2. Transmedia storytelling reflects the economics of media consolidation or what industry
observers call "synergy." Modern media companies are horizontally integrated - that is,
they hold interests across a range of what were once distinct media industries. A media
conglomerate has an incentive to spread its brand or expand its franchises across as many
different media platforms as possible. Consider, for example, the comic books published
in advance of the release of such films as Batman Begins and Superman Returns by DC
( owned by Warner Brothers, the studio that released these films). These comics provided
back-story which enhanced the viewer's experience of the film even as they also help to
publicize the forthcoming release (thus blurring the line between marketing and
entertainment). The current configuration of the entertainment industry makes transmedia
expansion an economic imperative, yet the most gifted transmedia artists also surf these
marketplace pressures to create a more expansive and immersive story than would have
been possible otherwise.