Undergraduate Courses
EMT undergraduate courses cover the disciplines of marketing, management, information systems, finance, accounting, law, and international business as they relate to the EMT industries. They are designed so that students interested in these industries will understand their impact on the economy, the changing nature of jobs, international opportunities, and businesses that have been redefined to serve these new transnational entertainment and media conglomerates.
All students interested in the EMT concentration must take MKTG-UB.0040: Entertainment and Media Industries.
For a listing of undergraduate EMT courses offered in recent years, please click here.
All students interested in the EMT concentration must take MKTG-UB.0040: Entertainment and Media Industries.
For a listing of undergraduate EMT courses offered in recent years, please click here.
Undergraduate EMT Courses
Managing Creative Content Development
MKTG-UB.0004 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course will provide students with an opportunity to learn in great detail about the individual and collaborative services provided by professional managers both inside and outside the EMT companies. It develops a system by which to evaluate the quality of the service provided, the nature of the service and how these services are being implemented through collaboration with industry creative and business executives. Through discussions with and lectures by entertainment and media lawyers, accountants, talent and literary agents, studio executives, producers, publicity and advertising specialists, the student will understand the diversity of talents required to complete a project or product successfully.
Business of Film
MKTG-UB.0020 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course is designed to give business and film students a basic understanding of how the production of feature, cable, and broadcast television films and series are financed. It will explore the players who invest in production, why they are investing, and how these transactions are accomplished. Furthermore, the basic elements of these transactions will be covered: copyright exploitation, distribution, and the flow of funds. There will be an examination of "real world" transactions involving bank financing of feature films, distributor and producer co-productions and co-financings, cable television financings, and the funding of series for broadcast television. The course will also include a case study of producing in Canada.
Business of Publishing
MKTG-UB.0019 (2 credits)
Spring
This course is structured to provide students working knowledge of the publishing industry ‐ Newspapers, Magazines and Books. We will explore traditional business models and how disruptive forces including digitalization, consumer generated content, low barriers to entry and changing media consumption patterns are reshaping the industry. At the end of the course one should be able to 1. Understand the operations of media companies, 2. Speak to the opportunities and challenges facing the industry, 3. Engage in discussions on the economics, terms and metrics, 4. Explain emerging business models.
Movie Marketing
MKTG-UB.0022 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course is designed to give students a basic understanding of the key business issues relating to producing, distributing, marketing, and exploiting feature films. The course examines key aspects of the movie business, including: managing a creative enterprise, deal making, acquiring rights, building a library, branding, and all aspects of effective marketing. There is a group project presentation as well as a final exam.
Arts Marketing
MKTG-UB.0024 (2 credits)
Fall
The arts category is rife with change. This presents enormous challenges for artists, producers, venue managers and marketers. In addition, the practice of marketing is changing just as quickly if not more so. Strategy and tactics are at more of a premium than ever. Marketers in arts related businesses must find a way to flourish in this new world, by working smarter, faster, and with great ingenuity.
Technology’s Impact on Media and Entertainment
MKTG-UB.0023 (2 credits)
Spring
Throughout the value chain, from content creation, to distribution and consumption, technology has changed the way consumers view and use entertainment. It has dramatically altered the entertainment landscape, with more changes on the way. Advertising is another industry that touches all of us, hundreds of times a day. It too is beginning to feel significant impact from changes in technology, brought on by audience fragmentation, interactivity and VOD technology. This course will provide a brief introduction to each of these industries and examine the impact that technology has had on them, including a realistic assessment of possibilities for the future.
The Business of Broadway
MKTG-UB.0025 (2 credits)
Spring
This is a specialty marketing course designed to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of Broadway and live theater, as an important business enterprise within the entertainment industry. The focus is on understanding the development and application of the economics, finance, structure, implementation and staging of performances, as well as the marketing strategies and tactics for gaining audience awareness and decision to purchase. The course will examine funding, marketing, branding, product positioning and the global distribution of live theatrical entertainment. The course will cover the history, venues, vocabulary, players, business and creative structures, budget development, supplementary revenue streams, successes and failures, relationship with the movie and music industries, the important figures and support systems that make the system work, global reach, and other topics. The course will also explore licensing, sponsorships and promotion, deal structures, touring and the Road. Lecture, discussions, site visits, and project work will be included.
