models of
media production companies, and it asks you to be aware of
three different models of ownership...
a) Independent
b) Conglomerate
c) Public Service
We have specific examples to consider for these three...
a) Independent – Warp Films
b) Conglomerate – Disney
c) Public Service – the BBC

4. Understanding Cross-media or
Conglomerate Media Production
• This work is about Disney but they are
there as our example to demonstrate
that you know and understand
independent production companies as
a form of media production.
• You won't be asked questions about
Disney (or about or other examples,
Warp Films and the BBC) -or even
about film production companies -
you'll be asked questions about
independent producers, conglomerates
and public service companies. You
answer about Warp, about Disney and
about the BBC.
Cross Media means that the company owns
and produces products across a range of different
media forms (or types, or sometimes 'platforms')
- film, television, video games, magazine,
newspaper and book publishing, online media,
radio and music, theme parks ...
A Conglomerate is a large company that owns
lots of other smaller companies that work in
similar or even different businesses. Sometimes
the 'smaller' companies they own can still be
pretty big

5. SO why are Disney a good illustrative example of an
independent media company?
1. Yes.
2. They have a long history as production
company themselves
3. They have a long history as a cross media
company, involves in film and television,
music, magazine and book publishing, theme
parks and merchandise
4. More recently they have become a
conglomerate company owning a large
number of other companies including other
big cross media organisations like Marvel or
Lucas Films (which owns and makes the Star
Wars universe).
In the exam
• You might be asked to talk about
specific examples – discuss how a
specific media product by an cross
media company was made,
marketed and distributed
successfully
• You might be asked to simply
identify the key characteristics of a
conglomerate or cross media
production company
• You might be asked to compare an
independent company with a
conglomerate company or a public
service company

6. Use the blog page – for LA1.2 - Conglomerates / Cross
Media Companies and Public Service Companies
All of these tasks are on the blog page – I'm pulling
them out as a list here for clarity for you
1. Cross Media
•You don’t need to include every single
detail here, but explain what it is that
makes Disney a cross-media conglomerate
company, with some examples of its
different media interests.
•Explain in your own words the things that
make Disney so very different from Warp
Films. You may well be asked to explain
the difference between and independent
media company and a conglomerate or
cross-media company giving examples
2. Synergy
• Choose EITHER a Star Wars media release
OR an MCU media release OR a more
traditional Disney or
Disney/Pixar film release and describe the
use of cross-media marketing in its release.
3. Public Service
• Explain in your own words the features of a
public service media company.
• What benefits there for the company?
• What benefits are there for the audience
of the company?
• What limitations does a public service media
company face?

7. Explain how a conglomerate company operates differently to an
independent company. Use examples to support your answer.
4 marks
1. So this is a real example of an
exam question on this topic. To
do this well you need to...
• Identify the production
companies
• Identify the specific products you
want to discuss as an example
• Explain the different ways the two
companies will work
• You might look for information about
• How the conglomerate company
uses its in-house companies and
subsidiaries to work whilst an
independent will outsource or go
into partnership with other
companies
• How the conglomerate is vertically
integrated and the independent
isn't (except think about Warp and
BBC/C4)

8. BIG
PICTURE
MY
LEARNING
How did this
lesson fit into
your other
lessons?
What is my
top take- away
from the
lesson?
Have you contributed to the lesson? Will you be able to improve
next lesson? Do you know what you need to go away and do?
o Sometimes the best way to
understand one kind of 'thing'
it so see how it differs from
other similar things – so this
work moves on from small
independent producers to huge
conglomerate cross-media
producers – from £2.5milllion
budgeted Four Lions by Warp
Films to the $356million
'Avengers Endgame' by Marvel
(and so by their owners Disney)