"In line with the rapidly evolving digital media landscape, this second and fully revised edition of Understanding Media Economics moves beyond the convention of a sector-specific approach to analysis of media economics, and instead offers a framework focused on key themes and imperatives that, in the twenty-first century, are central to a grasp of how economic forces impact on the operation of media industries. It explores a series of topics of relevance to the economics of media – such as innovation, digital multi-platform developments, economics of networks, the impact of two-way connectivity on market demand, risk-spreading strategies, copyright, corporate expansion, advertising – whose resonance frequently extends beyond individual sectors and across the industry as a whole. The general aim is to open up to non-specialists in economics the many fascinating economic traits and pressing industrial policy questions surrounding media industries and markets in the digital era." (Preface, page xi)