Fondation HEC Seminar joint with the Chair in game theory and management and the GERAD

Title:  Price wars in two-sided markets: The case of the UK quality newspapers

Speaker: Stefan Behringer – Universität Duisburg-Essen, Allemagne

Abstract:

This paper investigates the price war in the UK quality newspaper industry in the 1990s. We show that the empirical evidence is in accordance with a substantial change in the optimal finance mix of newspapers as advertising becomes the dominant source of newspaper revenue. The finding holds under weak theoretical assumptions. The evidence brought forward at the time is not sufficient to establish a case of predatory pricing as it has neglected the critical two-sidedness of the firms and necessitates further study.