Excelling Academically : Researching Streaming Bundling Strategies

Alternative Title: Creating a Research Bibliography or Proposal Using Library Databases

This semester, I began a group research project with Sydney Shaw and Mya Spencer for our Intermediate Microeconomics course. We are studying how different bundling strategies operate in the streaming market, connecting microeconomic utility models to real-world strategy in the entertainment industry.

I led the first stage of our project by drafting the proposal and compiling a literature review using library databases. In building our bibliography, I drew on prior research by Crawford & Yurukoglu on cable bundles, Bakos & Brynjolfsson on digital goods aggregation, de Cornière & Sarvary on media quality, and Walter on digital bundling. I noticed that while these studies provide valuable frameworks, few directly compare studio-owned bundles (e.g., Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+) with aggregator bundles (e.g., Roku or Amazon Channels). Highlighting this distinction helped us frame a more timely and unique research question about how each model affects consumer welfare and firm behavior.

By combining economic models with a thorough literature review, I helped set the foundation for the rest of our team’s analysis. This process also gave me insight into how media firms approach pricing, bundling, and competition—an understanding that now informs my own career interest in TMT investment banking, where advising clients on strategic moves often requires blending theory with industry-specific knowledge.

by Chloe Jacobs