Triumph and erosion in the American media and entertainment industries

The book opens with a discussion of the American economy and its macro-effects on changes and developments in media and entertainment generally. Then in Part I, Steinbock looks at broadcasting and cable, tracing the former's decline and the latter's rise, and then at the "multiplication" of conglomerates: the studios, talent agencies, home video and syndication companies, theme parks, and even the emerging producers of interactive multimedia and virtual reality. A full section is devoted to all of the major players, their corporate struggles with each other, including the Time Warner and Paramount M & A wars. In Part II, Steinbock discusses the electronic superhighway and other government-initiated policies that will have a significant impact on strategic industry alliances. The book concludes with an assessment of how all of the technological, economic, and political influences emerging today will radically reshape the media/entertainment complex, not only in the United States but throughout the world.