Content Aggregation by Platforms: The Case of the News Media / Lesley Chiou, Catherine Tucker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chiou, Lesley.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Tucker, Catherine.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w21404.

NBER working paper series no. w21404

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Content Aggregation by Platforms

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2015.

Summary:

The digitization of content has led to the emergence of platforms that draw information from multiple sources. Policymakers are concerned that these new platforms threaten incentives for the production of original content. As a result, policymakers are contemplating regulations that would force aggregation platforms to pay or require an explicit "opt-in" for content providers. To understand the possible consequences and underlying rationale of such laws, we explore whether aggregation of content by a single platform encourages users to "skim" content or to investigate in depth. We study a contract dispute that led a major aggregator to remove information from a major content provider. We find that after the removal, users were less likely to investigate additional, related content in depth, particularly sources that were horizontally or vertically differentiated.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2015.