Antitrust enforcement in technology industries is complex, in part because the sector is characterized by more or less continuous innovation. The global nature of the sector, combined with oversight by multiple enforcement agencies, also presents its own unique issues for antitrust policy. Given these complexities, how can antitrust policy be formulated to promote innovation in these dynamic sectors?
Antitrust and Competition
Economic analysis of markets is a core part of what we do. Our research has focused on mergers, vertical integration, and global competition policy. Our experts have deep experience in competition policy.
Antitrust and High-Tech: The Do-Not-Cold-Call List
An Economic Overview of the Implications for Online Video of the Proposed Comcast-NBCU Transaction
An Economic Overview of the Implications for Online Video of the Proposed Comcast-NBCU Transaction
TPI’s Scott Wallsten Testifies at FCC Forum on Comcast/NBC Joint Venture
TPI’s Scott Wallsten presented an economic overview of the proposed Comcast-NBCU Transaction in testimony prepared today for the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Forum on the Comcast/NBCU Joint Venture.
ADD and the FCC
The FCC Tries to Find Its Way
Aspen Forum Panel to Explore Antitrust and Tech Industries
Technology has been a principal driver of growth and productivity in the U.S.. Antitrust enforcement in technology industries is complex, in part because the sector is characterized by more or less continuous innovation. If economists are able to predict the effects of antitrust actions on innovation, then enforcement agencies can take those actions with greater confidence. If the effects are highly uncertain, however, the lesson for enforcement is quite different. Experts on antitrust and competition issues will discuss these and related issues at the TPI Aspen Forum, scheduled for August 22-24.
The FCC’s New Wireless Competition Report: The Right Way to Look at the Industry
FTC Clears Google-AdMob Deal
Screening and Simplifying the Competition Arguments in the NBC/Comcast Transaction
The proposed joint venture between Comcast Corporation and NBC Universal is a significant transaction in a significant market. The transaction will create a large media and distribution company, including the programming assets of both NBC, a leading national programmer, and Comcast, which owns several cable networks and some regional sports networks, and the distribution assets of NBC (namely, its owned-and-operated broadcast television stations). This new company will be majority-owned by Comcast, which in its own right is the nation�s largest distributor of multi-channel video programming, and Comcast could be in the position, within the next few years, to own 100% of the new joint venture. The size of the transaction is made more important by the markets in which the companies operate: the companies are more than just producers and distributors of entertainment and sports programming, which are of course important in their own rights, the companies also produce and distribute news and political programming. The mass media has long been considered a market important enough not only to draw scrutiny from antitrust authorities but also to justify the attention of a specialized regulator, using sector-specific regulation designed to achieve specific outcomes.