MAM
Big 4 control 64% of global internet ad market; Google is largest media owner-ZenithOptimedia report
MUMBAI: Despite the apparent low barriers to entry, the internet ad market is highly polarised and just four companies control 64 per cent of all global expenditure. The four internet media owners -Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! generated $49.2 billion in revenue from internet advertising in 2011, out of the total $77 billion spent on internet advertising around the world.
Google alone accounted for 49 per cent of the world‘s internet ad expenditure, while Yahoo! in 15th position accounted for six per cent and Microsoft and Facebook at 26th and 27th positions respectively accounted for four per cent each.
Google‘s media revenues of $37.9 billion made it the world‘s largest media owner according to ZenithOptimedia‘s Top Thirty Global Media Owners report. The search and digital advertising giant moved up from second position and now boasts media revenues that are 39 per cent higher than its nearest competitor DirecTV.
News Corp, Disney, Comcast, CBS and BSkyB also made the list, while a notable exception, Twitter, with revenues of $140 million failed to make it to this group for the period of the report.
The Top Thirty Global Media Owners report is a ranking of the world‘s largest media companies by media revenue as estimated by ZenithOptimedia. The latest report covers financial year 2011. The Top Thirty Global Media Owners report was launched in 2007 and was last published by ZenithOptimedia in 2010. ZenithOptimedia defines media revenue as all revenue deriving from businesses that support advertising, not just the ad revenue itself.
Despite the rise of digital media, the majority of media revenues were generated by traditional media and entertainment companies that create and distribute content. Of the Top Thirty global media owners, 22 were companies whose main business is to attract audiences with strong content, which remains fundamental to generating media revenues. Six of the top 10 media owners during the period were content producers, including third-placed News Corp and fourth-placed Disney. Between them, these 22 generated $169 billion in media revenue in 2011, or 61 per cent of the total generated by the Top Thirty.
Since the agency last published ranking in 2010, five companies have entered the ranks of the Top Thirty: Facebook, Microsoft, Globo, ProSiebenSat.1 and Sanoma. The entrance of Facebook and Microsoft demonstrates the growing dominance of internet advertising, which now accounts for 20 per cent of global ad expenditure. Facebook has spearheaded the explosive growth of social media advertising across the world, which is currently growing at about 28 per cent a year, while Microsoft has benefited from the slower but still rapid growth of paid search and traditional display, which are growing at about 13 per cent a year.
Although China is now the third largest ad market, the Top Thirty ranking does not currently include any companies from China, where media ownership is highly fragmented. However, the report says that Baidu, China‘s leading search engine only just missed out on a place this time, and is a likely candidate for inclusion next year, while the national broadcaster CCTV won‘t be far behind.
ZenithOptimedia‘s Top Thirty ranking for 2011 includes four digital media owners, and it expects that there to be at least one more next year. It also expects more media owners from other rising markets to join the two Latin American media owners in the top thirty.
The driving force behind Google‘s success is its search algorithm, which has been by far the most successful at delivering search results that consumers want and monetising them through paid search advertising.
No other company has been able to compete effectively in each segment of the digital ad market. The agency estimates that Google attracts 15 per cent of global display advertising, including traditional display, online video and social media, supplementing its 82 per cent share of search.
With the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft‘s flagship operating system has become an advertising platform for the first time; the next couple of years will show what effect, if any, this will have on Microsoft‘s ranking.
For ZenithOptimedia‘s Top Thirty list click here
http://www.indiantelevision.com/mam/headlines/y2k13/jun/ZenithOptimedia.php
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