Entertainment and Media Industries
MKTG-UB.0040 (2 credits)
Fall, Spring and Summer
This course provides students with a framework for understanding the economics and key strategic issues facing organizations in the entertainment industry. It establishes a basis for the formulation of marketing tactics and strategies for firms competing for consumers' discretionary spending. Recent developments in major sectors of the entertainment industry are covered, including movies, television and cable, theatre, and sports. Issues that cut across all types of entertainment industries are examined, including licensing, promotion, and new technologies.
Deal Making in the Entertainment Industry
MKTG-UB.0043 (2 credits)
Spring
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the deal-making and business affairs process in the entertainment space, using film and television content as the primary example for what goes into cutting a deal. The course will explore the deal process from the perspective of the different players in entertainment and media, focusing on how each player looks to maximize value. Students will learn the process of striking a deal, from its inception, to the term sheet phase, to the negotiation process and contractual agreements, through to deal implementation. The process will be evaluated in the context of the factors that play into reaching an agreement, such as exclusivity, windowing, multi-platform rights and timing. Students will learn about negotiations strategies for maximizing value in content deals, identifying common issues in the deal process and effective paths to reaching resolution and striking a deal.
Television Management: Network, Cable and Satellite
MKTG-UB.0044 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course covers the television industry focusing on network television, cable, and satellite. It primarily surveys the American market and investigates new technology including digitization and HDTV, while providing some comparison with the international broadcast market. Students explore the organization, programming, and revenue strategies, as well as marketing innovations and competition in the newly configured broadcast landscape. Important legislation including the Telecommunications Act of 1996 are studied. The recent volume of mergers and acquisitions in the broadcast industry are examined for their impact on the domestic entertainment landscape.
Social Media Strategy
MKTG-UB.0045 (2 credits)
Spring
The course will cover marketing, advertising and communications strategies in the new media landscape where traditional media (e.g., television, print) and the online social media (i.e., Web 2.0; e.g., online social networks, user-generated content, blogs, forums) co-exist. Students will be expected to have knowledge about the fundamentals of traditional advertising methods and strategies. With this background knowledge, the primary focus of this course will be on understanding social media, how to build social media marketing strategies, and how to track their effectiveness. This course will not look at more tactical aspects of advertising/communications such as creative, message management, and publicity. This will first and foremost be a marketing strategy course.
Globalization of the Entertainment Industry
MKTG-UB.0046 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course provides a framework for understanding the global expansion of media and entertainment companies. It looks into the impact on the U.S. economy due to the significant export growth of American leisure products and services. Students analyze several leading entertainment and media multinational companies, and examine the development of their businesses within the major world economic zones.
Sports Marketing
MKTG-UB.0047 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course provides an overview of sports marketing as a component of a fully integrated marketing communication strategy. Students study the history and contemporary application of sports marketing as a method to achieve goals. The curriculum addresses corporate as well as sporting property use of sports marketing strategies to achieve business objectives. The course will examine strategies that address critical business constituencies, consumers, trade factors, employees, and the financial community. Also covered are sports marketing within the context of: special sporting event sponsorships, professional sports teams as well as governing organizations, sports media (broadcast, print as well as Internet), licensing, hospitality etc.
The Business of Producing
MKTG-UB.0049 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This is a specialized EMT course designed to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of producing (as a business profession), creating a finished creative product in the entertainment and media industries, developing a business model, and generating an income stream to repay and provide investors with a profit. The course explores script selection, finance, budgeting, timetable development, team building, talent selection, sales, contract and union negotiation, regulations, technology and other relevant core competencies.
