Vertical Mergers and the MFN Thicket in Television

Increasingly, cable and satellite TV services (known as “MVPDs”) seek to acquire upstream programming creators, as illustrated by AT&T’s recent merger with Time-Warner. At the same time, the pay-TV industry is rife with “most-favored nation” (MFN) agreements, which can sharply constrict the competitive process. The most problematic variety, so-called “unconditional” MFNs, raise serious antitrust concerns, as they may forestall effective entry by new streaming-based platforms; penalize pro-competitive deviations from the status quo; and facilitate de facto coordination among integrated MVPDs.While vertical mergers in the industry have received significant antitrust attention, the MFN concerns are interrelated. Problematic MFNs may naturally induce a double marginalization problem, even if the parties are otherwise capable of contracting around it. This creates a strong motivation for integration, but it also raises a question as to whether a merger is the only way to avoid double marginalization. Further, MFNs might compel a problematic form of reciprocal dealing that generates de facto price fixing between integrated rivals. Consequently, the industry’s trend toward integration may trigger other kinds of anti-competitive conduct

The Supreme Court as Constitutional Interpreter: Chronology Without History

A Review of The Constitution in the Supreme Court: The Second Century, 1888-1986 by David P. Curri

Book Review: Constitutional Faith. by Sanford Levinson.

Book review: Constitutional Faith. By Sanford Levinson. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 1988. Pp. xii, 243. Reviewed by: Herbert Hovenkamp

Book Review: Liberty, Property, and the Future of Constitutional Development. Ellen Frankel Paul and Howard Dickman, Eds.; Judicial Power and Reform Politics: The Anatomy of Lochner V. New York. by Paul Kens.

Book review: Liberty, Property, and the Future of Constitutional Development. Ellen Frankel Paul and Howard Dickman, eds. Albany: State Univ. of New York Press. 1990. Pp. vii, 340 ; Judicial Power and Reform Politics: The Anatomy of Lochner v. New York. By Paul Kens. Lawrence, KS.: Univ. Press of Kansas. 1990. Pp. 232. Reviewed by: Herbert Hovenkamp

Book Review: The Limits of Judicial Power: The Supreme Court in American Politics. by William Lasser.

Book review: The Limits of Judicial Power: The Supreme Court in American Politics. By William Lasser. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 1988. Pp x, 354. Reviewed by: Herbert Hovenkamp