Google has strengthened its position as the world’s largest media owner, increasing its lead over second-placed Walt Disney Company, according to new research by ZenithOptimedia.

Google has strengthened its position as the world’s largest media owner, increasing its lead over second-placed Walt Disney Company, according to new research by ZenithOptimedia.

The Publicis-owned agency has released its latest ‘Top Thirty Global Media Owners’ report, ranking the biggest global media owners based on revenue derived from businesses that support advertising.

The 2015 study has found market leader Google growing faster than its nearest competitors. With revenues of $50.6bn it is now 136% bigger than Disney, up from 115% a year earlier, and bigger than Disney and third-placed Comcast combined.

ZenithOptimedia found that Google has benefited from the growing worldwide adoption of mobile and tablet devices, opening up new opportunities for search and display ad sales.

The fastest-growing company on the list is Facebook, with revenues up 63% year-on-year as a result of its acceleration into the mobile space. The social network finds itself up into tenth spot in the ranking.

The rise of China’s digital leaders also makes its impact felt on the top 30. After Facebook, Baidu is the second-fastest growing media owner in the list, up 43% on the previous 12 months, passing both Yahoo and Microsoft to reach fourteenth spot.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV, meanwhile, reaches the top 20 of the list, having tripled in size over the past decade.

Another fast-growing business is Brazil’s dominant media owner Grupo Globo, whose revenues grew 15% year-on-year, although ZenithOptimedia warns the South American market’s economic worries are likely to slow down this growth.

“The rapid growth of digital media and emerging ad markets have strengthened the position of media owners such as Google, Facebook, Baidu and Globo, at the expense of traditional media owners in developed markets,” said Jonathan Barnard, ZenithOptimedia’s head of forecasting.

“The top digital media owners currently maintain a strong grip on the digital ad market, but they face the constant threat of displacement by disruptive innovators. While some emerging-market media owners face challenges in expanding their businesses in the short term, we expect to see more media owners from emerging markets enter the top 30 over the next few years.”

The report covers the financial year 2013. In a change from previous years, the agency has discounted revenues derived from redistribution of third-party content, meaning, in the case of pay-TV providers, it only includes revenues from content in which they sell advertising.

Top 30 global media owners 2015 ranking:

1 Google
2 Walt Disney Company
3 Comcast
4 21st Century Fox
5 CBS Corporation
6 Bertelsmann
7 Viacom
8 Time Warner
9 News Corp
10 Facebook
11 Advance Publications
12 iHeartMedia
13 Discovery
14 Baidu
15 Gannett
16 Asahi Shimbun Company
17 Grupo Globo
18 Yahoo!
19 CCTV
20 Microsoft
21 Hearst Corporation
22 Mediaset
23 Fuji Media Holdings
24 JC Decaux
25 Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings
26 Axel Springer
27 ITV plc
28 ProSiebenSat.1
29 NTV
30 Sanoma