Diverse Media Systems

Diverse Media Systems (DMS) is the second largest media corp in the Cyberpunk universe behind only Network News 54, has been known to commonly be involved with them in skirmishes on the battlefield and in the boardroom. DMS was involved in a joint venture to create and distribute the first Braindances.

The Origins of Diverse Media Systems
Time was, nobody had heard of Diverse Media Systems. It wasn't that long ago when DMS, owned almost in full by the Houghton family, was a drop-in-the-bucket start-up company struggling for a share of the Los Angeles market. That was, until 2005 when DMS made Howard Wong a deal he couldn't refuse. Wong did for DMS what he had previously done for Network News 54 —annexed, stole and cajoled to build the corporation into a national media contender. In his brief tenure as CEO, Wong was responsible for DMS' aggressive exploitation of new technologies, which made them leaders in the high tech territories of braindance entertainment and computer imagery. Simultaneously, he pushed the company into the high profit fields of movie production and rockerboy promotion. In a few short years, DMS was a major player in the arena of media mega-corporations. Wong’s success put a major slump into Network News 54's balance sheet, which they tried to correct with a bungled extraction attempt in 2009, in which Wong died in a fiery plane crash. Net 54 maintained that DMS shot the plane down to prevent the repatriation of Wong, but the DMS legal department countered that Net 54 never could have used Wong in a prominent leadership position because he was still legally under contract to DMS, so Net 54 purposefully killed him in a manner intended to cast suspicion on their rival. In the four years since the death of Wong, business has never been better at DMS. They have acquired the affiliates to make them the second largest national media network (behind Net 54). The movie division has recently scored a major box office hit with their 100% computer generated special effects spectacular Techno Samurai. They have a strong hold on the braindance market with the world's premier editing facilities and the most extensive braindance chip distribution network, and the success of their bands like Crimson Streets has firmly established the DMS recording label in the music world.

Who's in Charge Now?
After Wong's death DMS put up a solid corporate front, but insiders knew that behind the placid facade the shareholders struggled for control. At first the company was run by Jonathon Houghton II, the original founder of DMS. Houghton II proved more conservative a CEO than Wong. He continued the new directions Wong had begun, choosing to solidify his position within those new markets rather than diversify into any further areas. He also scaled down the conflict with Net 54, preferring to fight in the boardroom rather than on the streets. Others in the company, notably his son Jonathon Houghton III, disagreed with the new CEO and wanted DMS to continue the aggressive stance it had under Wong. In 2012 the legal issues surrounding Wong's complicated death were resolved. Much of the legal bickering revolved around the question of whether Wong had planned his extraction with Net 54, which according to his contract would mean his shares revert back to the senior Houghton. At the end, the probate judge determined there was no evidence that Net 54 had contacted Wong prior to his extraction, so Wong’s stock in DMS remained in his estate. In a surprising move shortly after the settlement, Jonathon Houghton III announced that he headed a majority coalition of DMS stockholders. He placed himself in the positions of CEO and chairman of the board, and announced that his father was entering retirement at Palm Springs. While the actual boardroom records are private, industry analysts contend that the younger Houghton could not control a majority without the support of Wong’s shares. Wong's estate sold its shares to Blackwell Pension Fund immediately after the probate settlement, which makes Blackwell into Houghton Ill's hidden partner. While there is no hard evidence, the facts do seem to suggest that Houghton III planned his usurpation from the time of Wong's death, sharing inside information with Blackwell Pension Fund in return for their support of his power grab. Or maybe he had planned it even earlier — there is still a cloud over Wong’s death. Some who were there say DMS purposefully shot down Wong’s plane. Still others contend that Wong was coerced into helping with the extraction, but the probate court concluded that the coercion didn't come from Net 54.

A Face Lift for a Familiar Network
Under the direction of the new CEO Johnathon Houghton III, DMS is no longer content with operating the second place network. They have revamped their programming with a new line of exciting and sensationalist shows designed to attract the dominant younger audience. They have new live footage blood and guts shows like CyberSquad and TraumaTeam, and a soap opera spin-off of the extremely popular '''You Decide! Court Date '''audience participation format called You Decide! Soap Opera. Also new every Sunday night is Weekly World Enquirer, the tabloid news show the critics love to hate but the audience can't get enough of. On CyberSquad, DMS cameramen ride with the Night City police cyberteam on psycho terminations. Featuring actual film of real crisis events, CyberSquad is every bit as exciting as it sounds. TraumaTeam makes use of the same live-action reporting format as CyberSquad. The cameramen film the exciting rescues of TraumaTeam subscribers. DMS likes these kinds of shows because it costs them very little to film live action compared to the costs of traditional TV shows. And the audience likes the thrilling blood and guts. The You Decide! shows are viewer-interactive shows in which the viewers call in votes during the commercials to determine the outcome of actual events. The shows have been so popular that DMS is working on a You Decide! format cliffhanger adventure series. The '''You Decide! Soap Opera''' is the first fully computer generated television series; not a single human actor appears in the entire show. The format works like this: first, the producers prepare possible story lines ahead of time. At key decision points, the show flashes 1-900 numbers to call to vote for one of several plot choices, then breaks for commercials. Votes are tallied, then after the commercial the show continues — following the winning plot direction. The Weekly World Enquirer, a tabloid Style television show, broadcasts every Sunday evening. It features the most outrageous stories from around the world. Stories about Vampire killings, Elvis sightings, UFOs, and slanderous gossip about Network News 54's stars. DMS doesn't care that the critics blast it for not verifying its news items; in its first season WWE is already the most watched news program. Besides a slew of new shows, DMS has kept many of its old favorites: game shows like CyberSoldier; Fashion in Modern, the fashion show featuring the latest in clothes, body sculpting, and trendy weapons; and Competition Laser Sport with the National Laser League.

Music Promotions
DMS has also made impressive inroads into the rockerboy recording scene. In 2008 they signed Crimson Streets to their corporate label when DMS needed a hit band and Crimson Streets needed the money. Their hardcore fans, who were with them from their Night City club days, predicted the band would lose its distinctive hard edged sound when they went mass media. With Crimson Streets, some said, the rough edges are what the band is all about. While their detractors may even be right, whatever the band lost of their original following has been made up ten fold by the fans who swarmed to hear the newest DMS recording stars. By signing vigorous new bands like Crimson Streets, Diverse Media Systems has expanded their music promotions division into an international recording label. Combined with their experience in live and animated video recording, DMS is able to produce top-rate music videos for their bands, music videos which they now distribute in their proprietary Music Video Chip (MVC) format. (For the unhip, MVC format chips can plug into any standard stereo system. Customers wired for high quality audio and optical input can plug directly into a portable replay unit to see and hear their favorite music at the same time. Anyone can zone out and tune in whenever they want, wherever they want.)

Holostim Braindance
Shortly before his death in 2009, Henry Wong recognized the potential of a whole new entertainment media. He organized the joint venture with Militech and Braindance Inc. (the inventors of the Braindance) to create and distribute a commercial chip, but he died before the first Braindance was available to the public. DMS makes Braindance chips in their LA facility and distributes them in the largest North American distribution network.