Sun-Times Media Group

Sun-Times Media Group (formerly Hollinger International) is a Chicago-based newspaper publisher.

History

Sun-Times Media Group was originally founded in 1986 under the name American Publishing Company, as a holding company for Hollinger Inc.'s American properties. It focused on newspapers, mostly in smaller markets. In February 1994, it acquired the Chicago Sun-Times, holding an IPO to fund the acquisition. At the time, it was the fifteenth-largest U.S. newspaper group. It changed its name to Hollinger International in 1994.

Hollinger's non-American properties, which included The Daily Telegraph and The Jerusalem Post were added to the company in 1996, and its Canadian papers in 1997. It created the National Post from the Financial Post in 1998.

That year, it began a process of shrinking the company, selling many of its small papers to the private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, who formed Liberty Group Publishing. In 2000, it sold most of the rest to four media companies (Bradford Publications Company, Community Newspaper Holdings, Paxton Media Group, and Forum Communications). Its Canadian holdings, notably the National Post, several smaller papers, and a majority stake in the Southam newspaper chain, were sold to CanWest in 2000 in connection with Conrad Black renouncing his Canadian citizenship to gain a British peerage. That year, Hollinger International bought the Chicago-area publications of Copley Press (The Herald News, The Beacon-News, The Courier-News, and Lake County News-Sun, along with several smaller papers).

Media conglomerate

A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies in various mass media; i.e. television, radio, publishing, motion picture, and the Internet. According to the magazine Nation, "Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets around the world."

These conglomerates exist in the Americas as well as Europe and Asia. Media conglomerates have become a standard feature of the global economic system since 1950.

Terminology

A conglomerate is a large company composed of a number of smaller companies (subsidiaries) engaged in seemingly unrelated businesses.

As of 2007, it has been questioned whether media companies actually are unrelated. The practice of conglomeration has been used for the sharing of various kinds of content such as news, film and video, and music. The media sector's tendency to consolidate causes formerly diversified companies to appear less diverse as a result. Therefore, the term media group may also be applied, however, it has not so far replaced the more traditional term.

365 Media Group

365 Media Group is sports media company employing over 100 people in Leeds, England and Cape Town, South Africa.

Between 2001 and October 2006, the company was known as ukbetting plc and grew through the acquisition of a number of businesses including: ukbetting.com Ltd, PA Sporting Life Ltd, the UK assets of the Sportal and Sports.com, TEAMtalk Media Group plc and Rivals Digital Media Ltd.

In January 2007, 365 Media Group was itself acquired by British Sky Broadcasting and the company now operates as a division of Sky Sports. Later that year, in June 2007, the company's totalbet and ukbetting gaming brands were absorbed into Sky Bet, Sky's own betting brand.

365 Media Group run a network of sports news and content websites, including TEAMtalk, PlanetF1.com, Football365, sportinglife.com and Sportal. The company is also involved in content syndication to other media owners and mobile network operators.

TEAMtalk

TEAMtalk.com is a football website based in Leeds since 1996 when it was launched by Bill Wilson's IMS PLC.

1+1 Media Group

1+1 Media Group is one of the largest media conglomerates in Ukraine. The General Director of the Group is Aleksandr Tkachenko.

Structure

1+1 Media Group comprises eight Ukrainian TV channels, 1+1, 2+2, TET, PLUSPLUS, 1+1 International, UNIAN TV, Ukraine Today and Bigudi. It also controls the online news platforms TSN.ua, UNIAN, Glavred.info, Telekritika and Dusia.

The structure of the group includes the production company '1+1 Production' which is responsible for the creation of in-house TV formats and the adaptation of international formats for broadcast on the several TV channels of the group, including reality and dating shows, talent shows, scripted realities, TV series, sitcoms, documentary and sports programs, original programs and information broadcasting. The production company not only covers in-house needs, but also works with external customers.

Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi has financial interests in the group.

Expansion out of Ukraine

After launching 1+1 International in 2006 (see section below), which is aimed at the Ukrainian diaspora, the group started its first attempt at gaining part of the international TV market by launching the English language Ukraine Today in August 2014.