Publications

January 2022
Case

Dating Ring

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lindsay N. Hyde

In 2015, the co-founders of Dating Ring, an online dating startup that relied on human matchmakers to arrange dates between its members, were deciding whether to either shut down the service or instead manage Dating Ring as a "lifestyle company," ramping down growth... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Failure; Business Exit or Shutdown; Internet and the Web; Venture Capital; Service Industry; Service Industry; United States

September 2010 (Revised November 2013)
Supplement

Aspen Skiing Company (B)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Having begun improving the environmental performance of its own operations, Aspen Skiing Company is considering "greening" its supply chain and lobbying for greenhouse gas regulations. A world renowned ski resort vulnerable to global climate change, Aspen's activities... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Supply Chain; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; Aspen

August 2002 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Electronic Arts Introduces The Sims Online

By: Youngme E. Moon

Electronic Arts (EA), the world's largest independent game publisher, is preparing to launch an online, subscription-based version of the most popular PC game in history: The Sims. The new game is called "The Sims Online" and it differs from the original game in two... View Details

Keywords: Fair Value Accounting; Decision Making; Price; Product Launch; Market Entry and Exit; Internet; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

September 2014 (Revised March 2015)
Case

Managing Multi-Media Audiences at WHDH (Boston)

By: Thales Teixeira and V. Kasturi Rangan

WHDH's Channel 7 News rose to the #1 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... View Details

Keywords: Online News; Television Advertising; Attention Economics; Cross-media Efforts; Competition; Internet and the Web; Consumer Behavior; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Digital Marketing; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Boston

26 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

The Power of the Noncompete Clause

important for regional development as well: "Given the many and mostly unsuccessful attempts to recreate Silicon Valley in various areas, understanding whether noncompetes play a role could be of help... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

July 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Ottawa Voyageurs, The

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Scott Baldwin, Chris Strong, Andrew Feng, Eliza Moody and David Ager

Manuel Tertuliano, head coach of a professional soccer club, must make some difficult decisions about the compensation of six of his players. Specifically, he must decide how to allocate $850,000 among these six players in a way that will benefit his team, which has... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Compensation and Benefits; Performance; Motivation and Incentives; Sports; Groups and Teams; Sports Industry; Sports Industry; Canada

20 Feb 2006
HBS Case

Oprah: A Case Study Comes Alive

in what is mostly a man's world. Entertainment at both the corporate and entertainer level is still dominated primarily by men. She's an African American in what is still... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation; Entertainment & Recreation

July 2008 (Revised January 2010)
Case

PCCW now

By: Andrei Hagiu and Waishun Lo

In 2007, PCCW had to formulate a strategy for growth of its successful NOW TV platform and its quadruple play implementation outside of Hong Kong. Launched in September 2003 by PCCW (Hong Kong's largest telecommunications operator), NOW TV had swiftly become the... View Details

Keywords: Television Entertainment; Growth and Development Strategy; Multi-Sided Platforms; Technology Platform; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Hong Kong

March 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

AMC: The Zero Revenue Case

By: C. Fritz Foley and Donal O'Cofaigh

The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic put theatre company AMC’s already perilous financial situation under even further strain. The company’s high levels of debt resulted in a monthly cash-burn which left it facing an imminent Chapter-11 filing in the absence of... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Public Equity; Stock Shares; Health Pandemics; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

March 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Caesars Entertainment: CodeGreen

By: George Serafeim, Robert G. Eccles and Tiffany A. Clay

The case describes the development of Caesar's sustainability initiative program, the effect of the initiative on employee engagement and motivation, and on customer satisfaction. View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Employees; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Motivation and Incentives; Accommodations Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

May 2020 (Revised November 2021)
Supplement

Valuing Peloton

By: E. Scott Mayfield

Peloton Interactive, a well-known unicorn in the connected fitness space, had gone public with a market capitalization of over $8.0 billion. In the weeks following its public debut, Peloton’s stock price fell by over 25%. Taylor Knox, a stock analyst and enthusiastic... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Disruptive Innovation; Risk and Uncertainty; Stocks; Price; Valuation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

December 2014
Supplement

Aspen Skiing Company Video Supplement

By: Michael W. Toffel

Having begun improving the environmental performance of its own operations, Aspen Skiing Company is considering "greening" its supply chain and lobbying for greenhouse gas regulations. A world renowned ski resort vulnerable to global climate change, Aspen's activities... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Climate Change; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Aspen

03 Jun 2009
Working Paper Summaries

It Is Okay for Artists to Make Money…No, Really, It’s Okay

Keywords: by Robert D. Austin & Lee Devin; Entertainment & Recreation

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; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries

June 1999 (Revised August 2004)
Case

NFL-Network Television Contracts, 1998-2005, The

By: Stephen A. Greyser

The National Football League (NFL) is negotiating its next round of national television contracts with its broadcast and cable TV partners. The revenues from these contracts constitute a major source of income for the individual NFL teams. The case provides information... View Details

Keywords: History; Rights; Contracts; Business Earnings; Negotiation; Partners and Partnerships; Budgets and Budgeting; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 2011 (Revised January 2011)
Case

Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (Abridged)

By: Anita Elberse

The management team of Marvel Enterprises, known for its universe of superhero characters that includes Spider-Man, the Hulk, and X-Men, must reevaluate its marketing strategy. In June 2004, only six years after the company emerged from bankruptcy, Marvel has amassed a... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Intellectual Property; Rights; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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... View Details

Keywords: HBS Show; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries; Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries

October 1997 (Revised September 2000)
Case

Disney (A): From Disneyland to Disney World—Learning the Art of Land Assembly

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Georgia Levenson

Walt Disney is contemplating sites for a new theme park, building on the success of Disneyland in Anaheim. The focus is on Disney's strategy for land negotiation and acquisition, which is informed by his experience with the Anaheim park. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Types; Negotiation Tactics; Acquisition; Tourism Industry; Tourism Industry; California