Publications

October 2012
Case

Lin TV Corp

By: David Scharfstein, Erik Stafford and Joel Heilprin

This case considers the valuation of Lin TV, a publicly-traded company with 30 TV stations. The case highlights how a change in operating strategy can enhance the firm's value, and considers the effect of consolidation within the industry on firm value. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Acquisitions; Synergy; Broadcasting; Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; North and Central America

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

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

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

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

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

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February 2004 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Finding a Response: Pixar and a Coy Story

Pixar, Inc. is the subject of an article that suggests its share price is currently overvalued. The article is picked up in summary by several wire services. Pixar's management must determine the appropriate public response. Its choices range from ignoring the article,... View Details

Keywords: Media; Animation Entertainment; Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Communication Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2002 (Revised July 2002)
Case

TiVo in 2002: Consumer Behavior

Brodie Keast is anxious to understand the sharp contrast between the inertia of prospects and the deep emotional response shown by converted users of TiVo. After an overview of the company's situation and problems, the case focuses on different kinds of data (sales... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Television Entertainment; 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

When Marcus Loew died in 1927, Schenck assumed control over all of his holdings, including Loew’s theatre company and its production arm, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Despite the onslaught of the Depression, though, Schenck’s attention to efficiency and to “the bottom... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

William S. Paley

After entering the media and entertainment field on somewhat of a whim, Paley grew his small radio concern into a media conglomerate with success in radio, television, music, media equipment and more. CBS competed heavily with the larger,... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

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

Article

Demand and Supply Dynamics for Sequentially Released Products in International Markets: The Case of Motion Pictures

By: Anita Elberse and Jehoshua Eliashberg

Keywords: Supply and Industry; Product; Markets; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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Read Now

01 Mar 2011
News

Heard in the Chapel

performance to a packed house. The HBS men’s original a cappella group, The Tycoons, was formed in 1947 and entertained campus gatherings for more than 25 years before disbanding. Heard on the Street, which View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

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

Walter E. Disney

Disney was a pioneer in the family entertainment business. From his ground-breaking introduction of the animated cartoon Steamboat Willie starring Mickey Mouse in 1928 to the launch of the first full-length animated film in 1937 (Snow... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Swizz Beatz

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

This case explores the life and career of rapper and music producer Swizz Beatz. Set in 2019, it covers the evolution of Swizz’s musical career and his new venture into the commercial art market. View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States