“It could be that the film studios are concerned that they will lose their monopoly position on information about various movies because the futures exchange will publish information which all market participants can then observe and analyze,” says Pagano. “This is the type of information that is currently held privately by the film studios and thus they could be fearful of losing their informational edge to non-Hollywood players.” As debate continues to heat up prior to the CFTC’s decision, Pagano says one concern of the film studios that is correct pertains to market manipulation. “It is crucial that the exchange operator … create a set of trading rules and monitoring systems to ensure the market is a level playing field for all participants,” he says. ”Because if it is perceived to be a rigged market, then retail investors and possibly other market participants can be taken advantage of and this could also be disruptive to the film studios’ operations.”
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2010 Media Report Villanova School of Business