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Visualizing the Changing Landscape of Big Media

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Big Media is in the middle of a monumental shift.

With immense pressure on revenues, market share, and distribution stemming from platforms and the migration to digital, the traditional big media players are scrambling to find new models and tactics that work.

In addition to forcing companies to evaluate new ways to monetize and distribute content, this industry turmoil has also served up the perfect environment for massive mergers and acquisitions. Big conglomerates aren’t going to go down without a fight, and as a result they are willing to “bet the farm” on M&A to try and compete.

The Big Media Landscape

Today’s visualization comes to us from Recode via media reporters Peter Kafka and Rani Molla, and it does an excellent job in summing up the changing landscape of Big Media.

Notably, it helps visualize the significance of the recent $52.4 billion merger between Disney and 21st Century Fox, as well as the $85 billion merger between AT&T and Time Warner. The latter is set to go to antitrust trials in March.

The Big Media Landscape

It’s worth noting that the above graphic only shows the big players in the media landscape – and new media companies like Buzzfeed ($1.7 billion valuation) and Vox Media ($1.0 billion) are “too small” to include.

As such, it focuses primarily on the conglomerates that own many different media assets, with a heavy slant towards video content and distribution.

Platform Takeover

The impetus behind much of the turmoil in the media space comes from the unrivaled success of platforms.

Netflix has quickly emerged as a $100 billion+ company, and it already outsizes content stalwarts like Time Warner and 21st Century Fox, which each have histories going back many decades.

In response? In the visualization, you can see the investments made by Disney, Comcast, 21st Century Fox, and Time Warner into video streamer Hulu in one attempt to hedge bets.

But unfortunately, it’s not only Netflix that is a threat – on the advertising side, the Google/Facebook duopoly is wreaking havoc on virtually every online media company in existence. The below graphic, which helps to contextualize the trend in global ad revenue, is from a previous chart we published last year.

Global ad revenue chart

To combat a shrinking share of the pie, even long-running brands like the New York Times are migrating their monetization strategy towards paid subscriptions. In other words, even the Times acknowledges that it can’t compete with the scale and targeting ability of the platforms.

That’s why, unless the dust settles in the near-term, there will be even more consolidation and attempts towards innovation in the media sector. This is especially true for the big conglomerates, who need to show shareholders that they are trying to do something to stop the bleeding.

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Mapped: Internet Download Speeds by Region

North America and East Asia have the speediest internet.

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Map illustrating median download speeds in each global region.

Mapped: Internet Download Speeds by Region

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

In today’s fast-paced world, internet speed isn’t just a convenience—it’s the driving force behind how we work, play, and connect.

In this map, we illustrate median download speeds in each global region, based on data from the World Bank’s Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023.

North America and East Asia Have the Speediest Internet

According to the World Bank, download speeds in high-income countries increased significantly between 2019 and 2023, while speeds in lower-income countries stagnated.

As of 2022, North America and East Asia have the speediest internet.

RegionMedian mobile download speed (Mb/sec)Median fixed broadband download speed (Mb/sec)
East Asia & Pacific90171
Europe & Central Asia4485
Latin America & the Caribbean2674
Middle East & North Africa3636
North America83193
South Asia2743
Sub-Saharan Africa1615

This difference in broadband speeds can mainly be attributed to investment.

In 2020, nearly 90% of global telecommunication investment came from East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, and North America. These regions not only concentrate the highest-income population but also the top technology hubs.

Meanwhile, low- and middle-income regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for less than 10% of total investment.

Most of the investment is directed towards fiber optic and 5G mobile networks. According to the mobile industry association GSMA, mobile operators alone are projected to invest more than $600 billion between 2022 and 2025, with 85% of the total allocated for 5G.

In 2023, broadband speeds in high-income countries were 10x faster for fixed connections, and 5x faster for mobile connections compared to those in low-income countries.

Fixed broadband connections, which provide high-speed internet to residences or businesses, reached 38% of the population in high-income countries. In comparison, fixed broadband penetration was only 4% of the population in lower-middle-income countries and almost zero in low-income countries.

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