Information technology lowers the cost of distributing information to dispersed consumers. Because national firms reap larger benefits from new media than firms serving only local consumers, media innovations may reduce the market for local products. This paper considers the effect of television on the market for local beer. Using market-level data on television penetration, local breweries and brewery production from 1945-1960, results show that increases in television penetration are associated with fewer local breweries and less local beer production. The results indicate that the industrial organization of media markets can affect the structure of markets for local products. Copyright 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. and the Editorial Board of The Journal of Industrial Economics.
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