How has conglomeration changed the movie and television industry?

Both the movie industry and the television industry have changed from independently owned and operated systems into large conglomerates. A conglomerate is defined as a corporation that is made up of numerous different companies that operate in diversified ways. The movie and television industry have changed due to the gathering of small independent companies under a larger more powerful company. Known as the “studio system”, the United States movie industry is rooted in a few major companies that tightly control everything. “The companies had oligarchic control, successfully excluding outsiders and using their power to coerce the marketplace” (Vivian, 157). This statement emphasizes the fact that the six major companies control the majority of what is aired, how it is aired, and why it is aired in both movies and on the television. This control leads to homogeneity across the board for the industry. By this I mean that because there are no independent companies, or production agencies, essentially all the decision making is held by the most powerful companies that all somewhat have the same goal. The goal for these companies is to make as much money as possible with as little risk involved. With this as a goal it is easy to see how most productions are assessed by their level of popularity on the large scale of things, essentially cutting away at any independence or creativity that may have been considered “risky”. Conglomerates have changed both the movie and television industry because not only do they control what is aired they also have been able to connect these two mass mediums into a cooperative system that operates together in peaceful harmony.