This project investigates the welfare impact of bundling between platforms affects in the video streaming market. Platform bundling has become increasingly common in recent years. For example, comcast offers an ad-supported bundle of Netflix, Apple TV, and Peacock for just $10 per month. Similarly, a bundle of Hulu, Disney Plus, and Max allows consumers to subscribe all three with a nearly 40% discount. However, the effects of such bundling on consumers remain unclear. Existing literature shows that when competing firms offer mixed bundles of their own products, bundling enables more efficient price discrimination, which harms consumers; but also intensifies competition, which benefits consumers. The streaming market presents a unique and intriguing case because these bundles often include platforms with distinct ownership. This separate ownership of bundling platforms creates potential inefficiencies, as platforms may “freeride” own their bundling partners’ content investments while reducing their own. In this project, I will develop a structural model and apply data-driven methods to quantify the impact of mixed bundling between independently owned platforms on competition and consumer welfare.…Read More