Global platforms and asymmetrical power: Industry dynamics and opportunities for policy change

Abstract

Global platforms have radically changed institutional dynamics within the media industry. In this study, we explore how national media organisations manoeuvre in an increasingly uneven playing field. Combining theoretical perspectives from platform studies and the media policy field approach, we analyse how asymmetrical platform power impacts industry-policy relations in a small-nation context. We find that national players collectively frame the power of global platforms as a potential threat to the media sector and to democracy. In this framing, all the players – regardless of size or market position – define themselves as ‘small’ to signal a common threat and mission across the industry. Being ‘small’ however does not entail the same for all players, which results in different action logics. We also find that industry players use collective framing to protect existing support schemes and to legitimate the call for new ones, while they seek international collaboration to impact regulation of global platforms.

Media and Journalism Research in Small European Countries

“…However, taking into account global trends in the media industry, it can be argued that even these countries are small in the era of platformisation. The emergence of global platforms has created new asymmetries in the media market (Ihlebaek & Sundet, 2023;Iordache & Livémont, 2018). To counterbalance the uneven competitive environment for tech giants and local publishers, small states often implement protective media policies (Iordache & Livémont, 2018).…”

“…Especially in economic studies, there is a great deal of discussion about small open economies that are highly flexible (Puppis, 2009, p. 9). Small does not necessarily mean powerless; small industries can find their own ways to respond to global asymmetries, developing specific action logics (Ihlebaek & Sundet, 2023, p. 2197. In research, the advantage of a small media market can be that a small number of objects are sufficient to gain an overview of the research problem and to make generalisations.…”

Globalt innfødte som en tapt generasjon? En konseptualisering av unge som en mediegenerasjon

“…Tre typer av politiske utfordringer blir ofte trukket frem av norske medier i diskusjonen om unge som en potensielt «tapt generasjon»: Den første utfordringen er naeringspolitisk og knyttet til måten globale plattformer påvirker konkurranseforholdene i nasjonale markeder på -en konkurranse som handler om tid, penger og talenter. I undersøkelser blant norske medieledere blir økt konkurranse fra globale aktører typisk beskrevet i ordelag som «Vi har gått fra NM til VM», «Det er Davids kamp mot Goliat» og «Vi har gått fra å vaere en stor fisk i en liten dam til å bli en liten fisk i en stor dam» (Ihlebaek & Sundet, 2021). Mange medieledere er dessuten bekymret for nasjonale myndigheters manglende evne (og vilje?)…”

Provocation: Why I want to talk television with global platform representatives

“…The aim has been to investigate industry strategies and ‘industry lore’ (Havens and Lotz, 2012), that is, how industry decision-makers think and talk about the changes taking place. In total, the three projects include interviews with more than one hundred and fifty managers, industry executives, decision-makers and producers from the Norwegian film, television, news, music and book industry, in addition to several media policymakers and regulators (see more, Ihlebæk and Sundet, 2021; Sundet, 2021a; Sundet and Colbjørnsen, 2021). The television industry list includes broadcasting directors and CEOs from major television companies, award-winning showrunners and producers, strategic leaders of drama, children and youth divisions, national online platform representatives, below-the-line workers, and more.…”

“…Strikingly, but not surprisingly, one group of people has been hard to reach: informants representing global media platforms – Netflix, HBO, YouTube and Google. In one of the projects, we managed to get an interview with a Facebook representative (Ihlebæk and Sundet, 2021), and in another, we got an informant from Spotify (Sundet and Colbjørnsen, 2021). Besides these two, however, representatives from global platforms kept turning our interview requests down, even when we proposed long time horizons (interviews within the next 1–3 months) and informed them of their right to approve any quotes and withdraw at any time.…”