Disney is taking over the world!
It really could be. It is one of the largest media corporations out there. They own a part of almost every, if not every, form of media and attraction. Disney started off producing cartoons for short films and than quickly branched off into television shows, larger film productions, record labels, a cruise lines, television networks, five major amusement parks across the globe, video games, stores, news and sports channels, clothing and accessories lines, movie and television production companies, theatre and radio stations, toys, marketing Disney celebrities, and much much more. Even with this large list, there are still lists under these lists; meaning they own more than one of each in each category. Disney is a good example of vertical integration and expansion. It has multiple holdings across a chain of productions, therefore they have greater control of their cost of resources because if you own various steps along the production process, it makes it cheaper. It reduces costs and maximizes efficiencies. It is a private business that focuses on making money. Michael Eisner, who is the CEO of the Walt Disney Co., has been quoted saying, “We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective. (Shah 2007)” He openly admitted what their objective is. The more forms of media they own, the more money they will be able to make and the more control they will be able to have. They don’t even need to buy out companies that are similar to what they are anymore, they will buy anything and everything they can get their hands on. For example, ESPN and ABC News have nothing to do with children’s entertainment, yet they own it. The intent of cross media ownership is to develop an economy of scale and an economy of scope as well as deeper penetration into market.
The more corporations someone owns, the more control they have over society. Since Disney owns so much, they are able to have a larger influence on pressing their ideologies onto society than a smaller corporation could. It also allows every illegal or immoral thing they do to be kept “hush hush.” Because of the vast forms and amount of media they own, there is a smaller chance of anything wrong they do to be put out. Think about it. How many truly horrible things have you heard about Disney? Not that much right? They are quickly gaining a monopoly on many forms of media as well as monopoly of information. The more they own, the more power they have, and the more sources they have to validate their truths.
Shah, Anup. “Media Conglomerates, Mergers, Concentration of Ownership.” http://www.globalissues.org/article/159/media-conglomerates-mergers-concentration-of-ownership#globalissues-org. April 29, 2007. Nov. 24/08.
