Problem:
Please help with the following problems.
Explain the phenomenon of market foreclosure. Specifically, explain how a vertical merger may "substantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly" by virtue of market foreclosure. Explain how the following mergers might result in market foreclosure:
a. A shoe manufacturer integrates "downstream" by merging /acquiring a shoe retailer (make reference to the Brown Shoe case here).
b. A dominant cable TV distributor (such as Time-Warner or Sudden Link) integrates "upstream" by the merger/acquisition of programmers such as HBO, MTV, or ESPN.