Cable Programming

If the first rule of real-estate is “location,” the second must be “must actually exist.” But ignoring that second rule, here’s a list of fictional cable towns we’d seriously consider if we were moving.

Somewhere between discussing public policy and evaluating technology deployment strategies, we try to step back and realize the final product of our work is supporting some of the best television programming ever made.

This week’s #broaddata is a look at how consistent the rise in cable viewership has been over the last 17 years. And while there are many reasons for this rise (quality content, diverse programming, engaging platform), the result of this rise has been the oft referred to “Golden Age of Television.” With an average 24.3 million viewers (and growing) watching cable programs each day, content creators are more confident that the risk in making shows like The Walking Dead, The Americans, and Game of Thrones will pay off.

The smell of the grass, the crack of the bat, and an almost unbelievable number of baseballs. Let’s kick off the 2013 season with this week’s #broaddata showing off some pretty staggering stats on how many balls we’ll see go smoking over the plate.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! March Madness is arguably the single most fan-centric, participatory, interactive, and multiple-screen-encouraging sports event out there. Through a partnership between CBS and Turner’s TNT, TBS, and TruTV, fans have access to all 67 games of NCAA March Madness 2013.

Starting on March 25th and ending seven glorious days later on March 31st, I may try to watch more consecutive hours of television than most people watch in a month.

On February 18th USA Today published an article written by Michael Wolff called “Cable is Taking the Fast Train to Oblivion.” The article forecasts a future of the cable TV industry that almost directly opposes reality.

Of the eleven awards given to television last night at the 70th annual Golden Globes, ten were given to cable shows. Taking most of the awards were premium channels, with Showtime’s Homeland taking three awards, HBO’s Girls with two, and HBO’s TV Movie Game Change with three.

Some of the best stuff we’ve seen at CES has been the tech that works with all types of content, with all manner of IP devices, and with an eye towards integration and collaboration.

Professor Steven Wildman, Michigan State University Professor of Information Studies, has been named as the FCC’s newest Chief Economist. In December Wildman spoke at NCTA Connects, a new event series at NCTA which hosts national thought leaders discussing issues that are impacting the media and communications industries.

Here at NCTA, we’ve been spending a lot of time lately discussing usage based pricing, or UBP. There’s a fair amount of confusion out there as to what UBP really is, how it would affect broadband service, and what it would do to the average American’s household budget.

For those who missed last Friday’s NCTA Connects, here’s a full video of the event. The discussion, titled The Evolving Internet: Patterns in Usage and Pricing, was a deep dive into how consumer broadband usage is changing and how Internet Service Providers must evolve with the needs of their customers.

NCTA President and CEO Michael Powell visited Fox Business this morning. While there he discussed online security and the importance of understanding the constantly evolving technology around us.

There is much talk today about a new law called the CALM Act – or the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act. There are a few media stories about it, including the Los Angeles Times, NPR and CNN, and a press rerelease from Rep.

On Saturday, NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell was on C-SPAN’s  The Communicators discussing sports broadcasting, political ads, and how social media might impact the future of TV.