Education
Hey, its me again. Glad to be back. And we are now at Episode Seven.In last week’s episode, we talked about seven strategies media institutions take to counter high-risks and high-costs in the media industry. This week, we will discuss the last, but perhaps the most important strategy of all, globalization.We all know what that means. Just look at things around us, most are NOT produced in the US. Yet, if you look at cinemas, I bet you will find a bunch of same films currently screening across different cities worldwide. Chances are, they are made in Hollywood.Latest numbers show that over 80% of Netflix’s revenue comes from overseas subscribers. Netflix is available in almost every digitally connected country, except China, we will discuss why that is the case in the next episode. Amazon’s Prime Video also has an extensive global presence. Hulu, which is owned by Disney, is also ambitiously targeting the international market. Like the video-streaming industry, the U.S. film industry, in particular, has become more dependent on international markets for revenue growth. Over 70% of the box office revenues come from overseas sales. Did you also know that a big portion of studios’ revenues here in the US for television shows comes from abroad? While America may have a trade deficit from trading with China and the European Union in terms of durable goods, the US exports far more royalties and licensing fees.So, maybe, we should say this. Media globalization is not just a business strategy, but the backbone of the industry, and it is precisely what make America great.Remember economies of scale and economies of scope? Media globalization is about taking advantage of “economies of scale” and “economies of scope” in the era of mass customization. That is, producing a great number of media products, in a great number of formats, to be sold to the global audience.Well, Why do the media industries embrace globalization? Here are some reasons. Global advertisers want to find a global market for their products. The domestic market is increasingly competitive and saturated, and developments of digital technology make global content delivery possible.By most metrics, the US is the dominant party in globalization. Since World War Two, the U.S. film and TV industry have relied on international markets for growth. And the U.S. is the largest producer of films and TV content in the globe. This is largely thanks to first-mover advantage. Since the US media industry is the first to monetize the global market, it gives the country competitive advantages in terms of strong market presence, brand recognition and loyalty.American dominance has drawn lots of criticism. Scholars use the term, Cultural Imperialism, to describe the destruction of local cultural production and values due to the vast amount of cultural products exported from the US and other dominant western countries. It exerts the homogenizing effects of Western culture as it spread across the world. Examples? Think of theme parks. What is the mental image that you conjure up when you think of theme parks? You likely will picture Universal Studios or Disneyland. I bet most kids around the world will picture the same. This is because the image of a theme park is really defined by two major American media franchises: Universal Studios and Disneyland.Some even argue that America’s dominance in the media world represents neo-colonialism. This term speaks about concerns people have over America’s growing political and ideological influence on the independence of nations. While such criticism mostly comes from the global south, which is the developing world. People in the developed world share the anxiety. In the French-speaking region of Canada, Quebec, some were critical of Netflix’s entry into the Canadian market, feeling that their cultural identity is under attack by the flooding of English-langu