Publications

April 1997 (Revised July 2003)
Case

Viacom, Inc.: Video Supplement

By: Joseph L. Bower, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Viacom reached a powerful position in the global entertainment industry through skillful and very bold acquisitions. Now its further expansion is challenged by the moves of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Different businesses within Viacom have contradictory positions on... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Cost vs Benefits; Decisions; Entertainment; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

(Revised May 2024)
Teaching Note

Lyric Dinner Theater (A) and (B)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Jim Sharpe and Noah Fisher

This teaching note is associated with HBS cases 813-043 and 813-044. View Details

Keywords: Turnarounds; Turnaround; Operations Management; Family Business; Family-owned Business; Hiring; Careers; Sales; Operations; Entrepreneurship; Negotiation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Saint Louis

January 2012
Teaching Note

Lady Gaga (A) and (B)

By: Anita Elberse

Keywords: Arts; Music Entertainment; Music Industry

May 2019 (Revised January 2020)
Case

The Video-Streaming Wars in 2019: Can Disney Catch Netflix?

By: Anita Elberse and Monica Cody

Bob Iger, CEO of entertainment conglomerate Disney, thrilled investors with details about Disney’s upcoming foray into video streaming in April 2019. Disney’s move was only the latest in a series of actions taken by new and established entertainment companies in a... View Details

Keywords: Television; Entertainment; Media; Television Entertainment; Management; Strategy; Disruption; Information Technology; Competition; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

December 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

The Rise and Fall of the Circus

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Karen Elterman

This case describes the origins of the traditional circus, including its rise to popularity in the United States in the 1800s, and examines the factors that led to its decline in the 20th and 21st centuries. View Details

Keywords: Blue Ocean Strategy; Circus; Strategy; Entertainment; History; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

November 2002
Background Note

Strategy and Sources of Motion Picture Finance, The

By: Mihir A. Desai, Gabriel J. Loeb and Mark Veblen

This case considers the alternative financing mechanisms for film financing, the evolution of film finance in the United States, and the nature of tax-motivated film financing in the United States and around the world. It develops the strategy driving motion picture... View Details

Keywords: Film Entertainment; Financial Instruments; Financial Strategy; Financing and Loans; Globalized Markets and Industries; Taxation; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

May 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Service and Value in e-Commerce

This collection of readings illustrates the importance of service and logistics in e-commerce, focusing on e-Toys' disastrous 1999 holiday season. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Internet and the Web; Service Operations; Logistics; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

March 2017 (Revised December 2018)
Case

Reawakening the Magic: Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company

By: David Collis and Ashley Hartman

Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Buzz Lightyear strolled down Main Street at the grand opening of Hong Kong Disney in the fall of 2005, pausing to snap selfies with enthusiastic children in Mickey Mouse ears. Bob Iger, newly appointed CEO of The Walt Disney Company,... View Details

Keywords: Franchise Management; Brand Management; Culture Change; Business Units; Acquisition Strategy; Technological Change; Disney; ESPN; Cord-cutting; Bob Iger; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Diversification; Integration; Media; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

2016
Chapter

Navigating Natural Monopolies: Market Strategy and Nonmarket Challenges in Radio and Television Audience Measurement Markets

By: Hillary Greene and Dennis Yao

This paper explores how firms within the audience measurement industry, specifically its radio and television markets, have navigated myriad market and nonmarket challenges. The market strategies and the nonmarket forces that constrain those strategies are largely... View Details

Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Monopoly; Television Entertainment; Public Opinion; Geographic Scope; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

December 1994
Case

Being There: Sony Corporation and Columbia Pictures

By: Debora L. Spar

In September 1989, Sony Corp. of Japan bid $3.4 billion for Columbia Pictures. It was the highest bid ever by a Japanese company for any U.S. property. The case examines the validity of Sony's objectives in making this purchase, and also the political uproar that the... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Japan; United States

Find at Harvard

March 2011
Teaching Note

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and Tom Cruise

By: Anita Elberse

Teaching Note for 508057. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Talent and Talent Management; Creativity; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

28 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Racism and Digital Design: How Online Platforms Can Thwart Discrimination

Having uncovered the scope of discrimination taking place against Black guests and hosts on Airbnb, researcher Michael Luca and his colleagues put together a toolkit to aid managers in recognizing View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

06 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Winners and Losers at the Olympics

finally, there are more sources of information and entertainment than ever before. For millions of younger people, the Web is much more appealing than television. It's important to remember, however, that we... View Details

Keywords: Re: Stephen A. Greyser; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

17 Aug 2021
Op-Ed

Dispensing Justice: The Case for Legalizing Cannabis Nationally

beneficial effects of its various constituents has been stymied. Federal legalization would give a fillip to research, leading to evidence-based policies on whether and how to regulate the industry to foster... View Details

Keywords: by Ashish Nanda and Tabatha Robinson

January 2008
Teaching Note

TiVo 2007: DVRs and Beyond (TN)

By: David B. Yoffie and Michael Slind

Teaching Note for [708401]. View Details

Keywords: Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

January 1996
Teaching Note

Sunbeam Television (A) and (B) TN

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Teaching Note for (9-596-056) and (9-596-057). View Details

Keywords: Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Boston