Watching TV and other forms of media consumption represent, after sleeping and working, the main activity that adults perform in developed countries. We present a dynamic theory of commercial broadcasting where the media trade utility-raising goods (programs, information, and services) with...

The economics of bundled discounts are examined by breaking the contract into two elements: (1) what the firm is buying, and (2) how the firm is paying for what it is buying. The firm is buying preferred distribution, a common aspect of competition for distribution that benefits consumers. The...

The antitrust law of bundled discounts is unsettled. LePage's broadly condemned bundled discounts instituted by a dominant firm where it appeared that the discounts served no economic purpose other than to place rival, single product suppliers at a competitive disadvantage. In contrast,...

This paper uses the block‐booking film exhibition contracts that were the subject of Paramount to examine the role of contract terms in facilitating self‐enforcing relationships. Because of the large uncertainty in film value at the time of contracting, it is difficult to fully specify...

The court in United States v. Microsoft Corporation paints a vivid picture of Microsoft as a monopolist taking aggressive competitive actions to protect its dominant Windows operating system against a challenge by Netscape. Even if one accepts the court’s factual description of Microsoft’s...

This paper examines the competitive actions taken by Microsoft in its "browser war" with Netscape, most importantly Microsoft's decisions to give away Explorer free of charge, integrate Explorer into its dominant Windows operating system and pay online service providers for exclusive...

We develop a framework to study dynamic media consumption decisions and their tensions with the interests of advertiser-supported media. The model captures the core characteristics of how commercial media markets operate and audiences form. Media trade utility-raising goods (programs,...