The Media Network
While the Department of Justice is pursuing the tech industry for “hurting competition and intentionally stifling the free exchange of ideas on their platform”, there appears to be an even larger problem that few people are recognizing. The media industry has slowly evolved from content companies bringing ideas to studios to produce their shows to tech overwhelming this industry and creating an entire new landscape. A company can no longer survive as just a show distributor they must also look to make smart tech investments. The graph shows how many of the largest players have investments in tech companies that stream content. In addition to this many of these companies are buying out other companies in hopes of emerging as one of the sole entertainment providers left. While this would do wonders for the companies it could be potentially detrimental to the country as a whole. Were the media landscape to evolve into a complete graph where every node is connected in some way it would cause a full monopolization of the industry. The companies would work together not only in terms of pricing but also in content displayed. There would be very little diversification of ideas causing people to see only one side of an issue.
Similar to the trials going on for the tech industry the Department of Justice should begin to look into the media industry for stifling ideas and hurting competition. Disney company now owns two major TV networks, and the most viewed sports network in the United States. If Disney were to take over Hulu, which they already have a tie to (a 10% stake in the company), this would give them a major say in all forms entertainment. They would become one of two companies with a sole online video streaming service. It is important to recognize that this network does not bode well for consumers and does nothing but help these companies. If another major merge or acquisition were to occur, it would be time to seriously consider the impact this might have on the company and launch an investigation into whether this is a monopoly that needs to be broken up.
https://www.recode.net/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart