“Vertical Integration actively stifles creativity in the movie industry”

Vertical integration is the process by which a media institution owns several companies at different stages of production or the supply chain.  20^th Century Fox is owned by News Cooperation and 21^st Century Fox, which is a huge an American multinational mass media corporation. It is one of two companies created from the 2013 split of News Corporation (as founded by Rupert Murdoch in 1979); 21st Century Fox retains the previous News Corporation's broadcasting and film assets and serves as its legal successor, while its publishing assets were spun off to form News Corp at the same time. Among its holdings are Fox Entertainment Group—owners of the 20th Century Fox film studio and Fox television network among other assets, and pan-Asian pay channel operator STAR TV.

In terms of infrastructure in the film industry, an early example of vertical integration would be the merging of companies of two different types. For example  The Fox Film Corporation was formed in 1915 by theatre chain pioneer William Fox, who formed Fox Film Corporation by merging two companies he had established in 1913: Greater New York Film Rental, a distribution firm, which was part of the Independents; and Fox (or Box, depending on the source) Office Attractions Company, a production company. 20^th Century Fox now owns companies at each stage of the supply chain enabling the institution to maximise profits and tap into new global markets. 20^th Century Fox’s more recent titles are currently available in cinemas, on digital HD, Blue-ray and DVD. The company owns Fox Studios in Los Angeles and Fox Studios Australia which is Australia’s largest film and television studio. Fox Broadcasting Company also owns Fox TV channels which show popular programmes such as Glee, New Girl and Family Guy. 20^th Century fox also owns DVD rental shops, they have ownership over all of these different chains so they can make money from every part of it. Vertical Integration allows them to make money, therefore actively stifling creativity as film companies are constantly thinking of ways they can maximise their profits.

 X-Men: First class (2011) is a good example of how 20^th Century Fox has used vertical integration in order to maximise the potential earnings from productions. It was produced by 20^th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, Bad Hat Harry Productions and the Donners’ Company. It was then distributed by 20^th Century Fox which also distributed all the other X-Men films. The X-Men franchise is one of Hollywood’s biggest franchises. X Men: First Class was the fifth instalment in the franchise about superhero mutants, a big-budget action movie based on a popular comic book series. However, in X-Men: First class, “X-men” is a vastly different creature from the other films which presented some unique marketing challenges. It lacked a big name star and is set in the early 1960s, a period unfamiliar to much of the films target audience.  Therefore, it had to use marketing successfully in order to attract the audience’s attention. The entire production had to be immersed in the culture of that era, and there was one method used to help bridge that time gap in the minds of viewers – stunt casting.  One of the most critically lauded television shows airing today is the advertising period piece “Mad Men”, and replicating that feel was clearly a goal, having “Mad Men” cast member January Jones as one of the main mutants helped to achieve that goal.  The motion picture magazine Total Film got involved in both the contemporary marketing and the throw-back vibe of the production. 20^th Century Fox exhibits its X-Men films to an international audience, showing the films in cinemas all over the world. On the 20^th Century Fox website it says “As the digital revolution reshapes all aspects of the entertainment industry, 20th Century Fox remains on the forefront, embracing new technologies that take our audience deeper into our films.”

In November 2012, 20th Century Fox announced plans to create their own shared universe, consisting of Marvel properties that it holds the rights to including the Fantastic Four and X-Men, with the hiring of Mark Millar as supervising producer. This shows how 20^th Century Fox uses vertical integration to appeal to its audience.

Vertical Integration is important for multi- national media conglomerates because it enables them to squeeze out competition from independent film makers who cannot compete to the same level. Since 20^th Century Fox is able to produce, distribute, market and exhibit its products using its own integrated companies it means that anything produced by 20^TH Century Fox takes priority over anything produced by a different company’s studio. In conclusion, Vertical Integration does actively stifle creativity as it enhances competition between film studios. Vertical Integration is a threat on independent studios. For example, a British independent picture wouldn’t necessarily have the same advertising space or marketing tools as a 20th Century Fox picture would.