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• Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2019

  Roger Federer's TEAM8: Launching the Laver Cup

  Anita Elberse

  Roger Federer, widely regarded as the best tennis player in the history of the sport, walked onto the court to thunderous applause during in the second edition of the Laver Cup in September 2018. Named after tennis legend Rod Laver, the Cup pitted many of the greatest players from Europe against those from the rest of the world. Federer was more than one of the Laver Cup’s main stars—he was an owner and co-creator. In fact, the idea for the event had originated in his boutique company TEAM8, which he co-founded in 2013 with his agent and business partner Tony Godsick. The Laver Cup’s success had not gone unnoticed in the world of tennis. With traditional tennis tournaments such as the Davis Cup attracting new investors and with governing bodies such as the Association of Tennis Professionals planning to relaunch their team event, the competition for top players and for desirable slots on an already very full tennis calendar was stronger than ever before. Was TEAM8’s Laver Cup well positioned for long-term success?

  Keywords: superstars; tennis; tournaments; Entrepreneurship; Sports; Competitive Strategy; Value Creation; Sports Industry;

  Citation:

  Elberse, Anita. "Roger Federer's TEAM8: Launching the Laver Cup." Harvard Business School Case 519-093, June 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | July 2016 (Revised June 2019)

  Hamilton: An American Musical

  Anita Elberse and Jennifer Schoppe

  In July 2013, composer, writer, actor and rapper Lin-Manuel Miranda, director Tommy Kail, and producer Jeffrey Seller met to discuss how to launch Hamilton, a new musical based on the life of the first Treasury Secretary of the United States, Alexander Hamilton. With a hip-hop score and an ethnically diverse cast that looked nothing like their historical counterparts, Hamilton was an unlikely candidate for success on Broadway. The trio needed to decide which of two popular routes was best to bring their new musical to Broadway: either take the production straight to Broadway in a 'cold open,' or strike an 'enhancement deal' with a non-profit theater so the musical could be tested before mounting a more expensive Broadway run. Could a hip-hop musical about a largely forgotten Founding Father be a Broadway blockbuster? And if so, what was the right next step in bringing Hamilton closer toward that goal?

  Keywords: entertainment; Creative Industries; performing arts; (general) management; blockbusters; non-profit; Theater Entertainment; Strategy; Risk Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Arts; Creativity; Product Launch; Product Development; Marketing; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Elberse, Anita, and Jennifer Schoppe. "Hamilton: An American Musical." Harvard Business School Case 517-015, July 2016. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2014 (Revised June 2019)

  MRC's House of Cards

  Anita Elberse

  In March 2011, Asif Satchu and Modi Wiczyk, co-chairmen and co-chief executive officers at independent production company Media Rights Capital (MRC), are debating whether to accept a licensing offer from Netflix for their most ambitious project to date, a new television series called House of Cards. MRC executives had begun to pitch the series to each of the major premium cable networks in the US, including AMC, FX, HBO, Showtime, and Starz. To the surprise of the two entrepreneurs, Netflix executives had made it known they were prepared to make a bold step into the world of original programming. As thrilled as Satchu and Wiczyk were about Netflix's offer, accepting it—and thus forgoing a sought-after one-season offer from a traditional premium cable network—raised major concerns, for instance about MRC's ability to secure international rights fees, to obtain sufficient marketing support, to gain the necessary credibility in the marketplace, and to satisfy artists and other key constituents. Was Netflix the right partner for MRC?

  Keywords: television; house of cards; asif satchu; modi wiczyk; Netflix; media rights capital; Technology; Change Management; Marketing; Television Entertainment; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry;

  Citation:

  Elberse, Anita. "MRC's House of Cards." Harvard Business School Case 515-003, August 2014. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details

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