Entertainment & Media

Entertainment & Media

Leveraging our in-depth understanding of antitrust, finance and corporate governance issues across our roster of economists, Compass Lexecon has been engaged in a wide range of projects for clients in the entertainment and media industries. Such matters have included alleged exclusive dealing with respect to the distribution of first-run films, alleged coordinated conduct covering advertising in regional newspapers, mergers involving all sub-sectors of the entertainment and media industry, and disputes regarding dual-class share structures, among others.

In markets characterized by multiple platforms – whether two-sided or multi-sided – assessment of the competitive effects resulting from a firm’s actions is often a complex exercise. Compass Lexecon has the experience and economic insight to identify the competitive constraints operating on each side of the market and to determine the net effect of firm conduct on competition and consumer welfare. Similarly, in the context of mergers, Compass Lexecon brings a high level of sophistication to the assessment of likely consumer benefits and possible competitive concerns across all affected markets.

Compass Lexecon economists also have applied their economic expertise in numerous regulatory matters involving entertainment and media clients. We have been retained on many cases involving issues of rate setting, including several cases concerning the determination of market-based rates for digital performance royalties and have provided testimony before the Copyright Review Board. In such matters, the central thrust of our work has been to develop an economic framework to model hypothetical arm’s-length negotiations between record labels and distributors of digital music content.

With a top roster of competition policy economists and financial economists our professional staff stands apart in our analytical expertise and ability to handle complex engagements that require a creative approach backed by rigorous economic modeling methodologies.

Compass Lexecon economists have extensive expertise in media and entertainment areas, including:

  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Coordinated Conduct
  • Monopolization
  • Exclusionary Conduct
  • Rate Determinations for Mechanical Royalties
  • Rate Determinations for Performance Royalties
  • Corporate Governance
  • Financial Distress
  • Securities
  • Damages