Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero

Effects of Market Concentration in Theatrical Distribution: The Case of the Big Five Western European Countries

The globalization phenomenon has reopened the debate on the concentration of media and entertainment industries, particularly in the film distribution market. Some authors consider that the dominant position of U.S. companies comes from the higher identification of American films with the tastes of the European audience. Others argue that the Hollywood success is mainly due to its control of the distribution system. U.S. films account for an average of 63.4% of the European market. In return, European films represent 3.6% of the North American box office. There are around 450 active film distribution companies in Europe, the majority of them being nationally controlled firms, and only a small percentage of them belong to U.S. majors. Nevertheless, these U.S. subsidiaries are ranked among the top 10 leading film distributors in Europe according to market share. This article attempts to make a further contribution in market concentration analysis, looking at the situation of film distribution in the 5 biggest Western European countries. It also explores if the success of American companies is due to their management and marketing skills or if, by the contrary, it is the consequence of their dominant market positions.

Media and telecommunications concentration in Spain (1984–2012)

Media concentration has always been a controversial topic. In any media market, the dominant position of some companies may distort the free flow of information and, as a result, can decrease media pluralism and the quality of democracy. This article analyses 10 media and telecommunications product markets in Spain from 1984 to 2012. With this comprehensive and long-term approach, it concludes that content industries are moderately but increasingly concentrated, while technology industries are highly but decreasingly concentrated.

Political orientation and perceived quality of television channels

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the relationship between the political orientation of television viewers and their perception of television programming quality. Design/methodology/approach – Information from a sample of 2,843 viewers is used. Ordinary least square models are estimated to test the theoretical hypotheses. Findings – The results suggest that the ideological position of viewers has a significant bearing on their evaluation of the quality of television channels. They also point to the key role played by news programming in the audience’s general assessment of channels quality. Research limitations/implications – There are a number of limitations to this research, which are largely related to the data analyzed, since they are cross-sectional and measures based on a single item are used. Future research in this field ought to take the multidimensional nature of the concepts discussed here into greater consideration. Practical implications – If political orientation colors vie...

Social Networks as Marketing Tools for Media Companies

This chapter will explore how media companies can use social networks for selling their products and services. We will suggest that the Web 2.0 is an efficient way to create and protect brand recognition, but it cannot be used as a substitutive of traditional marketing channels.

The University of Navarra’s Catholic-inspired education

This article describes the way in which the Catholic faith shapes education at the University of Navarra. The two aspects of the institution’s identity, i.e. the Catholic dimension and the university dimension, are not juxtaposed and one is not favoured over the other. Rather, they work together and mutually reinforce each other. The article will present the basic principles of the University’s Statement of Core Values, i.e. service, truth, freedom and faithfulness to the Church, and some of the initiatives that are undertaken to put them into practice. What is special about these initiatives is that they aim to promote a reflective institutional culture, since this appears to be the best way to ensure that theoretical identity is consistent with real identity.

Market Structure and Innovation Policies in Spain

The Spanish news media industry was hit hard by the recent financial crisis eroding growth and advertising revenues. The need for daring solutions is pressing in a context with fewer resources to cope with the change. Most Spanish news media companies still offer a ‘menu’ that seems a mere imitation and repetition of ‘glories’ from the past.

Contents as Products in Media Markets

Media products usually comprise two components: a nonmaterial element (journalistic, fiction, persuasive, etc., called content) and a material element (whereby the content is distributed and made accessible to consumers, typically referred to as a platform). While both components function in tandem in the market as regards meeting needs, consumer demand is primarily linked to content; the role of communication or transmission platforms is secondary in this regard, although they may be crucial to such concerns as accessibility (Murphy. How television invented new media. Rutgers University Press, 2011; Chun. Control and freedom: Power and paranoia in the age of fiber optic. MIT, 2006).

How advertising affects quality perception of public service television? A comparison of two surveys in Spain (2008 and 2012)

Abstract This paper aims at providing new insights about audiences’ opinions concerning the role of advertising and its relation with the perceived quality of TV channels. It analyses Spanish audiences perception of quality of public service broadcasters TVE1 and La 2 before and after the advertising withdrawal in 2010. The goal is identifying if the advertising removal is perceived as an improvement of the quality of TVE. The first conclusion is that a vast majority of the viewers find the channels more attractive now without any advertising than before having it. In addition, gender and age are not significant variables in order to affect this opinion. But the audience educational level does impact their perception: those less educated have a significantly better opinion about the advertising withdrawal than others who are more educated. Both national public service channels (TVE1 and La 2) have improved significantly their quality perception when comparing 2008 and 2012 surveys. They are the only two channels within the Spanish market to obtain a better quality assessment. In fact, all channels tend to maintain or reduce their quality perception in the 2008–2012 time period.

The evolution of viewers’ concerns and perceptions of television content quality

This article examines perceived television quality by considering the role played by viewers’ concerns about television content. These concerns are classified into two categories: pragmatic and moral. The research question is analysed empirically for Spain. Results show that pragmatic concerns are more important for the audience than moral concerns both in 2008 and 2012. Both types of factors are considered to have worsened their development in this period. However, general perception of television quality in Spain has improved between 2008 and 2012. This is associated to a more positive opinion regarding national public service television, but to a more negative perception of the quality of television channels.