Managing in the Distinctive Economic Context of Media

The field of media management is diverse but the management practices and strategies that are prevalent often reflect the unusual or distinctive nature and characteristics of this industry, including the economic peculiarities of media. This chapter explains some of the key economic attributes of media outputs and markets that distinguish them from other areas—for example, the fact that the essential quality through which consumers get value from media content primarily resides in messages and meanings rather than material objects—and it assesses what these features imply for the organisational, business and corporate strategies that suppliers of media output need to deploy. Focusing on network formation, corporate expansion and diversification and risk spreading, it provides an overview of the relationship between the distinctive economic characteristics of media, changing market conditions and some of the main business strategies that enable media firms to manage their resources effectively.