Which Conglomerate Owns What? How to Find Your Favorite Shows
--
Over the past few years, we’ve seen several new streaming services pop up, many owned by the large media conglomerates. These companies own a variety of movie studios, TV channels, and television studios, and their goal in the streaming world is to use their massive libraries to convince consumers to subscribe to their streaming platform. Knowing which company owns which brand can help with finding where your favorite content may be.
In the past year, many Netflix customers were angered to find out that shows like Friends and The Office were leaving for different platforms. These shows were insanely popular for Netflix, so the show Friends, owned by Warner Bros. moved to the WarnerMedia-owned HBO Max, and Comcast-owned The Office which moved to Comcast-owned Peacock. This was done to give their streaming services some big names to entice consumers to use their service.
This isn’t an exact way to find your favorite show or movie, however. Take Warner Bros-owned Harry Potter which can presently be seen on Comcast-owned Peacock. This is because sometimes media companies will decide to license their content to other platforms for guaranteed money up-front, rather than gamble on that content being what draws consumers into their streaming service. Viacom did this with South Park before they merged with CBS. Because Viacom had no robust streaming service at the time, it was better for them to the show to HBO Max for a few years. Also, just because a channel airs a show doesn’t mean they own it. Big Bang Theory is a big show on CBS, owned by ViacomCBS, but it is owned by Warner Bros., owned by WarnerMedia.
So, to ease the confusion, or to possibly add to it, here’s a list of conglomerates and the brands they own. If you know who owns the show or movie you want to watch, you may be able to find it on their streaming service.
Comcast
Streaming Services
- Peacock
- Fandango/Vudu
Movie Studios
- Amblin
- DreamWorks Animation
- Focus Features
- Illumination
- Universal Studios
TV Channels
- NBC
- Telemundo
- Syfy
- USA Network
- Universal Kids
- E!
- Bravo
- Oxygen
- NBC Sports
Disney
Streaming Services
- Disney+
- Hulu
- ESPN+
Movie Studios
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Disneynature
- Walt Disney Animation
- Pixar
- Marvel Studios
- Lucasfilm
- 20th Century Studios
- Blue Sky Studios
- Searchlight Pictures
TV Channels
- ABC
- Disney Channel
- Disney Junior
- Disney XD
- ESPN
- Freeform
- FX
- FXX
- FXM
- National Geographic
- Nat Geo Wild
ViacomCBS
Streaming Services
- Pluto TV
- BET+
- Paramount+
- Showtime
Movie Studios
- Paramount Pictures
- Paramount Animation
- BET Films
- Comedy Central Films
- MTV Films
- Nickelodeon Movies
- VH1 Films
TV Channels
- CBS
- The CW (co-owned with WarnerMedia)
- CBS Sports
- BET
- Comedy Central
- CMT
- Logo
- MTV
- Nickelodeon
- Paramount Network
- Pop TV
- Showtime
- Smithsonian Channel
- The Movie Channel
- TV Land
- VH1
WarnerMedia
Streaming Services
- Boomerang
- HBO Max
Movie Studios
- Warner Bros Pictures
- New Line Cinema
- DC Films
- Warner Animation
TV Channels
- HBO
- Cinemax
- AT&T/Turner Sports
- Cartoon Network/Adult Swim/Boomerang
- CNN/HLN
- Turner Classic Movies
- TBS
- TNT
- TruTV
