Publications

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

March 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Out of Hand Theater: Monetizing Creativity

By: Christina Wallace, Henry McGee, Rohit Deshpandé and Max Hancock

Ariel Fristoe co-founded the Out of Hand Theater ensemble (OOH) in Atlanta in 2001. OOH began as a traditional theater nonprofit, which Ariel and her colleagues ran on a shoestring budget. But over the years, the group transformed: First, around 2010, OOH pivoted to... View Details

Keywords: Business Transformation; Theatre-company; Arts Marketing; Transformation; Theater Entertainment; Social Marketing; Business Model; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Atlanta

November 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Teaching Note

Sony and the JK Wedding Dance (TN)

By: John A. Deighton and Leora Kornfeld

Teaching Note for 510064. View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Copyright; Situation or Environment; Online Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Jun 2003
News

Portraits from the Class of 2003

New England Conservatory, piano; Yale, psychobiology Speaks: French, Hebrew HBS Show: musical director (2002); writer (2003) Last Summer: associate producer, A Hole in One, Beech Hill Films Previous Career: engagement manager, McKinsey’s Media and View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment

12 Oct 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Telemundo: The Fastest Growing TV Network in the United States

Keywords: Re: Henry W. McGee; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

14 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Blockbuster! Why Star Power Works

quite risky—a few blockbuster flops can bring a company to ruin—the strategy is the best bet for entertainment companies to succeed over the long run, according to Anita Elberse, the Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration at... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation

May 2017
Case

Street League Skateboarding

By: Robert F. Higgins and Christine Snively

In 2013, Street League Skateboarding, a professional skateboarding league founded in 2010, just concluded its annual Street League World Tour. The growing action-sports property had purchased time on ESPN2 to air its events, and though ESPN was the most-watched sports... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Television Entertainment; Sports; Product Launch; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

November 1995 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Jurassic Park

By: John A. Quelch

Managers at MCA/Universal Merchandising are reviewing worldwide merchandising and licensing arrangements for the movie Jurassic Park. View Details

Keywords: Commercialization; Globalization; Film Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

25 Jun 2019
News

Ann Sarnoff To Lead Warner Bros. Studio

Sarnoff also discussed the challenge of meeting the needs of the modern audience. “We need to emotionally connect with our audiences and build a connection that can last into future generations,” she told Deadline. “They’re experiencing View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment

April 2025
Case

Netflix in 2024

By: Jan Rivkin and David Allen

In 2024, Netflix appeared to emerge victorious from the “streaming wars” that it had waged in recent years with the likes of Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Apple, and Amazon. What had allowed Netflix not only to succeed in the streaming wars but also to thrive for... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States

27 Oct 2015
Blog Post

Alumni: Where Are They Now? Featuring Claire Friedman...

Current Position: COO and Executive in Charge of Lip Sync Battle Franchise, Casey Patterson Entertainment Current Location: New York/Los Angeles Tell us what you're up to these days. Right after graduation, I packed my bags and moved out... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media / Sports

04 Jun 2018
Research & Ideas

Think of it as Professors in Cars Having Coffee

I’ve heard many ideas for reducing gun violence in the United States, but this was a new one on me. Mihir Desai, a finance professor at Harvard Business School, noted in a recent podcast that stock prices of gun manufacturers are severely depressed, and at least one... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

Profile

Claire Freidman

Why was earning your MBA at HBS important to you? Prior to business school, I spent five years working in finance. My clients were entertainment companies and I knew I wanted to switch careers and work on the operations or strategic side... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media; Entertainment / Media; Entertainment / Media

March 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Time Warner Inc. vs. The Walt Disney Company (A): Pulling the Plug

Describes negotiation impasse between Time Warner, Inc. and The Walt Disney Co. over the retransmission of the ABC Network over Time Warner's cable systems. More broadly, the case depicts the shifting balance of power between content creators and distributors in the... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Process; Internet and the Web; Television Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 2006 (Revised September 2007)
Teaching Note

Electronic Arts in Online Gaming (TN)

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Arts; Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry