STREAMING MEDIA ANTITRUST EXPERT WITNESS CONSULTANTS: TESTIFYING, REPORTS, ETC.

A top streaming media antitrust expert witness would note how video services like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, HBO Max and others have dramatically reshaped entertainment and media landscapes. And of course you’d also see top law firm streaming media antitrust expert witness picks touching on audio providers like Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud, iHeartRadio, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, etc. as well. In effect, as cloud providers have gained audiences and market power, they have also attracted increasing interest from regulators. Let’s think about what’s coming across judges’ and juries’ dockets to get a better understanding of the work pros do.

1. Mapping the business market – Thinking about potential substitutability between streaming, traditional TV, and home video, as well as whether to separate subscription video-on-demand or audio from ad-supported services.
2. Content acquisition and withholding – A big concern is whether vertically integrated streaming services unlawfully withhold or restrict licensing of must-have programming and films to impair rivals’ ability to assemble competitive content libraries and attract subscribers.
3. Distribution platform policies and foreclosure – You might see streaming media antitrust expert witness pros investigate claims that dominant streaming devices and distribution platforms enforce exclusionary technical requirements, branded app limitations or other policies aimed at disadvantaging rival streaming services’ ability to reach audiences.
4. Pricing strategies and market division – Allegations frequently arise around whether streaming pricing practices like low-price entrants, simulative multi-tier bundles or differential regional pricing constitute predatory tactics aimed at acquiring enduring market power.
5. Data collection advantages and leveraging – With their ability to harvest granular viewer data, there are concerns dominant streamers leverage these datasets as unfair competitive advantages for targeted advertising, viewer retention efforts, or potential expansion into new markets.
6. Merger impacts and serial acquisitions – Streaming media antitrust expert witness consultants scrutinize the potential effects on competition of major media mergers and vertical integration, as well as whether acquisition strategies centered on serially purchasing potential future rivals may substantially lessen future competition.
7. Innovation impacts and quality degradation – Beyond price and output effects, leading advisors evaluate whether any streaming practices imperil incentives for continual investment in quality programming, restrict creative freedoms, or diminish valuable product differentiation over time.

Cloud technology rapid disruption of traditional media business models has upended legacy monopolies while catalyzing new forms of market power. Law firms require the services of streaming media antitrust expert witness authorities to map tectonic shifts through the lenses of media economics and competition policy principles.