Publications

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October 2013 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Rhythm & Blues

By: Willy Shih

The bankruptcy filing of Rhythm & Hues, who received an Oscar for the arresting visual effects in Life of Pi, raised questions about the challenges faced by the firms like it as well as the broader post-production industry. The rapid pace of technology certainly... View Details

Keywords: Post-production; Visual Effects; Digital; Entertainment; Animation Entertainment; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Theater Entertainment; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Los Angeles

Article

The U.S. Cable Television Industry, 1948-1995: Managerial Capitalism in Eclipse

By: T. R. Eisenmann

Keywords: Management Systems; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

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April 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Background Note

Television Competes for a Digital Audience

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

In the face of major disruption in the industry television networks have sought new revenue sources, implemented cost-cutting measures and strategized on ways to monetize online access to content. Programming changes, new advertising strategies, and deals via online... View Details

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Marketing Strategy; Media and Broadcasting 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

2007
Working Paper

Highbrow Films Gather Dust: Time-inconsistent Preferences and Online DVD Rentals

By: Katherine L. Milkman, Todd Rogers and Max H. Bazerman

We report on a field study demonstrating systematic differences between the preferences people anticipate they will have over a series of options in the future and their subsequent revealed preferences over those options. Using a novel panel data set, we analyze the... View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Decision Choices and Conditions; Attitudes; Conflict and Resolution; Emotions; Film Entertainment; Cognition and Thinking; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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May 2017 (Revised November 2019)
Case

The Dubai International Film Festival

By: Rohit Deshpandé and Alpana Thapar

This case follows the conception and emergence of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). In an already crowded and highly competitive industry, Abdulhamid Juma was attempting to define and establish a unique brand positioning for DIFF. Committed to its vision,... View Details

Keywords: Brand Positioning; Underdog Brand Building; Business Models; Non-profit; Managing Multiple Stakeholders; Film Entertainment; Brands and Branding; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Growth and Development Strategy; 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

01 Dec 2013
News

Faculty Q&A: Playing the Hits

presidential skybox for her research into the entertainment industry's most successful stars and products. Her brand-new book, Blockbusters: Hit-making, Risk-taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment... View Details

Keywords: Patrick Kirchner; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

06 Oct 2016
Cold Call Podcast

The Munich Oktoberfest: From Local Tradition to Global Capitalism

Keywords: Re: Juan Alcacer; Tourism

May 25, 2011
Article

For Oprah Winfrey, this is not the finale

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Keywords: Entertainment

01 Jun 2003
News

Respond to a Worthy Cause

Respond and Respond II, and Sonya Brown and Michelle Dietz (both MBA ’02). After the success of the first CD, last year Devereaux asked the HBS Entertainment & Media Club for help writing a business plan. “The idea was to broaden the... View Details

Keywords: Michael Watkins; Arts, Entertainment

1998
Working Paper

The U.S. Cable Television Industry, 1948-1995: Managerial Capitalism in Eclipse

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

Keywords: Management Systems; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United States

12 Dec 2016
HBS Case

Business Lessons from Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson

his wallet and saw he only had seven dollars left. That stuck with him, and it has fueled him ever since. “The power in the entertainment industry is shifting to the superstars, and the smartest among those stars are finding ways to... View Details

Keywords: Re: Anita Elberse; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

September 1994 (Revised January 1997)
Case

This Case Sucks: Beavis, Butt-head, and TV Content (A)

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Jerry Useem

Beginning in 1992, "Beavis and Butt-head," an animated series on MTV about two uncivilized teenaged misfits, became both a runaway popular sensation and the symbol of a heated national debate about violent and inappropriate programming on television. Especially after... View Details

Keywords: Debates; Decision Choices and Conditions; Animation Entertainment; Fairness; Governance Controls; Media; Outcome or Result; Social Issues; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

19 Jan 2017
Cold Call Podcast

Can Wynton Marsalis and Lincoln Center Save Jazz Music?

Keywords: Re: Rohit Deshpande; Music

November 2016 (Revised May 2017)
Case

The Black List

By: Henry McGee and Sarah McAra

Franklin Leonard founded The Black List in 2005 as an innovative approach to identifying potential hit movie scripts via crowdsourcing. As the annual Black List proved to hold the scripts of some of Hollywood’s most successful films, from “Slumdog Millionaire” to... View Details

Keywords: Screenwriting; Independent Production; Hollywood; Film Development; Film Distribution; Film Financing; Manging Uncertainty; Barriers To Entry; Globalization; Digitalization; Film Entertainment; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Media; Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; United States