In an interview with Multichannel News’ Ted Hearn, NCTA President & CEO Kyle McSlarrow offers some thoughts on the past year in telecommunications public policy and offers some thoughts on the incoming Obama administration.

Cover Story: Cable’s Chief Looks Back — And Ahead

As Washington, D.C. prepares for the historic inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama next week, cable has stepped up with a host of events and coverage. Naturally, you’ll get wall-to-wall coverage from such news and public affairs stalwarts as C-SPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN. My colleague Helen Dimsdale offers a look at some coverage from other cable networks.

BET Networks has stepped out in style, hosting several private events in D.C. and offering televised coverage on this historic inauguration.  BET Networks kicks-off the festivities on Saturday with The BET Honors at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.  The BET Honors will be hosted by actress Gabrielle Union and will honor the accomplishments of Tyler Perry, May J. Blige, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, B. Smith, Judith Jamison and Congressman James E. Clyburn.  You’ll have a front row seat at the Honors with special performances by Queen Latifah, Ne-Yo, Anthony Hamilton, Anita Baker, Monica, Joss Stone, Yolanda Adams, and the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater.  The show will premiere on BET on Monday, 2/9 at 9:00 p.m. (ET).

On Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. (ET) Nick Cannon will host Yes We Will: The BET Inauguration Celebration, a one-hour special commemorating this historic day along with performances by Chicago’s own Common and Grammy Award-nominated Jazmine Sullivan.  Other celebs in-town to participate include:  Terrence Howard, Samuel L. Jackson, and Hill Harper.  Viewers will also see live shots from the Mandarin Oriental hotel of BET’s Inaugural Ball.  Their first-ever Inaugural Ball will be held in partnership with America’s Promise Alliance, the nation’s largest non-profit alliance dedicated to the well-being of children and youth,  founded by General Colin and Alma Powell, with a special performance by Wyclef Jean.  BET news will provide in-depth coverage of the Inauguration Swearing-In Ceremony and Parade. You can find more BET Inauguration Day coverage here.

MTV and ServiceNation present Be the Change Inauguration Ball at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Tuesday.  MTV will carry live coverage and feature additional artists and political commentary.  All coverage will be streamed at www.mtv.com.

On Monday night, Disney Channel will undoubtedly brighten the hearts of Sasha and Malia, as well as other young people, with Kids Inaugural: We Are the Future, a concert special hosted by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, and featuring performances from Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato, among others.

HBO presents We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial with President-Elect Barack Obama and such guests as Jack Black, Steve Carell, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Foxx, Tom Hanks, Martin Luther King, III, Queen Latifah, Laura Linney, Denzel Washington and more.  Special performances by Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Jon Bon Jovi, Garth Brooks, Sheryl Crow, Renée Fleming, Josh Groban, Herbie Hancock, Heather Headley, Bettye Lavette, John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, John Mellencamp, Pete Seeger, Shakira, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, U2, Usher, will.i.am, and Stevie Wonder.  HBO will air the event live on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (ET) / 11:30 a.m. (PT) with an encore play at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT) and 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT)  For those who don’t subscribe to HBO, you can watch it at www.HBO.com.  Comcast is offering its digital cable customers free access to the Opening Ceremony regardless of whether you subscribe to HBO.

Speaking of Comcast, Comcast Central’s interactive news channel will showcase five windows of rotating, live feeds from the major national cable news networks – CNBC, CNN, CNN Headline News, C-SPAN, FOX News and MSNBC – simultaneously in one place. A sixth window will highlight previous Obama speeches and link viewers to the “Barack Obama” On Demand folder.

On Demand provides a convenient place for the whole family to watch some of the President-elect’s major speeches and at the same time learn more about the White House and its newest residents. On Demand programming includes:

• Barack Obama’s inaugural address
• Barack Obama’s most famous speeches to date – from his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 through his election night victory speech in Grant Park
• Barack Obama biography
• Michelle Obama’s 2008 Democratic National Convention speech
• A tour of the White House
• The history of Air Force One

If you can’t make it to D.C. next Tuesday, cable television will help you catch every moment of the festivities.

There is a news story in B&C today on a letter we just sent to the Obama transition team: DTV Transition Call Center Would be Ready by Feb. 17, says NCTA.

As the story notes:

[President-elect Barack Obama's] transition team met with industry and government stakeholders in Washington last month to get a status report on the transition, and concluded more needed to be done to make sure viewers predicted millions of calls about the transition could be answered in a timely fashion.

