Publications

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; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Blethen Family and the Seattle Times Company (A), The

By: John A. Davis and Cathy Quinn

Frank Blethen, the fourth-generation publisher of The Seattle Times, ponders the challenges facing this family business. This case reviews the long history of this business and family and asks whether family ownership and management are in the interests of both the... View Details

Keywords: History; Management; Business or Company Management; Family Business; Family and Family Relationships; Family Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

June 2000 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Must Zee TV

By: Bharat N. Anand and Tarun Khanna

Explores issues related to (1) the vertical boundaries of the firm in an emerging-economy context, especially the effects of lack of intellectual property rights and lack of contract enforcement on both industry structure and boundaries of the firm; and (2) the extent... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Developing Countries and Economies; Copyright; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

September 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells, Carole A. Winkler and Benjamin Weinstock

In August 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The first major storm of protest followed the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States on November 8, 2016; many put the blame at the door of fake... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

25 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Cyber-Marketing: Scouting the Digital Communications Frontier

scale in the United States and is being introduced in many other countries as well. While transmitting digitally offers many significant advantages over the current analog method, it also requires specially designed broadcast equipment... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs

06 Feb 2007
First Look

First Look: February 6, 2007

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/07-046.pdf Cases & Course MaterialsBroadcast Television in the Broadband World Harvard Business School Note 707-486 What strategies have the top four (NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX) broadcast television... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2005
Teaching Note

The Walt Disney Co.: The Entertainment King (TN)

By: David J. Collis

Teaching Note to (9-701-035). View Details

Keywords: History; Business or Company Management; Creativity; Boundaries; Business Strategy; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

17 Jun 2013
Research & Ideas

Advertising Symbiosis: The Key to Viral Videos

let people broadcast their personal values the way a bumper sticker on the back of a car does." CONCEPT: Enable the viewer to showcase a badge of honor and relate to tribes. EXAMPLE: Fiat's rapping mommy. Last December, Fiat UK released... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Advertising

25 Nov 2014
First Look

First Look: November 25

position in Boston-area news broadcasting through its embrace of an innovative format and for affiliating with NBC. Since the early 2000s, however, other news programs had copied their format, and young audiences had begun to use the... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

25 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 25, 2006

competing bid for the shares of Nippon Broadcasting Systems (NBS). Livedoor, the other bidder, is a highly valued Internet company that has been accused of financial wizardry to keep its stock price high. Purchase this case: View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

City Metropolitan Opera's general manager Peter Gelb looks back on the first season of a daring experiment to broadcast performances live in high-definition to movie theaters across North America. While the "Live in HD" program... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Apr 2014
First Look

First Look: April 29

Pvt. Ltd. (formerly SET Pvt. Ltd.), a leading television broadcaster in India. Describes Singh's decision to evaluate employees based on values as well as performance and the management committee's response. Allows for discussion of 1)... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Building ’Brandtopias’—How Top Brands Tap into Society

American ideology that had emerged. Once again, Holt traces this brandtopia from beginning to end and finds that it too melts down, this time in the early '90s as widescale economic restructuring led to new ideals of success broadcast... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

26 May 2022
News

Northern California Club Honors Noom; LGBTQ Alumni Share HBS Stories

the HBSANC’s two major annual fundraisers, primarily aimed at supporting its Community Partners programs throughout the Bay Area. The other is the Annual Leadership Dinner. The HBSANC leadership successfully executed a virtual event that was View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

2013
Working Paper

NBC and the 2012 London Olympics: Unexpected Success

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Vadim Kogan

"The 2010 Vancouver Winter Games lost $223 million, astonishing for a 17-day event. Next year's London Summer Games, which cost a record Olympic rights fee of $1.18 billion, are expected to lose at least as much..." wrote Richard Sandomir in The New York Times. "NBC... View Details

Keywords: Success; Profit; Sports; Failure; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Vancouver; Beijing; London; Brazil; Russia

Read Now

August 2010 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Rupert Murdoch: The Last Tycoon

By: Geoffrey Jones and Hari Balkrishna

The case examines the entrepreneurial career of Rupert Murdoch and the growth of News Corporation from a small Australian newspaper to a global media giant. It shows how he expanded geographically to Europe, the United States, and Asia and from newspapers to the film... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Entrepreneurship; Media; Globalized Firms and Management; Business History; Business and Government Relations; Power and Influence; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Europe; United States; Australia