4 ms·

Skeptical about the 90% claim. Is time spent on YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, The New York Times and Spotify (with Joe Rogan specifically) so insignificant as

Skeptical about the 90% claim. Is time spent on YouTube, Netflix, Prime Video, The New York Times and Spotify (with Joe Rogan specifically) so insignificant as to be relegated to the "miscellaneous" 10%?

kfarr 5y ago
Or Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc? Media consolidation is concerning but agreed this 90% claim seems to be for attention grabbing headline purposes.
- andreilys 5y ago
  Think of it as institutional media that other institutions pay attention to. Sure CNN and MSNBC viewing numbers might not be as high as PewDiePie, but the type of people that watch it will be more valuable to influence.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- marcusverus 5y ago
  Facebook, Twitter and Reddit are social media platforms. They may be the primary mechanism by which the media’s products (articles, videos, podcasts) are shared, but they are not the media.
  - fridif 5y ago
    Which is why they "moderate the content on the platform", right? People get banned for posting their political opinions but media companies
    - Aunche 5y ago
      They moderate their content because if they don't, an angry mob will demand that companies pull ads from the platforms. Ironically, by prioritizing revenue over an agenda, it's actually the most democratic form of censorship.
      - username90 5y ago
        Censorship based on how much money different groups spend and gets outraged is not very democratic compared to censorship based on democratic votes. And censorship based on democratic votes is seen as bad, what big corps do now is even worse.
  - wombatmobile 5y ago
    The biggest loss to society from this change arises from how the billions of dollars of revenue from advertising is spent. Old media used to plough the money into investigative journalism and local news. New media doesn't do that, which is why our current crop of "leaders" in politics are drawn from celebrity culture and thrive on ignorance.
- CTDOCodebases 5y ago
  Consider that social media figures and podcasts hosts use the authority of corporate media to push narratives or validate their own narratives to their audience. Corporate media sets the agenda or talking point of the day in a way that people then go on to discuss these talking points on podcasts and social media. When considering situations that require “access” like daily press conferences with political figures ask yourself how many of those asking questions are independent reporters vs corporate media. While social media does influence corporate media normally it’s just filler content or celebrity gossip that ends up getting talked about in traditional media. I guess to summarise most people are getting their news from these six corporations either first hand or second hand via social media/podcasts.
Grakel 5y ago
Agreed. CBS is on their list. I can't even name anything on CBS.
- DrJokepu 5y ago
  You must be kidding. Viacom is one of the world's largest entertainment companies.
  - cptskippy 5y ago
    I guess this article doesn't take into account the fact that CBS and Viacom have since merged. They're history looks a bit like an Alabama family tree with multiple splits and mergers. This is how I felt weeding through all of it: https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MealyDishonestBadger-small.gif https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MealyDishonestBadger-small.gif
    - DrJokepu 5y ago
      This is very common in the entertainment industry. If you think the story of Viacom and CBS is crazy, look up the story of the Victor Talking Machine Company and its many descendants and “relatives”, including RCA, HMV, JVC, EMI, Capitol Records and many others.
  - Grakel 5y ago
    I was unaware of the merger, sorry.
- berniemadoff69 5y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_ViacomCBS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Viacom...
sperm 5y ago
Yea given Netflix accounts for a double digit percentage of internet traffic the 90% figure is dubious.
- ipaddr 5y ago
  Where do you think netflix gets most of it's content?
irjustin 5y ago
Joe Rogan is now Netflix. YouTube is not an owner so you have to attribute specific videos to owners/sources (and potentially reference their sources). 90% is good to be skeptical about, but is it so unrealistic? I'd love to see which company is the most shared ones. Fringe ideas always seem the loudest/most shared, so that to me, would be a better measure of 'marketshare of reach'. At which point NYTimes likely falls really far.
- jefftk 5y ago
  > Joe Rogan is now Netflix Okay, but as you say, Netflix isn't in their six either
  - guerrilla 5y ago
    The companies that produce 99% of what's distributed by Netflix are though.
    - prostoalex 5y ago
      Distributed != watched. Actual consumption seems to be dominated by Netflix originals. https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-shows-viewing-figures-most-watched-bridgerton-witcher-tiger-king-stranger-things-money-heist-1558968 https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-shows-viewing-figures-most-...

