Entertainment Science

The entertainment industry has long been dominated by legendary screenwriter William Goldman's "Nobody-Knows-Anything" mantra, which argues that success is the result of managerial intuition and instinct. This book builds the case that combining such intuition with data analytics and rigorous scholarly knowledge provides a source of sustainable competitive advantage - the same recipe for success that is behind the rise of firms such as Netflix and Spotify, but has also fueled Disney's recent success. Unlocking a large repertoire of scientific studies by business scholars and entertainment economists, the authors identify essential factors, mechanisms, and methods that help a new entertainment product succeed. The book thus offers a timely alternative to "Nobody-Knows" decision-making in the digital era: while coupling a good idea with smart data analytics and entertainment theory cannot guarantee a hit, it systematically and substantially increases the probability of success in theentertainment industry. Entertainment Science is poised to inspire fresh new thinking among managers, students of entertainment, and scholars alike.

Thorsten Hennig-Thurau and Mark B. Houston - two of our finest scholars in the area of entertainment marketing - have produced a definitive research-based compendium that cuts across various branches of the arts to explain the phenomena that provide consumption experiences to capture the hearts and minds of audiences.

Morris B. Holbrook, W. T. Dillard Professor Emeritus of Marketing, Columbia University

Entertainment Science is a must-read for everyone working in the entertainment industry today, where the impact of digital and the use of big data can't be ignored anymore. Hennig-Thurau and Houston are the scientific frontrunners of knowledge that the industry urgently needs.

Michael Kölmel, media entrepreneur and Honorary Professor of Media Economics at University of Leipzig

Entertainment Science's winning combination of creativity, theory, and data analytics offers managers in the creative industries and beyond a novel, compelling, and comprehensive approach to support their decision-making. This ground-breaking book marks the dawn of a new Golden Age of fruitful conversation between entertainment scholars, managers, and artists.

Allègre Hadida, Associate Professor in Strategy, University of Cambridge

Forget the " Nobody-Knows Anything" Mantra: It' s Time for Entertainment Science! . - Products, Markets & Consumers - The Business and Economics of Entertainment: The Fundamentals of Entertainment. - Why Entertainment Products Are Unique: Key Characteristics. - Why Entertainment Markets Are Unique: Key Characteristics. - Creating Value, Making Money: Essential Business Models for Entertainment Products. - The Consumption Side of Entertainment. - Managing & Marketing Entertainment - What Makes an Entertainment Product a Hit? : Entertainment Product Decisions, Episode 1: The Quality of the Entertainment Experience. - Entertainment Product Decisions, Episode 2: Search Qualities and Unbranded Signals. - Entertainment Product Decisions, Episode 3: Brands as Quality Signals. - Entertainment Product Decisions, Episode 4: How to Develop New Successful Entertainment Products. - Entertainment Communication Decisions, Episode 1: Paid and Owned Channels. - Entertainment Communication Decisions, Episode 2:" Earned" Channels. - Entertainment Distribution Decisions. - Entertainment Pricing Decisions. - Integrating Entertainment Marketing: Creating Blockbusters and Niche Products by Combining Product, Communication, Distribution, and Pricing Decisions.