American Cultural Primacy in a New Media Order

Abstract

The paradigmatic shift from cultural imperialism to globalization in international communication has transformed the research agenda of the discipline. While new issues have come to the fore, others, such as the American pre-eminence in the world media market, tend to be ignored. This article revisits the old question of American dominance from the perspective of the new paradigm and suggests replacing the concept of cultural imperialism with that of cultural primacy. This shift allows us to analyse a salient fact of contemporary international communication without taking on board the assumptions and ideological biases of the cultural imperialism thesis. The article contrasts the limited reach of European media players with the global scope of US conglomerates and shows the extent of American dominance of the European audiovisual market. It argues that US-based media groups are set to become yet more prominent in the era of multichannel television because they have successfully adopted localization of content as an international strategy. The article concludes that to preserve consumer choice and programming diversity, European public broadcasters should forsake their nation-centric perspective, adapt their organizational structures to the international nature of the multichannel universe, and renew their combined efforts to launch thematic channels in genres in which they could make a significant contribution.