Publications

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04 Jan 2021
Working Paper Summaries

The Twofold Effect of Customer Retention in Freemium Settings

Keywords: by Eva Ascarza, Oded Netzer, and Julian Runge; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

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

March 2025
Case

YouTube: Bidding for NFL Sunday Ticket

By: Anita Elberse and Crystal Yao

In December 2022, Erin Teague, a senior director and the global head of sports, movies and shows at YouTube, technology giant Alphabet Inc.’s video- sharing platform, received the news that Sundar Pichai, the chief executive officer of Alphabet and its subsidiary... View Details

Keywords: General Management; Entertainment; Media; Sports; Marketing; Management; Business Strategy; Bids and Bidding; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

01 Mar 2008
News

Good Luck Charm

corporate giving in the city,” New York’s cultural affairs commissioner Kate Levin told the New York Times (November 12, 2007). Time Warner believes that such philanthropy can help build audiences and spur creative innovation, all of which benefits the media and View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

01 Jun 2004
News

Media, VC Discussed at WSA Conference

The media and entertainment business can be a bit of a roller-coaster ride — particularly in today’s climate of tight margins and consolidation. But that state of flux creates opportunity, agreed panelists at the Women’s Student... View Details

Keywords: women in business; women's student association; Arts, Entertainment

Dick Griffey

Initially a co-owner of a black nightclub in Los Angeles, Griffey moved into music producing and built one of the most important black entertainment enterprises. A firm proponent of black culture and community, Griffey started a record... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

November 2002 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Tax-Motivated Film Financing at Rexford Studios

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

The head of production for Rexford Studios must analyze the terms and value consequences of an international financing involving a German film fund. The financing involves a sale-leaseback structure where international tax rules give rise to a sizable economic pie that... View Details

Keywords: International Finance; Financing and Loans; Taxation; Cash Flow; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Competition; Film Entertainment; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Germany

Trained as an engineer, Sarnoff predicted that radio, and later, television, would transform the way people interacted with the world around them. Sarnoff lead RCA to become the leader in radio programming, offering services from news, sports, View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

Sumner M. Redstone

Beginning his career as a lawyer, Redstone joined the entertainment industry in the 1960’s with the formation of National Amusements. As Chairman of Viacom, he guided the company’s successful post-theatrical and syndication activities and... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment & Broadcast Media

03 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

Making Money Making Movies

What makes a movie click with an audience? How important is buzz in the success or failure of an entertainment product? Should worldwide releases of movies be done over time, or all at once? Those are the kinds of questions that interest... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

01 Apr 2001
News

Rewriting the Script: Social Enterprise Start-ups Expand Business Plan Contest's Parameters

The story of how nonprofit start-up Montage Entertainment came about would be familiar to many past participants in the HBS Business Plan Contest. “Some friends and I were sitting in the café at Shad, discussing film and the way women and... View Details

Keywords: Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

March 2021
Supplement

Sky Deutschland - Bidding for Sports Rights (B)

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Sascha L. Schmidt and Sebastian Koppers

Carsten Schmidt, CEO of Sky Deutschland, needs to prepare for the auction of German soccer rights. Much was at stake. Not only was soccer the most widely watched sport in Germany, the company had long advertised that only Sky showed “every game, every goal.” In... View Details

Keywords: Sports; Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Intellectual Property; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Sports Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Germany

May 2023
Supplement

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beats Video Supplement Playlist

By: Boris Groysberg

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Goals and Objectives; Power and Influence; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

October 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys: A Power Couple

By: Boris Groysberg, Annelena Lobb and Sarah Mehta

Set in 2018, this case follows married couple and music industry titans Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys as they consider how best to use their platforms to achieve their goals. Since achieving professional success in the music industry early in their lives, Swizz and Keys... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Music Entertainment; Personal Development and Career; Entrepreneurship; Goals and Objectives; Power and Influence; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 2012 (Revised September 2014)
Supplement

Hip Hop (B): Can't Stop, Won't Stop

By: Mukti Khaire and Kerry Herman

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Music Industry

September 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Giant Cinema

By: Malcolm P. Baker, Richard S. Ruback, Erik Stafford and Kathleen Luchs

The owner of Giant Cinema must decide whether to invest in a digital projector, a new technology for screening films, or purchase a traditional projector. The impact of the new technology is uncertain, and the case describes probabilities for different outcomes that... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Film Entertainment; Technology Adoption; Financial Strategy; Investment; Outcome or Result; Risk and Uncertainty; Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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November 1983
Case

Cablevision of Boston

By: Howard H. Stevenson

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Business and Government Relations; Media and Broadcasting Industry

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August 2000 (Revised August 2005)
Case

STAR TV in 1993

Describes STAR TV, a pan-Asian satellite network that has standardized its strategy across its target markets. STAR's acquisition by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation provides an opportune point to analyze whether the viability of this strategy is likely to increase or... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Adaptation; Globalization; Television Entertainment; Telecommunications Industry