Behind the media merger talk: Everyone must stream

Facing an onslaught of competition from internet companies like Netflix and YouTube, the big media companies are conducting a radical self-examination and deciding they need a makeover.  A few weeks ago, Disney began expressing interest in buying 21st Century Fox, looking for new content from the company's movie studios and cable operations. A few days later, Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, also expressed interest, and now Sony and Verizon are taking a look. At the same time, AT&T, the phone giant, is trying to acquire Time Warner, which owns Warner Brothers. Their goals? To amass the most valuable content libraries, and have a closer and even more direct relationship with consumers. The reasons for their interest are becoming increasingly obvious with the popularity of streaming video services. According to Nielsen's latest audience report, consumers spent 50 minutes a week watching video on a smartphone in the second quarter of 2017, up from 24 minutes a week in the same period last year. At the same time, adult viewers were watching substantially less on television.