The Craft and Commerce of Cinema: Tribeca Film Festival
MKTG-UB.0051 (2 credits)
Spring
This is a specialized EMT course, designed in coordination with the Tribeca Film Festival Board, to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of the global film industry including the complete film production process from crafting the idea for a script, hiring or becoming a producer, financing the project, selling it to a studio or independent production company, building a team, production elements, post production including music acquisition, and the selling or distribution to a global marketplace. The course will include learning about distribution and exhibition, marketing and building audience awareness, research applications, international licensing, and preparation for careers in the industry. We will be invited to attend and fully participate in the panels offered during the two week period of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Digital Business Strategy
MKTG-UB.0056 (3 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course will cover the digital technology (e.g. consumer electronics, software) industry from a strategic and marketing perspective. The objectives will be to understand how these industries function, the unique challenges they face, and how technology companies can leverage their strengths to achieve success in the marketplace. The focus will be on understanding the interactions between competition, technology evolution, and firm capabilities.
Business of Video Games
MKTG-UB.0058 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This lecture series aims to provide insight into the video games industry by making obvious how business practices shape and evolve the development, distribution and consumption of interactive entertainment. The goal of this course is to give business professionals active in this market a better understanding of the overall ecosystem, its trends, drivers of change and key industry players.
Financial Analysis in Entertainment, Media & Technology
FINC-UB.0068 (2 credits)
Fall
This course is designed for students who intend to pursue careers across the investment banking industry as well as those exploring careers in marketing, corporate strategy and management. Students will analyze recent and ongoing transactions to make the material topical and relevant.
This course provides analytical tools that reinforce and build upon concepts learned in introductory corporate finance by applying them to recent and ongoing transactions in entertainment, media and technology (EMT) companies. Areas covered include equity and debt analysis, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development. While the core of the course is corporate finance, the issues encompass strategy, marketing, and economics aspects.
Students will learn the unique characteristics of EMT companies/sectors while building on fundamental analytical skills and learn how EMT company management, shareholders and debt holders analyze the merits and risks of an investment, valuation and capital structure to create value across different market conditions. Students will also hear from five guest lecturers to gain unique insights.
Leisure Marketing
MKTG-UB.0080 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This is a specialty marketing course designed to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of marketing several leading sectors within the leisure industry. The focus is on understanding the development and application of marketing strategies and tactics for leisure companies competing for a share of the consumer's discretionary spending. The course will cover recent activities including mergers, acquisitions in those key sectors of the leisure industry: casinos, cruise ships, theme parks, eco-tourism, themed restaurants, resorts, leisure hotels, time shares. The course will explore marketing techniques that apply across the leisure companies, including licensing, sponsorships, line extensions and promotion. Discussion of evolution, and current status in these sectors through lectures, case studies, text and article readings and project work will be included.
MKTG-UB.0004 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course will provide students with an opportunity to learn in great detail about the individual and collaborative services provided by professional managers both inside and outside the EMT companies. It develops a system by which to evaluate the quality of the service provided, the nature of the service and how these services are being implemented through collaboration with industry creative and business executives. Through discussions with and lectures by entertainment and media lawyers, accountants, talent and literary agents, studio executives, producers, publicity and advertising specialists, the student will understand the diversity of talents required to complete a project or product successfully.
Business of Film
MKTG-UB.0020 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course is designed to give business and film students a basic understanding of how the production of feature, cable, and broadcast television films and series are financed. It will explore the players who invest in production, why they are investing, and how these transactions are accomplished. Furthermore, the basic elements of these transactions will be covered: copyright exploitation, distribution, and the flow of funds. There will be an examination of "real world" transactions involving bank financing of feature films, distributor and producer co-productions and co-financings, cable television financings, and the funding of series for broadcast television. The course will also include a case study of producing in Canada.
Business of Publishing
MKTG-UB.0019 (2 credits)
Spring
This course is structured to provide students working knowledge of the publishing industry ‐ Newspapers, Magazines and Books. We will explore traditional business models and how disruptive forces including digitalization, consumer generated content, low barriers to entry and changing media consumption patterns are reshaping the industry. At the end of the course one should be able to 1. Understand the operations of media companies, 2. Speak to the opportunities and challenges facing the industry, 3. Engage in discussions on the economics, terms and metrics, 4. Explain emerging business models.
Movie Marketing
MKTG-UB.0022 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course is designed to give students a basic understanding of the key business issues relating to producing, distributing, marketing, and exploiting feature films. The course examines key aspects of the movie business, including: managing a creative enterprise, deal making, acquiring rights, building a library, branding, and all aspects of effective marketing. There is a group project presentation as well as a final exam.