kfarr 5y ago

Or Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc? Media consolidation is concerning but agreed this 90% claim seems to be for attention grabbing headline purposes.

andreilys 5y ago
Think of it as institutional media that other institutions pay attention to. Sure CNN and MSNBC viewing numbers might not be as high as PewDiePie, but the type of people that watch it will be more valuable to influence.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
marcusverus 5y ago
Facebook, Twitter and Reddit are social media platforms. They may be the primary mechanism by which the media’s products (articles, videos, podcasts) are shared, but they are not the media.
- fridif 5y ago
  Which is why they "moderate the content on the platform", right? People get banned for posting their political opinions but media companies
  - Aunche 5y ago
    They moderate their content because if they don't, an angry mob will demand that companies pull ads from the platforms. Ironically, by prioritizing revenue over an agenda, it's actually the most democratic form of censorship.
    - username90 5y ago
      Censorship based on how much money different groups spend and gets outraged is not very democratic compared to censorship based on democratic votes. And censorship based on democratic votes is seen as bad, what big corps do now is even worse.
- wombatmobile 5y ago
  The biggest loss to society from this change arises from how the billions of dollars of revenue from advertising is spent. Old media used to plough the money into investigative journalism and local news. New media doesn't do that, which is why our current crop of "leaders" in politics are drawn from celebrity culture and thrive on ignorance.
CTDOCodebases 5y ago
Consider that social media figures and podcasts hosts use the authority of corporate media to push narratives or validate their own narratives to their audience. Corporate media sets the agenda or talking point of the day in a way that people then go on to discuss these talking points on podcasts and social media. When considering situations that require “access” like daily press conferences with political figures ask yourself how many of those asking questions are independent reporters vs corporate media. While social media does influence corporate media normally it’s just filler content or celebrity gossip that ends up getting talked about in traditional media. I guess to summarise most people are getting their news from these six corporations either first hand or second hand via social media/podcasts.

Grakel 5y ago

Agreed. CBS is on their list. I can't even name anything on CBS.

DrJokepu 5y ago
You must be kidding. Viacom is one of the world's largest entertainment companies.
- cptskippy 5y ago
  I guess this article doesn't take into account the fact that CBS and Viacom have since merged. They're history looks a bit like an Alabama family tree with multiple splits and mergers. This is how I felt weeding through all of it: https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MealyDishonestBadger-small.gif https://thumbs.gfycat.com/MealyDishonestBadger-small.gif
  - DrJokepu 5y ago
    This is very common in the entertainment industry. If you think the story of Viacom and CBS is crazy, look up the story of the Victor Talking Machine Company and its many descendants and “relatives”, including RCA, HMV, JVC, EMI, Capitol Records and many others.
- Grakel 5y ago
  I was unaware of the merger, sorry.
berniemadoff69 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_ViacomCBS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Viacom...

sperm 5y ago

Yea given Netflix accounts for a double digit percentage of internet traffic the 90% figure is dubious.

ipaddr 5y ago
Where do you think netflix gets most of it's content?

irjustin 5y ago

Joe Rogan is now Netflix. YouTube is not an owner so you have to attribute specific videos to owners/sources (and potentially reference their sources). 90% is good to be skeptical about, but is it so unrealistic? I'd love to see which company is the most shared ones. Fringe ideas always seem the loudest/most shared, so that to me, would be a better measure of 'marketshare of reach'. At which point NYTimes likely falls really far.

jefftk 5y ago
> Joe Rogan is now Netflix Okay, but as you say, Netflix isn't in their six either
- guerrilla 5y ago
  The companies that produce 99% of what's distributed by Netflix are though.
  - prostoalex 5y ago
    Distributed != watched. Actual consumption seems to be dominated by Netflix originals. https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-shows-viewing-figures-most-watched-bridgerton-witcher-tiger-king-stranger-things-money-heist-1558968 https://www.newsweek.com/netflix-shows-viewing-figures-most-...