[EDITOR'S NOTE: This week, we're all out in Los Angeles at The Cable Show 2010. Kyle McSlarrow, President & CEO of NCTA, has written the following op-ed piece, which appears in today's edition of the industry publication CableFAX, kicking off the event. I (this is Paul Rodriguez writing) actually attended the '96 conference, then called The National Show, which Kyle references below and the cable industry has indeed changed dramatically since that time. ]

The Cable Show’s return to Los Angeles for the first time since 1996 provides the perfect opportunity to reflect on the tremendous progress our industry has made since our last visit to Southern California. In fact, there may not be an industry in America that has so dramatically transformed itself so quickly.

In 1996, our distribution platform was a one-way analog system. Our platform today provides an interactive communications network that entertains and informs with tremendous award winning content, connects millions to an amazing broadband Internet experience, provides superior and affordable digital phone service and offers a growing array of interactive services that have changed the way we consume media and entertainment.

Our industry’s transformation has benefited consumers, our economy, and America’s global competitiveness. Since 1996, our industry has invested $185 billion to produce the most creative and widest variety of programming that is available; and, $160 billion in massive infrastructure upgrades, maintenance and equipment that can deliver five gigabits per second of data. And, despite a challenging economy, we continue to invest and innovate.

We should probably stop talking about the “convergence” around the corner. It is here now. Cable service is no longer just video, and content is no longer just viewed through the TV. Broadband has become a “must have,” and the Internet economy has exploded. Consumers are in the driver’s seat as they continue to witness more choice, new platforms, and optimization of their personal telecom services.

Words can hardly do justice to the myriad ways that our industry is now an integral part of life for millions of consumers. So, if you are one of the thousands joining us at The Cable Show, experience yourself cable’s impact by visiting the centerpiece of the show’s exhibit floor, My World—Powered by Cable. It’s an inspiring, immersive journey into the new era of anytime, anywhere, anyway-you-want-it content and communication. Modeled after a Hollywood back-lot, My World leads visitors through a virtual world of buildings, neighborhoods and living spaces brought to life through the connective power of our services. It demonstrates the full breadth of our industry’s ability to provide media and communications experiences the way you want it. And throughout the show floor, you’ll find more than 300 exhibitors displaying our industry’s greatest content, services and technologies

Right next to My World, CableNET highlights the latest emerging services, including ultrafast broadband, advanced advertising, interactive television, 3D TV and much more.

We’ve also got a great line-up of general sessions and panels that will tap into some of the most creative minds from our industry, Hollywood and Silicon Valley. And even though we are far from Washington, you’ll find a robust public policy program featuring top officials from the federal government and the Obama Administration.

So, welcome to Los Angeles and your world.

Each year in the spring, NCTA hold its annual conference, The Cable Show. We attract about 12,000 attendees, drawn from various aspects of the cable industry and from related fields.

Since 2006, I have blogged the events of our event, reporting on various session and detailing interesting things on the exhibit floor. This year, in order to augment our coverage, we’ve decided to bring in a fresh perspective, someone from outside, to contribute to our blog coverage.

Here are the parameters:

• The Cable Show runs May 11-13 in Los Angeles. If you’re located in California, that is a plus.
• We’d like someone with some knowledge of broadband technology, since the show will be featuring such things as place-shifted TV services like TV Everywhere, 3-D video, DOCSIS 3.0 and so on.
• You should be a good writer. We would need somebody to cover events and write them up in a timely fashion.

What will you see at the Show? FCC Chairman Julius Genchowski will be addressing the attendees, and we’ve got a number of big names on the General Sessions that we’ll be announcing soon. The My World exhibit will highlight a lot of cutting-edge applications and services. Wednesday, May 12, is the NBC Universal party, held at Universal Studios Hollywood.

This is a paid gig, so we’ll be looking for someone with the skills and moxie to carry it off. If you think you’re right for the job, drop us a line at blogforcable@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

[This has been cross-posted at The Cable Show blog.]

Since this has been a busy week, it seemed like a good time to provide an update on the broadband stimulus implementation process. I’ll refer you back to this earlier video from NCTA President & CEO Kyle McSlarrow and our White Paper; we think a strong broadband infrastructure is a good thing and we think the use of grants to promote broadband is a good thing, but we also think the funds ought to be used efficiently and we think the process ought to be fair & transparent.

On Monday, James Assey, Executive Vice President of NCTA, participated in a Roundtable on Nondiscrimination and Interconnection Obligations.

As part of the stimulus package, funding was included to “establish a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program for awards to eligible entities to develop and expand broadband services to rural and underserved areas and improve access to broadband by public safety agencies.” NTIA and RUS, the agencies that are implementing BTOP, are holding a series of public meetings, and Monday’s event was part of this. In broad terms, “Nondiscrimination and Interconnection Obligations” refers to how networks interact with each other and exchange traffic.

