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Price Wars in Two-Sided Markets: The case of the UK Quality Newspapers

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Abstract

This paper investigates the price war in the UK quality newspaper industry in the 1990s. We build a model of the newspaper market which encompasses demand for differentiated products on both, the readers and advertisers side of the market, and profit maximization by four competing oligopolistic editors who recognize the existence of an indirect network effect of circulation on advertising demand. Editors choose first the political position, then simultaneously cover prices and advertising tariffs. We contribute to the literature on two-sided markets by endogenizing the political differentiation of newspapers in a model with more than two firms. We simulate changes to market structure in order to explore which of the candidate explanations is most likely to lie behind the observed price war.

Suggested Citation

  • Stefan Behringer & Lapo Filistrucchi, 2009. "Price Wars in Two-Sided Markets: The case of the UK Quality Newspapers," Working Papers 09-26, NET Institute, revised Dec 2009.
    • Handle: RePEc:net:wpaper:0926
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    13. Jean-Charles Rochet Author-Email:rochet@cict.fr Author-Workplace-Name: IDEI, University of Toulouse & Jean Tirole Author-Email: tirole@cict.fr Author-Workplace-Name: IDEI, University of Toulouse, 2006. "Two-Sided Markets: A Progress Report," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 37(3), pages 645-667, Autumn.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Lapo Filistrucchi & Damien Geradin & Eric van Damme, 2012. "Identifying Two-Sided Markets," Working Papers - Economics wp2012_01.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    2. Stefan Behringer & Lapo Filistrucchi, 2015. "Areeda–Turner in Two-Sided Markets," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 46(3), pages 287-306, May.
    3. Federico Etro, 2012. "Leadership in Multi-sided Markets and Dominance in Online Advertising," Chapters, in: Joseph E. Harrington Jr & Yannis Katsoulacos (ed.), Recent Advances in the Analysis of Competition Policy and Regulation, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Senay Sokullu, 2012. "Nonparametric Analysis of Two-Sided Markets," Bristol Economics Discussion Papers 12/628, School of Economics, University of Bristol, UK.
    5. Gabszewicz, Jean J. & Resende, Joana, 2012. "Differentiated credence goods and price competition," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 277-287.
    6. Sagit Bar-Gill, 2013. "Game of Platforms: Strategic Expansion in Two-Sided Markets," Working Papers 13-12, NET Institute.
    7. Motta, Massimo & Vasconcelos, Helder, 2012. "Exclusionary Pricing in a Two-Sided Market," CEPR Discussion Papers 9164, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    antitrust; two-sided markets; media markets; UK quality newspapers; predation; price wars; advertising; platforms.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection
    • K21 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Antitrust Law
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • L22 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Organization and Market Structure
    • L41 - Industrial Organization - - Antitrust Issues and Policies - - - Monopolization; Horizontal Anticompetitive Practices
    • L82 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Entertainment; Media
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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