by 
Updated on March 21, 2023
Decades ago, media ownership in the United States wasn’t as concentrated as it is today. In 1983, 50 companies owned 90% of American media. As of now, that 90% of media is now owned by five major media conglomerates:
- Disney
- Time Warner
- Comcast
- National Amusements (CBS and Viacom)
- 21st Century Fox
And that’s soon to be down to four, per the Disney buyout of most of Fox’s assets. While it won’t change the number of conglomerates, a sale of Time Warner to AT&T is also still pending.
That led me to wonder: who owns a lot of older media favorites of mine nowadays? Below is a list of some popular media properties, and who owns them now versus 30 years ago (in 1988).
Star Trek
In 1988: Gulf and Western (owners of Paramount Television)
In 2018: National Amusements (CBS owns the TV shows, Viacom the movies/home video rights)
Gulf and Western was a company founded in the 30s; they owned stakes in various industries (manufacturing, etc.). This included expanding into media; in the mid-60s, Gulf and Western bought Paramount and then Desilu (owners of “Star Trek”). “Star Trek” on TV got lumped under “Paramount Television” (the renamed Desilu) for decades.
Gulf and Western changed its name to Paramount Communications in 1989, then merged with Viacom in 1994. Today, “Star Trek” is owned by CBS and Viacom; while Viacom has home video/movie rights via Paramount, CBS owns the franchise proper. Thus, the reason “Star Trek: Discovery” is on CBS All Access.
Star Wars
In 1988: Lucasfilm
In 2018: Disney
George Lucas’ Lucasfilm was founded in 1971. Lucasfilm stayed an independent company until Disney’s buyout in 2012. 20th Century Fox distributed all of the “Star Wars” films up until that point.
Looney Tunes
In 1988: Warner Communications
In 2018: Time Warner
The Looney Tunes gang have stayed under the Warner Bros. umbrella since the company started making animated shorts in 1930. However, Warners’ parent company and corporate name have changed several times over the decades, through various mergers.
The company’s name was “Warner Communications” through the 70s and 80s; however, Warner merged with magazine publisher Time, Inc. in 1989 to form “Time Warner.” It’s since spun off the magazine side, but hasn’t changed its name (for some reason).
DC Comics
In 1988: Warner Communications
In 2018: Time Warner
Kinney National Company bought DC in 1967. Kinney would buy Warner Bros. a few years later, before changing its name to “Warner Communications.”
Marvel
In 1988: New World Pictures
In 2018: Disney
New World Pictures was an independent film studio/media company between 1970 (its founding) and 1997, when it was bought by Rupert Murdoch. It briefly owned Marvel’s parent company in the late 1980s.
Marvel went through several other owners, before Disney famously bought the House of Ideas in 2009.
Hanna-Barbera
In 1988: Great American Broadcasting
In 2018: Time Warner
Taft Broadcasting was a media company that assumed ownership of Hanna-Barbera in 1966. In 1987, a reorganization changed its name to “Great American Broadcasting.” In 1991, Turner bought Hanna-Barbera, using its properties to create Cartoon Network; Turner merged with Time Warner in 1996.
Hanna-Barbera officially went defunct in 2001, absorbed into Cartoon Network’s animation studio. Today, it exists as an in-name-only subsidiary and brand for the classic Hanna-Barbera properties.
The Muppets
In 1988: Jim Henson Productions (now Jim Henson Company)
In 2018: Disney
Jim Henson’s most famous creation is the Muppets, but Henson and his company also produced other characters, including the “Sesame Street” cast, “Fraggle Rock,” and others.
Ownership of the various characters have shifted several times since the 80s. As things now stand:
- Disney’s owned the rights to the Muppets since 2004.
- Sesame Workshop owns the “Sesame Street” characters, and has the right to use archival footage of Kermit’s old appearances on the show.
- The Jim Henson Company owns “Fraggle Rock.”
Conclusion
Ultimately, a lot of our favorite media properties went from having multiple, often independent owners, down to the current handful of conglomerates. While further shakeups are possible, having only five (soon four) big voices instead of dozens doesn’t seem as healthy from a diversity standpoint.
Of course, there’s still alternatives. The Internet’s the biggest change in media since the 1980s; anyone (including yours truly) can now have a voice.
There’s also various independent alternatives to the media I listed above:
- Lots of independently created animated cartoons exist on YouTube.
- The main innovations in comics today are from webcomics and creator-owned/independent comics, not the “Big Two” of DC/Marvel.
- Independently created science-fiction/fantasy literature also exists.
- Finally, there’s PBS for non-commercial television.
