Publications

February 2007
Case

Update: The Music Industry in 2006

By: John R. Wells and Elizabeth Raabe

The global recorded music industry was undergoing a major transition in 2006. Sales had been declining for a decade, and consumers were buying music in new formats and through different distribution channels. CD sales still accounted for the majority of revenues, but... View Details

Keywords: History; Arts; Music Entertainment; Intellectual Property; Market Timing; Performance Evaluation; Trends; Music Industry

August 2005 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Can Bollywood Go Global?

By: Geoffrey Jones, Namrata Arora, Surachita Mishra and Alexis Lefort

Considers the opportunities and challenges facing Indian film producers in accessing the global film market. Provides a historical context by describing the history of the cinema and the rise of Hollywood to global dominance by the 1920s. Although film industries... View Details

Keywords: History; Competition; Film Entertainment; Globalized Markets and Industries; Product Development; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; India

March 2021
Case

Astralis Group: Determining a Brand Strategy

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej and Emilie Billaud

After launching a Danish esports company in July 2019, and going public in December 2019 with multiple brands associated with different games, the Astralis leadership team was contemplating a shift to a single, corporate brand. While the original arguments for... View Details

04 Sep 2013
News

From HBO to HBS

affiliate in Hawaii couldn't pick it up," he recalls. "We shipped them tapes of the programming. "Fast-forward to today, HBO has multiple networks with over 100 million subscribers worldwide, only 40 million of whom are in the United States. Our worldwide home View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia; HBSO; HBS; faculty; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

December 1977
Article

Utility Functions for Simple Games

By: A. E. Roth

Keywords: Games, Gaming, and Gambling

22 Jun 2022

Entertainment, Media & Sports at HBS

Wonder what an MBA could do to help with your professional growth? Hear from alumni in the entertainment & media industry as they reflect on their MBA experience. Click to see alumni profiles of featured panelists. View Details

July 2010
Teaching Note

Xanadu on Broadway

By: Anita Elberse

Teaching Note for 508062. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Film Entertainment; Decision Choices and Conditions; Failure; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

December 2007
Background Note

The Music Recording Industry: Digital Rocks

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Nancy Bartlett

Digital and mobile technologies profoundly and forever changed the long-held value proposition for the recorded music industry--the 12-song physical CD selling at $15. By 2007, it was apparent that the music recording business had become a digital business, and... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Disruption; Music Entertainment; Distribution; Practice; Technology Adoption; Value; Music Industry

November 2000 (Revised October 2005)
Case

TiVo

TiVo is a digital video recorder that allows viewers to watch what they want, when they want to watch it. Fourteen months into the launch, sales are very disappointing. Brodie Keast, VP of marketing and sales, wants to combine a catchy communications campaign, product... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Communications; Product Launch; Television Entertainment; Innovation and Invention; Electronics Industry

August 1988 (Revised November 1989)
Case

Reebok International Ltd.

By: John A. Quelch

Reebok executives are reviewing the company's advertising and promotion programs for the second half of 1988. These include sponsorship of the 1988 Summer Olympics and a rock concert tour organized by Amnesty International. In addition, Reebok is launching a new... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Music Entertainment; Advertising Campaigns; Sports; Advertising Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

August 1977
Article

The Effects of Communication and Information Availability in an Experimental Study of a Three Person Game

By: J. K. Murnighan and A. E. Roth

Keywords: Communication; Information; Games, Gaming, and Gambling

February 2002 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Roundabout Theatre Company, The (A)

Todd Haimes is the artistic director of the Roundabout, a nonprofit theatre. He must decide if he is willing to accept a large sponsorship from American Airlines and, in doing so, allow the airline to the name the Roundabout's new Broadway theatre. In making this... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Decision Making; Financing and Loans; Theater Entertainment; Fine Arts Industry

August 1974 (Revised April 1983)
Case

Peter Olafson (A)

By: John J. Gabarro

Describes the problems facing a recent MBA graduate in his job as general manager of a cable television company owned by a parent corporation. Raises issues of corporate divisional relationships and the difficulties facing an inexperienced manager who seems to be... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Television Entertainment; Managerial Roles; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges

April 2021
Article

Homing and Platform Responses to Entry: Historical Evidence from the U.S. Newspaper Industry

By: K. Francis Park, Robert Seamans and Feng Zhu

We examine how heterogeneity in customers’ tendencies to single-home or multi-home affects a platform’s competitive responses to new entrants in the market. We first develop a formal model to generate predictions about how a platform will respond. We then empirically... View Details

Keywords: Single-homing; Multi-homing; Platform Responses; Newpaper; Television; Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Newspapers; Television Entertainment; History; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

18 Nov 2014
News

Making the learning process fun for children

A passion for working in the entertainment industry to benefit children led Christina Hsu (MBA 2004) to the educational game company JumpStart, which develops new ways for kids to learn and have fun at the same time. (Published November... View Details

01 Dec 2011
News

Inside MTV’s Global Fame

Related Links Watch Bill Roedy describe his approach to taking MTV global In 1989, Bill Roedy (MBA ’79) was told to transform the American success story MTV into a global presence. Twenty years later, Roedy had built the largest View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; Arts, Entertainment; Arts, Entertainment

01 Dec 2015
News

How Do I Get Your Job?

student-run Entertainment & Media Club, worked as an assistant to John Davis (MBA 1981) of Davis Entertainment and at Creative Artists Agency before coming to HBS. MB: What sparked your interest in the film... View Details

Profile

Beau D'Arcy

say that we'll celebrate a Cubs World Series win with a Smashing Pumpkins concert at Breakwater Chicago. We may need to build a second vessel for that one, though!" Can you finish this statement? "A great entertainment... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media; Entertainment / Media

May 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Radiohead: Music at Your Own Price (A)

By: Anita Elberse and Jason Bergsman

In October 2007, the British band Radiohead caused a stir when it announced it would allow customers to decide how much to pay for its new album, released exclusively as a digital download and available only from the band's own website. The pricing plan represented a... View Details

Keywords: Music Entertainment; Price; Marketing Strategy; Distribution; Problems and Challenges; Online Technology; Music Industry