ZenithOptimedia have released their Top Thirty Global Media Owners report for 2013, which has ranks the world's largest media groups by their revenues.

Based on 2011's financial data, California search giant Google has been crowned number one on the list with an estimated $38bn of revenues - £10bn clear of their next closest competitor DirecTV.


“Google’s position as the number one global media owner is testament not only to its strength in search, but also to its expansion in other key digital platforms,” said ZenithOptimedia head of forecasting Jonathan Barnard.

“ZenithOptimedia’s top 30 ranking now includes four digital media owners, and we expect there to be at least one more next year.”

With Globo and Televisa the only representative of emerging markets to make the list, China's Baidu and Russia's Yandex - search engines like Google - are expected to break the Western monopoly next year.

“We also expect more media owners from China and other “rising markets” to join the two Latin American media owners in the top 30. Despite the rise of digital, media and entertainment companies that create compelling content remain at the heart of the media business, and account for most of the revenues from our top 30,” said Barnard.


According to M&M Global, digital revenues are still finding their feet against the traditional media names.

Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo generated a total $49.2bn in revenue from internet advertising in 2011, out of the total $77bn spent on internet advertising globally. Google alone accounted for 49% of the world’s internet ad spend, Yahoo for 6% and both Microsoft and Facebook on 4% each. Twitter didn’t make the top 30 with revenues of $140m.