Video Economics

Between the late 1970s and the early 1990s the U.S. television industry transformed from a heavily regulated business to a highly competitive one, with new networks, technologies, and markets. Video Economics addresses the major issues affecting competitive advantage in the industry, including sequential program release strategies known as windowing, competition among program producers, the economics of networking, cable television, scheduling strategies, and high definition television (HDTV). The authors present the economic tools required to analyze the industry as they take up each new topic. This book will be of particular interest to students of the mass media, communication policy officials, communication lawyers and consultants, and media and advertising executives.

As deregulation loosens government controls and fosters the television industry’s competitive spirit, uncharted issues face management in such areas as cable expansion, new networks, technological progress and marketing opportunities. Bruce Owen and Steven Wildman address these emerging situations and outline strategies to assist the industry in its adjustment to a greater freedom, while still preserving its primary role as purveyors of a free flow of information., Video Economics is an ambitious book, and overall, I rate it to be a significant contribution to the literature and a good resource for students., Video Economics is aimed at those for whom a fundamental understanding of the economics of the video industry is essential to their success in the industry: broadcasting, communication, journalism, cinema, and business students; advertising and media executives; and public policy makers. This book draws on its authors’ backgrounds as academics, government officials, and consultants. Their wide-ranging experiences significantly enrich the ‘real world’ content of the work… The book is commendable for the depth that it provides, [and it] also is steeped with interesting facts and insights., Writing as economists, the authors argue for a video marketplace that is not only competitive, but offers the greatest potential for freedom of expression and a diverse exchange of ideas.

Bruce M. Owen is Morris M. Doyle Centennial Professor in Public Policy, Emeritus, at Stanford University, and Senior Fellow, Emeritus, at Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research. From 1981 to 2003, he was CEO of Economists Incorporated. Steven S. Wildman is Associate Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Northwestern University.