The Media Giants Fighting For Your Attention

Discovery Inc.

Like most major media companies, Discovery Inc bring in most of the revenue from advertising. In 2020 the company brought in $5.5 billion from advertising revenue and $4.8 billion from distribution revenue. The company has been adjusting their means of operations as the overall demand for pay-TV goes down due to consumers having access to such wide ranges of content through subscription services.

The highs and lows of Discovery Inc’s Income and Revenue are:

Highest:

• Revenue: 2019 = $11.1 billion
• Income: 2019 = $2 billion

Lowest:

• Revenue: $4.2 billion
• Income: $900 million

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company has been coining money over the past few years as they’ve release blockbuster movie after blockbuster movie, including the Avengers movies, the latest Star Wars trilogy, and other major films.

They’ve been pushing hard over the past 2 years with their Disney+ subscription service which has grown exponentially in users since the pandemic pushed more people to search for stay at home entertainment.

The highs and lows of Disney’s Income and Revenue are:

Highest:

• Revenue: 2019 = $69.5 billion
• Income: 2018 = $12.5 billion

Lowest:

• Revenue: 2019 = $40.8 billion
• Income: 2020 =- $2.8 billion (loss)

Netflix

Like other companies offering digital media subscription services, Netflix gained a substantial amount of users during the pandemic as people searched for means of entertainment. For years Netflix was the dominant figure in subscription content-platforms, however their success brought in countless other competitors that have been trying to gain their own market share.

The biggest, and perhaps most threatening player, is Disney which has a massive amount of valuable content and recently released their Disney+ platform. While their revenue continues to rise they are also running into issues with gaining more users in the United States as such a large portion of the population already subscribe to the service. They have therefore been pushing their way into the international market.

The highs and lows of Netflix’s Income and Revenue are:

Highest:

• Revenue: 2020 = $24.9 billion
• Income: 2020 = $2.7 billion

Lowest:

• Revenue: 2011 = $3.2 billion
• Income: 2012 = $17 million

SiriusXM

SiriusXM continues to operate in a tough business. With the means of listening to audio content going through a rapid change, SiriusXM has been aiming to make adjustments to keep up with consumer tastes.

The most dramatic changes have to do with consumers subscribing to services such as Spotify and Apple Music, along with other forms of content such as podcasts which are free to listen to in many cases.

The highs and lows of SiriusXM’s Income and Revenue are:

Highest:

• Revenue: 2020 = $8 billion
• Income: 2018 = $1.1 billion

Lowest:

• Revenue: 2011 = $3 billion
• Income: 2020 = $100 million

ViacomCBS

In 2019 Viacom and CBS completed a merger that brought back together two media giants as the world of entertainment becomes tougher and tougher to compete in. After decades of operating in the pay-TV arena, ViacomCBS is trying to adjust their business model to a subscription model in line with what Netflix has done since the beginning and what Disney has recently done.

Their streaming revenues increased from $1.63 billion in 2019 to $2.46 billion in 2020, which shows the efforts they are pushing forward with to adapt to the new subscription media means of operation.

The highs and lows of ViacomCBS Income and Revenue are:

Highest:

• Revenue: $27 billion
• Income: $2.7 billion

Lowest:

• Revenue: $13.1 billion
• Income: $1.3 billion