While the AOL Time Warner merger may be the biggest of its kind, it is not the only organisation with several media outlets and online options. Disney, for instance, has a big hand in the movie world, is also involved in publishing and owns the ABC network. Not to be left behind in the new virtual world, it also has a substantial web presence in the form of the Go portal.
Excite@Home, a search engine, offers Internet access and content since it was acquired by media firm At Home. Telecommunications giant AT&T, owners of the second and third biggest cable providers in the US, controls the company. Microsoft, having made its billions in software, is now getting involved in the media. In addition to its huge web presence, it has a half-stake in MSNBC, a cable news channel. It also has affiliations with content companies like Steven Spielbergs' Dreamworks and with "pipe" firms like AT&T and NTL.
Viacom owns the MTV network of companies and CBS, as well as Paramount films and many other firms, making it the second largest media conglomerate in the world.
Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owns 82 per cent of the Fox Entertainment Group, which includes Twentieth Century Fox and Fox TV. Murdoch also owns many newspapers, including the Sun and the Times, and controls BSkyB.
According to media analyst Lorna Tilbian, "the future belongs to companies which can combine strong content with high-speed delivery."
But if the future is a few huge companies with a range of interests to protect, what will that content be?
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