Publications

22 Jun 2022

Entertainment, Media & Sports at HBS

Wonder what an MBA could do to help with your professional growth? Hear from alumni in the entertainment & media industry as they reflect on their MBA experience. Click to see alumni profiles of featured... View Details

18 Sep 2017
Research & Ideas

'Likes' Lead to Nothing—and Other Hard-Learned Lessons of Social Media Marketing

funny—but remember your brand’s purpose Social media is a place where people appreciate humor—as long as it fits with the brand image, Avery says. Squatty Potty does an excellent job of engaging its audience with amusing and View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Advertising; Technology

May 2025
Case

The Video-Streaming Wars in 2025: Can Anyone Catch Netflix?

By: Anita Elberse and Javiera Larenas

On January 21, 2025, Ted Sarandos, co-chief executive officer of video-streaming service Netflix, presented the company’s quarterly earnings. He had every reason to be upbeat: Netflix added 19 million new subscribers in the final quarter of 2024, ended the year with a... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Media; Television; Management; Strategy; Disruption; Technology; Competition

December 2009
Article

Media Markets and Localism: Does Local News en Español Boost Hispanic Voter Turnout?

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Joel Waldfogel

Since the dawn of broadcasting, and especially in the past decade, Americans have turned their attention from local to more distant sources of news and entertainment. While the integration of media markets will raise the private welfare of many consumers, critics of a... View Details

Keywords: Voting; Ethnicity; Behavior; Local Range; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Media Metamorphosis: Advertising in the Technology Age

sales promotion. These substitutes compete directly with traditional media for advertisers' marketing dollars. Similarly, mergers between media providers and content suppliers such as news and View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs; Advertising

January 2025
Case

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol

By: Anita Elberse, Juan Pasquín and Íñigo Pasquín

On June 1, 2024, Spanish soccer club Real Madrid captures its fifteenth Champions League title—more than double the tally of the nearest competitor. Under Florentino Pérez’s leadership, the club has now won six of the last eleven UEFA Champions League titles, and has... View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Football; Entertainment; Media; Talent Management; Superstars; General Management; Sports; Marketing; Recruitment; Competitive Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

2011
Book

Oprah, Leading With Heart

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Harvard Business School professor Nancy F. Koehn provides an inspiring example of a leader who leads not just from the head but the heart. Her name: Oprah Winfrey. Here, in this brief eBook, is how she built a media empire and the lessons you can apply to your own work... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Leadership

February 2025
Case

RedBird Capital Partners

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In July 2024, Gerry Cardinale, the founder and managing partner of RedBird Capital Partners (‘RedBird’) has helped orchestrate a high-profile deal in the world of entertainment: one in which Skydance Media (‘Skydance’), a content production studio led by David Ellison... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Media; Film; Television; Sports; Superstars; Marketing; Strategy; General Management; Investing; Mergers and Acquisitions; Private Equity; Asset Management

16 Sep 2015
News

Creating more effective content across all media

Associate Professor Thales Teixeira’s research into the economics of attention explores the ways in which companies can better communicate with buyers of goods and services in a marketplace cluttered with messaging across all media. Thales draws upon data to inform the... View Details

10 Nov 2008
Research Event

Social Media Leads the Future of Technology

buying?" Tv And The Internet Pressure has been building for a merging of television and the Internet, said Intel's Eric Kim. Consumers now expect Internet service everywhere, with implications for entertainment and advertising. For... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

20 Jul 2015
Blog Post

My Journey to Working with At Night Management / PRMD Music

structured summer project plan for me, and they wondered whether they “needed” an MBA level intern. Not to mention, budgets are tight. With some great advice from Harvard friends and faculty, as well as the incredible HBS Media &... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports

December 2020
Case

Tencent: Combining Technology and Culture

By: Elie Ofek, Billy Chan and Dawn H. Lau

Tencent, one of the largest Internet conglomerates in China, had a vision to become a "Tech+Culture" firm. With dominant market shares in online games and social networking, it had built a vast Internet-based entertainment ecosystem, and was now focused on cultural... View Details

Keywords: Media Franchise; Marketing; Market Entry and Exit; Product Launch; Strategy; Culture; China

December 2024
Case

AC Milan

By: Anita Elberse

In April 2024, Giorgio Furlani is nearing the end of his first full season as chief executive officer of Italian soccer club AC Milan. A Harvard Business School Class of 2007 graduate with a finance background, Furlani was appointed by RedBird Capital Partners’ founder... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Soccer; Football; Entertainment; Media; Talent Management; Superstars; Marketing; Strategy; General Management; Mergers and Acquisitions; Leadership; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Business or Company Management; Sports Industry; Milan

18 May 2007
Working Paper Summaries

Media Markets and Localism: Does Local News en Español Boost Hispanic Voter Turnout?

Keywords: by Felix Oberholzer-Gee & Joel Waldfogel; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

July 2016
Case

Spotify

By: Anita Elberse and Alexandre de Pfyffer

In November 2014, Spotify's chief content officer Ken Parks learns that record label Big Machine Records has requested the immediate removal of superstar artist Taylor Swift's entire catalogue from Spotify's music streaming service. Is it time for Spotify to reconsider... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Marketing; Superstar; Music; Entertainment Marketing; Media; Digital Technology; Creative Industries; Product Portfolio Management; General Management; Management; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Open Source Distribution; Creativity; Music Entertainment; Product Marketing; Music Industry

February 2022
Case

Toto Wolff and the Mercedes Formula One Team

By: Anita Elberse and David Moreno Vicente

In December 2021, Toto Wolff, team principal and chief executive officer of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One team (the ‘Mercedes team’) is preparing for the start of the 2021 Formula One (‘F1’) season’s last Grand Prix, in the United Arab Emirates. Everything the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Team Management; Culture; Organizational Culture; Sports; Entertainment; Media; Superstars; General Management; Engineers; Competition; Problems and Challenges; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 1989
Teaching Note

Philips In-Car Entertainment (A), (B), & (C), and Industry Note: In-Car Entertainment, Teaching Note

By: F. Warren McFarlan and H. Jeff Smith

Keywords: Media; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry