Publications

1998
Working Paper

Governance and Risk Taking in the U.S. Cable Television Industry

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann

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

01 Jun 2001
News

Up Side Story: HBS Show a Sold-Out Success

in love while entertaining the sold-out audience with humor, song, and dance. Each year since 1974, a group of hardworking students has pooled its writing, acting, and production skills to stage a Broadway-style performance that takes... View Details

Keywords: HBS Show; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

September 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament

By: Anita Elberse and Saskia Van Rheenen

Should the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament gamble most of its player budget on superstar player Rafael Nadal, even after the event’s previous two editions saw Nadal and Roger Federer pull out at the last moment due to injury, leaving the tournament without any... View Details

Keywords: Superstar; Talent; General Management; Marketing; Sports; Media; Entertainment; Talent and Talent Management; Negotiation; Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

September 2015 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Futbol Club Barcelona

By: Anita Elberse

In June 2015, FC Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu sees his team lift the UEFA Champions League trophy, completing an impressive trophy haul in the 2014-2015 season. Unique for a club of its caliber, five of the starting eleven are products of FC Barcelona's youth... View Details

Keywords: Superstar; Talent; Talent Development And Retention; Talent Management; Marketing; Strategy; General Management; Nonprofit; Marketing Strategy; Talent and Talent Management; Entertainment; Media; Competitive Advantage; Sports; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Barcelona

February 2007
Case

Paul Robertson and the Medici String Quartet

Describes the approach to creative collaboration and leadership adopted by Paul Robertson as leader of one of the most highly regarded string quartets in recent history. Intended to prompt a discussion of a variety of issues surrounding management of creative... View Details

Keywords: Management; Creativity; Groups and Teams; Music Entertainment; Music Industry

1992
Article

Public Policy and the Evolution of Cable Television, 1950-90

By: Willis Emmons

Keywords: Entertainment; Policy; Media and Broadcasting Industry

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25 Aug 2022
News

Full Stream Ahead

David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Paul Simon, and John Legend made headlines for catalog sales in 2021, a year that was noteworthy both for the volume of deals and their valuations. When Sony Music Entertainment bought Bruce... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

March 2021
Case

Sky Deutschland - Bidding for Sports Rights (A)

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Sascha L. Schmidt, Renate Imoberdorf 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

01 Sep 2013
News

Faculty Books

policymakers and the public on how capture can be mitigated and the public interest protected. Blockbusters: Hit-Making, Risk-Taking, and the Big Business of Entertainment by Anita Elberse (Henry Holt) What's behind the success of View Details

Keywords: Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

October 1990 (Revised July 1991)
Case

Zenith: Marketing Research for High Definition Television (HDTV)

Managers at Zenith must decide what marketing research, if any, needs to be done now in order to assess market potential and consumer preference for a technological innovation, high definition television (HDTV) that is yet to be introduced. The case describes various... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Research; Marketing; Television Entertainment; Electronics Industry

Profile

Monica Dodi

firm’s fiduciary responsibility to investors. Dodi’s past entrepreneurial experiences as cofounder of MTV Europe and CEO of AOL’s Entertainment Asylum keep her focused on the bottom line. She points to research that indicates gender... View Details

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

2008
Working Paper

Unraveling Yields Inefficient Matchings: Evidence from Post-season College Football Bowls

By: Guillaume R. Frechette, Alvin E. Roth and M. Utku Unver

Many markets have "unraveled" and experienced inefficient, early, dispersed transactions, and subsequently developed institutions to delay transaction timing. However, it has previously proved difficult to measure and identify the resulting efficiency gains. Prior to... View Details

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Television Entertainment; Market Timing; Market Transactions; Marketplace Matching; Sports Industry

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October 2015
Case

BandPage (A)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Colin Maclay and Greta Friar

BandPage CEO James "J" Sider is about to receive results from BandPage's targeted advertising campaign on music streaming service Rhapsody and learn whether BandPage's strategy to improve ad click through rates and generate revenue has succeeded. BandPage, which began... View Details

Keywords: Digital Innovation; Digital Music; Digital Marketing; Mobile Marketing; Technological Innovation; Marketing Communications; Music Entertainment; Mobile Technology; Music Industry

October 2008 (Revised November 2008)
Case

Miles Davis: Kind of Blue

Examines how successful companies can “jump to the next S-curve” through an analogy to the life's work of Miles Davis, especially his paradigm-shattering Kind of Blue album in 1959. Students consider how and why Davis, who had already proven he was tops in his field,... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Innovation; Creativity; Music Entertainment; Music Industry

June 1988
Case

American Repertory Theatre--1988

American Repertory Theatre (ART) is one of the premier resident theatres in the United States. ART has been successful in following its vision, which is to advance the art of theatre by creating an ideal working environment for artists and promoting very high quality... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Success; Theater Entertainment; Fine Arts Industry; United States

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February 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Supplement

CityCenter (C): Turmoil and Choices

By: John D. Macomber

"CityCenter (C)" follows the (A) and (B) cases chronologically. The (C) case explores the decisions facing MGM MIRAGE following a lawsuit by partner Dubai World and suspension of Dubai World's cash contributions to the project in early 2009. Issues include the... View Details

Keywords: Lawsuits and Litigation; Private Equity; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Decisions; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict and Resolution; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Nevada