CRITICALISSUESIN
MEDIAECONOMICS
2020-2021
MASTERNEWMEDIA&SOCIETY PROF.BALLON
D.L.Y.
,
CHAPTERONE
INTRODUCTIONTOMEDIAECONOMICS
1.INTRODUCTION
1.1.BUSINESSANDECONOMICAPPROACHTONEWMEDIAECONOMICS
● WhatisNewMediainEurope?
○ 1stwave‘contentmedia’
○ 2nd wave/new type of media is ‘connectivity media’: companies whose primary business is to
(inter-)mediatebetweenyouandclosefriends(notcontent)
○ 3rdwave‘contextmedia’asthirdwaveintermediatebetweenyouandtheenvironment(e .g.google
maps,uber,airbnb,…
)
● Isthisamarketjustlikeanyothermarket?
○ Everyindustryisstartingtobehavelikeapartlycontextmediaindustry
○ Mediacompanyandmediaeconomy,progressivelystartedfromasmallnichepart
○ Differente economiclogicthatisrelevantandspecifictomediacompanies(intermediating,virtual,
produceeverythingthatissymbolic)
1.2.CRITICALISSUESINMEDIAECONOMICS
● Convergence:bellheadsvs.netheads?
○ Picture1-Linkinfrastructureandpower
■ Whomostpowerfulcompaniesinlayeredbusinessofmedia
■ Layered:infrastructuretobringittothepeople
■ Picture:deathoftelecommunications
● Doomedbecauseinternetwascoming,businessmodeloftelecommunicationswas
goingdown
○ Picture2-Netneutralitydebate
■ Internetandevilcorporateguy,bell(=telecom),telecomcompanieskillingtheinternet
■ Whowillkillwhom?Bothinbusinessrightnow,coexistence
■ Conflicting, different logic behind telecom business and dominant business model of
internet
○ Picture3-Actual,mediasector( journalists,peopleproducingcontent)
■ Anothersectorasvictimandwhataboutcontent?
○ Willinfluencethewayweconsumemedia
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● Monopoliesvs.Legoland?OrPlatformCompetition?
○ Atthebeginning:wantingtofightMicrosoft
■ Consideredtobethemostpowerfulplatformcompany
○ Newnarrativeofinternetasgeneratorofcreativity,smallcompany(startfromtheirlivingroom)
■ FirstBelgianUnicorn'Colibra’startedattheVUBonlyacoupleofyearsagowithstudentsof
⇒
computersciences 1billiondollarvaluation
■ Anyonecanmakeitandnoevilgiantcanresistthis,theycanlosetheirrelevance
○ Maybetruthinbetween
■ ⇒
Giantcompaniesaren’tgoingaway,buttherearenewones foundawaytocoexistwith
allthesmallercompanies
■ ⇒
Openupforappdevelopers canexistassmallerpartsinabiggerplatform
○ ⇒
Outcomeofstrugglewillinfluenceourfuture modelthatisbeingintroducedis‘truthinbetween’
○ ⇒
Whattypeofmodelwillbeimplemented? Whattypeofmarketstructurewewillget
○ Worriedaboutfreecompetitionandfearpowerofthecompaniestoregulatemorethangovernment
○ Ispublicinterventionjustified,necessary,harmful?
■ Antiapple:appleshoulddropthe30%taxonappsintheappstore
■ Before apple: when you wanted something on the telecom network, app on network,
networkoperatorwouldtake50-60%
■ Infact30%modelSteveJobsadoptedwhentheappstorestarted,wasreversalofwhathe
⇒
firsthadinmind(60-70%) seenasmotorforthesuccessofthewholeappeconomy
■ Nowappprovidersdon’tneedAppleanymoreandwanttomakeacoalitiontoreducethe
⇒
30% abuseofsometypeofmonopoly?
● DataasCurrency?OrprivacyasHumanRight?
○ Revenuemodelissellingyourdatatoadvertisers
○ Economicquestion:whatwillbethedominantrevenuemodelinthefuture?
○ Shouldweregarddataascurrency?
○ Is Privacy under threat, dead (move on, it’s not existing anymore), economically harmful (goes
againstfreeenterprise)?
○ Criticalforsociety,butalsoforustryingtotakeacriticalviewonthis
1.3.MEDIA+ECONOMICS=MEDIA-ECONOMICS?
Media ● MainCharacteristics
○ Meanstodistributeinformationandknowledge
○ Addressesgroupsofpeople(massmedia-nichemedia)
● MainObjectives
○ Toprovidefactualinformation,opinions,entertainment
● MainValues(typicallyeconomicsisnotsogoodatthis)
○ Reliability(quality)anddiversity
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○ Innovationandcompetitivestrength
● MainQuestions
○ Publicvs.privatemedia;nationalvs.internationalcontent;ICTandmedia
● MainScope
○ Inscope:radio,TVbroadcasting,newspapers,periodicals
○ Partlyinscope:restofculturalindustry(e .g.film,music,games)
○ Outofscope:one-on-one(two-way)communication
○ Thiswillchangedramaticallywithnewmedia/ICT
Mediaeconomics ● Applieseconomicstomedia…butwhatkindofeconomics?
● NeoclassicaleconomicsandthePerfectCompetitionmodel
○ Production,distributionandconsumptionofscarcegoods
○ Supplyanddemandmeeteachotherinmarket
○ Quantityandpricearesetat‘equilibrium’
○ Marketstructuresrangebetweenperfectcompetitionandmonopoly
○ Policyintervention(only)justifiedwhenthereismarketfailure
● So,media-economicsissimplyapplyingEconomicstomedia?
○ Production,distributionandconsumptionofscarceinformationandopinions?
○ Informationsupplyandinformationdemandmeetinthemediamarket?
○ Mediaquantitiesandpricessetatequilibrium?
○ Westriveforperfectcompetitioninthemediamarkets?
○ Policyonlyinterveneswhenthereismarketfailure?
2.1.WHYMEDIAECONOMICS?
● WhyistherenocourseonWashingPowderEconomics,whilethereisacourseonMediaEconomics?
○ Mediaandculturalgoodshavespecific,divergenteconomiccharacteristics
○ Mediaeconomicsisnotjustaboutthe‘material’layerofsociety,butalsoaboutthe‘symbolic’one
■ Virtual,symbolicsideofeconomyisgrowingstrongly
■ Thereisaspecificpublicinterestintheoutcomeofeconomicprocessesinthemediasector
(i.e.becauseofhuge‘externaleffects’)
● Whatissodifferent?
○ Specificcharacteristicsofthemediagooditself
○ Specificcharacteristicsofthesupplyanddemandside
○ Specificindustryandmarketstructures
○ Specificinterests
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