Arts Marketing
MKTG-UB.0024 (2 credits)
Fall
The arts category is rife with change. This presents enormous challenges for artists, producers, venue managers and marketers. In addition, the practice of marketing is changing just as quickly if not more so. Strategy and tactics are at more of a premium than ever. Marketers in arts related businesses must find a way to flourish in this new world, by working smarter, faster, and with great ingenuity.
Technology’s Impact on Media and Entertainment
MKTG-UB.0023 (2 credits)
Spring
Throughout the value chain, from content creation, to distribution and consumption, technology has changed the way consumers view and use entertainment. It has dramatically altered the entertainment landscape, with more changes on the way. Advertising is another industry that touches all of us, hundreds of times a day. It too is beginning to feel significant impact from changes in technology, brought on by audience fragmentation, interactivity and VOD technology. This course will provide a brief introduction to each of these industries and examine the impact that technology has had on them, including a realistic assessment of possibilities for the future.
The Business of Broadway
MKTG-UB.0025 (2 credits)
Spring
This is a specialty marketing course designed to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of Broadway and live theater, as an important business enterprise within the entertainment industry. The focus is on understanding the development and application of the economics, finance, structure, implementation and staging of performances, as well as the marketing strategies and tactics for gaining audience awareness and decision to purchase. The course will examine funding, marketing, branding, product positioning and the global distribution of live theatrical entertainment. The course will cover the history, venues, vocabulary, players, business and creative structures, budget development, supplementary revenue streams, successes and failures, relationship with the movie and music industries, the important figures and support systems that make the system work, global reach, and other topics. The course will also explore licensing, sponsorships and promotion, deal structures, touring and the Road. Lecture, discussions, site visits, and project work will be included.
Entertainment and Media Industries
MKTG-UB.0040 (2 credits)
Fall, Spring and Summer
This course provides students with a framework for understanding the economics and key strategic issues facing organizations in the entertainment industry. It establishes a basis for the formulation of marketing tactics and strategies for firms competing for consumers' discretionary spending. Recent developments in major sectors of the entertainment industry are covered, including movies, television and cable, theatre, and sports. Issues that cut across all types of entertainment industries are examined, including licensing, promotion, and new technologies.
Deal Making in the Entertainment Industry
MKTG-UB.0043 (2 credits)
Spring
This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the deal-making and business affairs process in the entertainment space, using film and television content as the primary example for what goes into cutting a deal. The course will explore the deal process from the perspective of the different players in entertainment and media, focusing on how each player looks to maximize value. Students will learn the process of striking a deal, from its inception, to the term sheet phase, to the negotiation process and contractual agreements, through to deal implementation. The process will be evaluated in the context of the factors that play into reaching an agreement, such as exclusivity, windowing, multi-platform rights and timing. Students will learn about negotiations strategies for maximizing value in content deals, identifying common issues in the deal process and effective paths to reaching resolution and striking a deal.
Television Management: Network, Cable and Satellite
MKTG-UB.0044 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course covers the television industry focusing on network television, cable, and satellite. It primarily surveys the American market and investigates new technology including digitization and HDTV, while providing some comparison with the international broadcast market. Students explore the organization, programming, and revenue strategies, as well as marketing innovations and competition in the newly configured broadcast landscape. Important legislation including the Telecommunications Act of 1996 are studied. The recent volume of mergers and acquisitions in the broadcast industry are examined for their impact on the domestic entertainment landscape.
Social Media Strategy
MKTG-UB.0045 (2 credits)
Spring
The course will cover marketing, advertising and communications strategies in the new media landscape where traditional media (e.g., television, print) and the online social media (i.e., Web 2.0; e.g., online social networks, user-generated content, blogs, forums) co-exist. Students will be expected to have knowledge about the fundamentals of traditional advertising methods and strategies. With this background knowledge, the primary focus of this course will be on understanding social media, how to build social media marketing strategies, and how to track their effectiveness. This course will not look at more tactical aspects of advertising/communications such as creative, message management, and publicity. This will first and foremost be a marketing strategy course.
