Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.: The Emergence of a Canadian Contender in the International Media Milieu

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Tate, Marsha Ann
Graduate Program:
Mass Communications
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
February 28, 2007
Committee Members:
Dr Jorge R Schement, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Theodore Roberts Alter, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Richard Denny Taylor, Committee Member
Patrick Robert Parsons, Committee Member
Keywords:
Alliance Atlantis Communications
Canada
Toronto Ontario
Canadian cultural industries
media
television
Atlantis Films
globalization
media industries
Abstract:
Using a combination of case study and historical research methodologies, this study examines the development of Toronto, Ontario-based Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. and its predecessor companies within the context of a globalized media environment. Specifically, the study identifies and analyses key factors that helped Alliance Atlantis to emerge as a viable competitor in both the North American and international television marketplaces. The in-depth investigation of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.—one of Canada’s most successful integrated distribution- exhibition-production companies to date—illustrates the complex interrelationships between domestic and international economics, regulatory policies, technological innovations, as well as entrepreneurial skills in shaping the development of a modern-day media corporation. By highlighting key stakeholders, productions, and mergers over the course of Alliance Atlantis’ and its predecessor companies’ histories, the study also considers how the above-mentioned factors have forcibly changed Alliance Atlantis’ corporate structure, strategies, and entertainment products. In a broader sense, the examination and analysis of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. provides insights into the transitioning North American and global mediascapes and may prove helpful to other foreign-based production companies struggling to compete within a global audiovisual market traditionally dominated by Hollywood-based companies.