The Economics of the Multichannel Video Program Distribution Industry

This special issue contains four articles that focus on a number of important Multichannel Video Program Distribution (MVPD) market issues and concerns. The first article strategically groups management theory and clusters analysis to empirically identify a number of different MVPD programmer strategic groups. The second article uses historical Government Accounting Office data set and counts models to empirically examine the factors effecting cable operators' local television station 1989 carriage decisions--a period in which the FCC had no must carry rules in place. The third article utilizes diffusion theory and discriminant analysis to dissect the key factors determining whether consumers become early adopters of digital cable. The fourth article covers the basic economic and technological assumptions underlying cable operators' attempts to use their digital platforms to deliver "on demand" video services.