Globalization of the Entertainment Industry
MKTG-UB.0046 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course provides a framework for understanding the global expansion of media and entertainment companies. It looks into the impact on the U.S. economy due to the significant export growth of American leisure products and services. Students analyze several leading entertainment and media multinational companies, and examine the development of their businesses within the major world economic zones.
Sports Marketing
MKTG-UB.0047 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course provides an overview of sports marketing as a component of a fully integrated marketing communication strategy. Students study the history and contemporary application of sports marketing as a method to achieve goals. The curriculum addresses corporate as well as sporting property use of sports marketing strategies to achieve business objectives. The course will examine strategies that address critical business constituencies, consumers, trade factors, employees, and the financial community. Also covered are sports marketing within the context of: special sporting event sponsorships, professional sports teams as well as governing organizations, sports media (broadcast, print as well as Internet), licensing, hospitality etc.
The Business of Producing
MKTG-UB.0049 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This is a specialized EMT course designed to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of producing (as a business profession), creating a finished creative product in the entertainment and media industries, developing a business model, and generating an income stream to repay and provide investors with a profit. The course explores script selection, finance, budgeting, timetable development, team building, talent selection, sales, contract and union negotiation, regulations, technology and other relevant core competencies.
The Craft and Commerce of Cinema: Tribeca Film Festival
MKTG-UB.0051 (2 credits)
Spring
This is a specialized EMT course, designed in coordination with the Tribeca Film Festival Board, to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of the global film industry including the complete film production process from crafting the idea for a script, hiring or becoming a producer, financing the project, selling it to a studio or independent production company, building a team, production elements, post production including music acquisition, and the selling or distribution to a global marketplace. The course will include learning about distribution and exhibition, marketing and building audience awareness, research applications, international licensing, and preparation for careers in the industry. We will be invited to attend and fully participate in the panels offered during the two week period of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Digital Business Strategy
MKTG-UB.0056 (3 credits)
Fall and Spring
This course will cover the digital technology (e.g. consumer electronics, software) industry from a strategic and marketing perspective. The objectives will be to understand how these industries function, the unique challenges they face, and how technology companies can leverage their strengths to achieve success in the marketplace. The focus will be on understanding the interactions between competition, technology evolution, and firm capabilities.
Business of Video Games
MKTG-UB.0058 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This lecture series aims to provide insight into the video games industry by making obvious how business practices shape and evolve the development, distribution and consumption of interactive entertainment. The goal of this course is to give business professionals active in this market a better understanding of the overall ecosystem, its trends, drivers of change and key industry players.
Financial Analysis in Entertainment, Media & Technology
FINC-UB.0068 (2 credits)
Fall
This course is designed for students who intend to pursue careers across the investment banking industry as well as those exploring careers in marketing, corporate strategy and management. Students will analyze recent and ongoing transactions to make the material topical and relevant.
This course provides analytical tools that reinforce and build upon concepts learned in introductory corporate finance by applying them to recent and ongoing transactions in entertainment, media and technology (EMT) companies. Areas covered include equity and debt analysis, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development. While the core of the course is corporate finance, the issues encompass strategy, marketing, and economics aspects.
Students will learn the unique characteristics of EMT companies/sectors while building on fundamental analytical skills and learn how EMT company management, shareholders and debt holders analyze the merits and risks of an investment, valuation and capital structure to create value across different market conditions. Students will also hear from five guest lecturers to gain unique insights.
Leisure Marketing
MKTG-UB.0080 (2 credits)
Fall and Spring
This is a specialty marketing course designed to provide students with a framework for understanding the dynamics of marketing several leading sectors within the leisure industry. The focus is on understanding the development and application of marketing strategies and tactics for leisure companies competing for a share of the consumer's discretionary spending. The course will cover recent activities including mergers, acquisitions in those key sectors of the leisure industry: casinos, cruise ships, theme parks, eco-tourism, themed restaurants, resorts, leisure hotels, time shares. The course will explore marketing techniques that apply across the leisure companies, including licensing, sponsorships, line extensions and promotion. Discussion of evolution, and current status in these sectors through lectures, case studies, text and article readings and project work will be included.