Media viability vs market plurality : a comparative perspective : the growing tendency towards media ownership concentration in the digital ecosystem

Abstract

Media economic sustainability and plurality of media ownership are two elements that contribute to a healthy, competitive, and diverse media market. But they can also be conflicting goals in a sector characterised by economies of scale and technological developments which push towards concentration. In recent times, this inherent tendency of the media industry did not reverse; in fact, it is increasingly motivated based on the need to survive in the digital environment. Across the European Union as well as worldwide, media groups ask for relaxation of limits on concentration and merger control because of the need to maintain financial sustainability. This chapter explores the dilemma between media viability and plurality of media actors, and how that dilemma has evolved in the digital ecosystem of the media. It presents three case studies, for Germany, Ireland, and Portugal. For each of these countries a short history of the trends in media concentration and media viability is described with a focus on the recent evolution of the regulatory and competition framework.