Media companies produce and distribute movies, television series, music, books, news, and radio programs. The general public consumes more and more products every year. The proliferation of mobile devices and digital media organizations has led to a significant increase in screen time over the past decade, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated that trend. As the use of connected TVs and mobile devices continues to increase, the average American now spends more than 13 hours per day watching or interacting with some form of media.
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While companies with a strong foothold in digital media continue to expand their engagement with consumers, legacy businesses that rely heavily on older media formats are struggling. As a result, the industry has experienced many mergers and acquisitions over the past few years. Most of the power in the industry currently rests with Walt Disney (DIS 0.53%), Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD 0.53%), and Paramount Global (para 1.08%).
A company that specializes solely in media is Netflix (NFLX 1.87%). Even radio producers are turning to podcasts to take advantage of the shift to on-demand media consumption.
Top Media Companies of 2025
2025 Top Media Companies List
More than the hustle and bustle of new media platforms, ideas and companies, some publicly traded media organizations deserve special consideration. Here are the top four:
1. Warner Bros. Discovery
1. Warner Bros. Discovery
Warner Bros. Discovery is one of the largest pure-play television media companies on the market. It is the result of the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia, which has an extensive portfolio of cable networks that reach a wide range of demographics. It is also home to Warner Bros. Studios, which produces film and television productions, DC Comics, and HBO.
The company owns powerful content and brands, including HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, CNN, and HBO. The company could be even stronger in international markets, where it has an attractive portfolio of sports rights, including the Olympics.
The company focuses on direct-to-consumer streaming. It operates the Max streaming service, which combines content from HBO Max, Discovery+, and CNN. Immediately after the merger, CEO David Zaslav began relentlessly cutting the cost of streaming content, cutting some series and movies to make the division profitable for investors. Canceled. This effort paid off, with revenues continuing to increase and costs decreasing in 2024.
2. Netflix
2. Netflix
Netflix is the world’s largest direct-to-consumer video service. The company began buying first-run rights to original series in 2012 and has since profited from an expanded offering of original series and movies. That large-scale data provides companies with data that is used to inform content licensing and production decisions and improve the user experience.
After years of financing its operations with debt and experiencing negative free cash flow, Netflix is now able to self-fund its content purchases. Besides videos, the company is also looking into developing video games.
Netflix has made several changes in recent years to encourage subscriber growth. An ad-supported tier has been added, making it more affordable to subscribe to the service. In 2023, it also began cracking down on password sharing. Together, these two efforts have accelerated the growth of a subscriber base that totals more than 275 million households worldwide.
3. Walt Disney
3. Walt Disney
Walt Disney is one of the largest media companies in the world, especially after acquiring a majority stake in 21st Century Fox. The company has a very strong portfolio of intellectual property, including Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and many classic Disney brands. It also owns the Disney and ESPN television brands. ESPN has a long-term agreement to broadcast premium sporting events, including Monday Night Football.
Since Disney acquired operational control of Hulu and launched Disney+, its DTC streaming efforts have been well underway. Strategic price increases and bundling have increased the profitability of our streaming business.
Disney brought back former CEO Bob Iger after a year of poor performance. He replaces Bob Chapek, whom Iger named as his successor in early 2020. Investors welcomed the move, hoping Mr. Iger would be able to unleash the same Disney magic he did during his first 15 years as CEO.
The company also owns a world-famous theme park business and licenses characters to toy and game manufacturers. Theme park operations typically generate higher operating margins than Disney’s movie studios, media networks and direct-to-consumer businesses.
Keep this in mind when considering Disney as a media and entertainment stock investment. For example, while many other media companies have grown during the coronavirus pandemic, Disney’s parks business has slowed growth. This put pressure on operating profits and cash flow, forcing management to suspend dividends. While diversification may be seen as a good thing by some investors, it also means Disney is not a pure media stock.
4. Paramount Global
4. Paramount Global
Paramount Global benefits from operating one of only four broadcast networks in the United States, and its market position ensures broad distribution and a large audience. Cable networks such as BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Showtime have widely diversified viewerships and are also owners of their namesake film and television studios.
The company rebranded its direct-to-consumer efforts in 2021, now consolidating much of its content from Viacom, Paramount and CBS into a single streaming service, Paramount+. In 2023, it further strengthened its offering by including Showtime as part of Paramount+. In Europe, Paramount partners with Comcast (CMCSA 0.74%) Sky distributes Paramount+ in some markets and the co-owned SkyShowtime service in others. This partnership should increase consumer awareness and reduce distribution costs.
Paramount is also a leader in the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) market with Pluto TV. The company uses streaming services to further promote its content and paid streaming options.
Related investment topics
What makes a good investment?
What makes a good investment for a media company?
There are several attributes that make media companies good investments.
Differentiated content: Unique intellectual property, long-term contracts with celebrities, and licenses to broadcast events such as sports and award shows can all help attract and retain consumers. It’s equally important to have a strong brand that has value and meaning to your audience. Size: The larger a media company, the more bargaining power it has with distributors and marketers. This allows for greater reach, higher affiliate and advertising fees, and additional marketing support. Additionally, the large scale of the business creates opportunities for cross-promotion between the media company’s assets. Diversification: The best media companies are diversified across formats, distribution methods, audiences, and geographies. Technology: With DTC services providing the majority of today’s media consumption, owning the technology that supports DTC distribution at scale can significantly increase profit margins. Strong Balance Sheets: Media companies need strong cash reserves to bid on content and produce new movies, TV series, and other programming. Our deep cash reserves also enable us to merge with and acquire other companies. Debt should not be excessive. However, note that consistent cash flow, such as from revenue from subscription fees, typically allows for greater leverage.
