The Curse of the Mogul: What's Wrong with the World's Leading Media Companies

by Knee, Jonathan A.

• ISBN13: 9781591843900
• ISBN10: 1591843901
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-02-22
• Publisher: Portfolio

Summary

If Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone are so smart, why are their stocks long-term losers? We live in the age of big Media, with the celebrity moguls telling us that "content is king." But for all the excitement, glamour, drama, and publicity they produce, why can't these moguls and their companies manage to deliver better returns than you'd get from closing your eyes and throwing a dart? The Curse of the Mogullays bare the inexcusable financial performance beneath big Media's false veneer of power. By rigorously examining individual media businesses, the authors reveal the difference between judging a company by how many times its CEO is seen in SunValley and by whether it generates consistently superior profits. The book is packed with enough sharp-edged data to bring the most high-flying, hot-air filled mogul balloon crashing down to earth.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction: The Curse of the Mogul	p. 1
The Framework
The Media Landscape	p. 13
The Landscape of Competitive Advantage	p. 33
The Structure of Media Industries	p. 57
Debunking Media Myths	p. 67
The Internet Is Not Your Friend	p. 81
The Segments and the Strategies
Content Is Not King: Movies, Music, and Books	p. 105
Efficient Operations in Media: Do You Think I'm Sexy?	p. 123
Putting It All Together: Networks and Databases	p. 141
Managing Competition in Media: Can't We All Just Get Along?	p. 159
All (Profitable) Media Is Local: Newspapers, Theaters, and Communications	p. 173
Reinforcing Competitive Advantage in Media	p. 189
Good Mogul/Bad Mogul: The Sources of Success and Failure
Bad Mogul: Media Mergers and Acquisitions	p. 205
Media M&A That Works: One That Happened and One That Didn't	p. 233
Good Mogul: The Outperformers	p. 241
Epilogue: The Future of Media: The End of the Curse?	p. 257
Postscript	p. 269
Notes	p. 277
Index	p. 301
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