Media Inflation in the Context of Studies of the Modern Media Market

Currently, the media industry is experiencing a period of tremendous development, which is associated with an increase in the quantity of media content, the emergence and spread of new products and technologies in the media. As media consumption patterns change, and many media products become more accessible, the problem of media inflation arises, which consists of an increase in the cost of advertising not only on popular media platforms, but also on less and less popular ones. The study of media inflation is a pressing research issue, since it allows us to understand what changes are taking place in the media market, how the media industry reacts to these changes, as well as what measures need to be taken to reduce the negative impact of inflation in the media. The article examines the phenomenon of media inflation, its manifestations in the practice of functioning of the domestic and foreign media industry. By structure the article is a search for answers to a number of problematic questions. In the first part of the article, using the method of systematic review of academic literature and media reports, the need to rethink the content of the concept of “media inflation” is substantiated, which is taking place under the influence of the transformations currently observed in the global media industry. The author identifies promising directions for theoretical and practical research into media inflation on new grounds. The second part of the article presents a comparative analysis of media inflation trends in the global and domestic media markets. The existence of relationships between the dynamics of the development of the media market and media inflation is demonstrated, and the nature of these relationships in the spectrum of different types of media is analyzed. In conclusion, promising directions for further scientific research are identified.