Disruptors and Discontented Incumbents: An Antitrust Story Retold

Disruptors in new economy industries typically enter markets that have yet to be delineated. They are the undertakings pushing the industry to change services, products, technology, customs and uses in a way that redefines what has been done until then. Notwithstanding, throughout history it has been observed that incumbents have attempted to prevent this changing landscape. The objective of this document is to shed light on the current competition policy and regulatory discussion by observing the facts, the speed of intervention, and the effects of the entry of Roku into the Mexican market. We conclude that although the interruption is not a new phenomenon, what has changed substantially between the different cases is the speed at which these changes occur and the difficulty in identifying innovations that can substantially change the rules of the game. Therefore, a vision that regulators and competition authorities might want to adopt is the need to protect the dynamic development of the market. As a result, it is necessary that they adapt the current analysis tools and processes, better avoid or stop holders who slow down the development and incursion into the market of new products.

By Alexander Elbittar, Patricio González, Rubén Guerrero, Elisa V. Mariscal & Kiyoshi Tsuru¹

I. INTRODUCTION: ROKU, DISRUPTION AND COMPETITION “FOR” THE MARKET

This short piece aims to shed light on current competition policy and regu