So, we’ve responded with this letter, which I have now posted to NCTA’s website. It’s addressed to Tom Wheeler, who headed NCTA from 1976-84 and is currently the Transition Agency Group Leader for Obama’s Presidential Transition Team. The letter reports that efforts to provide a national, coordinated DTV transition call center would be ready by February 17, the current date for the transition to take place.

The plan calls for the use of up to 7,000 live operators during a period leading up to and for several weeks after Feb. 17, efforts that would require expenditures of approximately $20 million of out-of-pocket costs, most of it expended by the cable industry, and would include contracting third-party capacity, integrating and purchasing trunk line capacity, the hiring of English and Spanish speaking live agents, training, and the development of scripts.

These efforts will be ready to go if the current transition date of Feb. 17 stays in place; but have been engineered with the flexibility to change if the transition date is extended (as is being discussed by some).

While Michael Turk and I were poking around the floor at CES, the cable networks were presenting at the Winter Television Critics Association Tour. Our NCTA colleague Helen Dimsdale files this report.

Cable just concluded two-and-a-half days at the semi-annual TCA Critics Tours staged at the Universal City Hilton Hotel in L.A. (January 8-10).   More than 13 cable networks previewed their upcoming new or returning series along with films and other programming announcements.

Cable networks are embracing green screen productions and several networks shared features currently in the CG production pipeline.  First up, Starz is working on an action drama series Spartacus, slated to premiere summer 2009.  Spartacus is the story, similar in tone to Gladiator, of a slave who became a hero rising to legendary status when he found a conscience and took on the Roman Empire.  Spartacus utilizes the latest green screen technology, computer generated images (CGI).  Thanks to advances, digital intermediate process allows production to reshape images and colors.  Unlike the monochromatic coloring of Sin City or the unrealistic body image distortions depicted in 300, CGI enhancements will take the viewer to the next level.  CGI is good news for the viewer and provides significant cost savings to the programmer. [Editorial note: Spartacus is an actual figure from Roman history, although little is known of him. Howard Fast's 1951 historical novel was turned into the 1960 film starring Kirk Douglas and directed by Stanley Kubrick.]

Current TV had an impressive line-up of new and returning content.  The satirical series InfoMania returns.  This news-format show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload courtesy of today’s media.  InfoMania airs on Current TV every Thursday at 10:00 p.m. (EST) and on-line at the conclusion of each show.  On a serious note, Current TV re-ups Vanguard, a 60 Minutes style documentary program with journalists identifying underreported issues and stories, nationally and internationally.  This show is not for the faint-of-heart, but for viewers who crave factual and honest news from around the Globe.  Vanguard is a weekly feature series.

Another tech-savvy executive, Jeffrey Katzenberg from DreamWorks Animation, has teamed up with Nickelodeon to produce an animated comedy series spin-off Penguins of Madagascar, scheduled to premiere in March 2009.  Using new CGI animation, Penguins of Madagascar picks-up where the hit feature Madagascar:  Escape 2 Africa left off.  The feature will be produced at Nickelodeon Animation Studio.

TLC introduced a new reality series NASCAR Wives, which follows the most popular sport in the US.  Audiences will get an inside glimpse on the families and friends that participate in this weekly sporting event.  Unlike the The Real Housewives of Orange County, this show will share the spouses’ challenges as they balance superstar husbands, raising a family and their own careers.

HBO has a new comedy series, Eastbound & Down premiering February 15.  From executive producers Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, Eastbound & Down stars Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) as Kenny Powers, a star pitcher whose self-destructive behavior knocks him out of major league baseball and back home to North Carolina teaching Phys Ed at the middle school he formerly attended.

Comedy Central had plenty of high-jinks with Jon Stewart’s announcement of Important Things with Demetri Martin. A stream-of-consciousness sketch and variety show from comedian Demetri Martin (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), scheduled to air February 25 on Comedy Central.  Another comedic series introduced by Comedy Central was Krod Mandoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire.  An outrageous live-action, character-driven show set in an ancient fantasy realm, the series follows reluctant hero Krod Mandoon (Sean Maguire), a thin-skinned and under-confident freedom fighter, who is the last great hope in the struggle against the evil ruler Chancellor Dongalor (Matt Lucas).  From saving the world to bad hair days, the series premieres April 15.