That’s a whole lot of background to set-up the statement that Assey delivered, which can be accessed on our website, along with a summary.

On Tuesday, NCTA Associate General Counsel Steve Morris spoke on a panel at another public meeting. Andrew Feinberg at BroadbandCensus.com provided coverage:

The statutory guidelines provide a good start in determining standards, said Morris. Morris invoked President Obama’s call for a transparent process, and said it be governed by a merit-based system of seven objective measurements to be shared between NTIA and RUS.

Job creation and preservation should be first and foremost among the selection criteria, Morris said. Preference should also be given to those applicants that can complete build-out within the statutory time periods, and that are able to maintain projects afterwards.

Infrastructure should be built out first the “last mile,” Morris said. And programs that target schools, libraries, and other “public interest” institutions should be ranked ahead of those that don’t, he added. Further considerations could be cost per capita and relative expense compared to other forms of communication, he said.

On Wednesday, NCTA responded to a Request for Comments on the FCC Report On Rural Broadband Strategy; those comments can also be found on our website. Essentially, we called for complete interagency communication and coordination; transparency; a set of coherent and clearly defined goals; an update of the FCC’s universal service and pole attachment policies; and an initial focus on extending broadband facilities to unserved areas and underserved populations.

Also this week, Representatives Joe Barton [R, TX-6] and Cliff Stern [R, FL-6] sent a letter to NTIA, RUS and the FCC about the broadband stimulus funds. You should read the letter, but some of the key points are:

• Stimulus funds should go where broadband mapping has been completed
• Funding should go to the unserved over the underserved
• We should stimulate demand rather than supply
• These efforts should be technologically & competitively neutral
• We should fund economically efficient projects

Today, we started trucking equipment over to the Washington Convention Center here in D.C. A crew will start setting up our Broadband Nation exhibit over the weekend (see this previous post).

Broadband Nation is our 20,000-square-foot interactive exhibit at The Cable Show.  This exhibit will demonstrate the many ways in which broadband technology has changed the way Americans live, work and play.  It’s a hands-on opportunity to experience a wide variety of innovative new technology products and services available both now and possibly in the future for the home, school, and office, as well as specialized applications for medical centers, schools, and retail and entertainment outlets, among others. Broadband Nation seeks to capture in tangible ways how broadband has, and will, alter the everyday life of Americans; the exhibit will provide a good rationale for the broadband stimulus funding.

Next week, there will also be a couple sessions at The Cable Show that will focus on this issue.

• Wednesday, April 01, from 3:00 – 4:15 p.m., the session “21st Century Communications Policy: The Role of the States” will feature a conversation with State Public Utility Commissioners examining (like it says in the title) the states’ role in this process.
• Friday, April 03, from 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m., the session “If We Build It, Will They Log On: Barriers to Broadband Adoption and Use” will look at how to drive adoption of broadband applications within the medical, education, safety and environmental/energy sectors.

(cross-posted at The Cable Show Blog) 

Part of the business of cable here at the Show is a discussion of ways to better serve, and better reach, customers.  The Association of Cable Communicators, an organization of communications and public affairs professionals, this morning hosted Publicity Play: Making an Impact in a Fragmented Media Age - a look at how cable operators and programmers are managing their brand, their promotions, and their customer service through blogs, social networks, and other new media.

Peter Kiley from C-Span moderated the panel which included Chelsye Burrows of Starz Entertainment, Ellen East of Time Warner, Annie Howell of the Discovery Channel’s Planet Green, Jennifer Khoury of Comcast, and Ellen Kroner of Rainbow Media. 

After brief introductions of the panelists and their company, the conversation turned to ways the companies are using digital media to do their jobs.  Ellen East shared an effort by Time Warner to have staff travel to the front lines and work customer service.  They blogged about the experience so co-workers could understand the challenges faced by both customers and the front line staff.  The blog proved very popular within the company and helped bring the corporate personnel closer to the people interacting with customers every day.

Jennifer Khoury talked about the Comcast Cares program and their use of Twitter and other platforms to monitor customer complaints wherever they popped up and to be proactive about solving them.

While these efforts help improve customer service, cable operators and programmers are also finding more challenges with new media in the marketing of their products, services and programming.  Chelsye Burrows discussed efforts to promote new Starz programming including Hollywood Residential and Head Case.  Extensive outreach was done with blogs covering TV and promotional content was created for the web to engage online audiences.

Similarly, When launching a new music on demand channel, Time Warner in Austin announced the launch events via Facebook and evite events in addition to traditional marketing channels.  They surveyed attendees and found that 46% came from one of the two online efforts – a huge success.  East expressed her belief that online channels were “the way to reach younger audiences”.

Conversation then turned to a discussion of traditional public relations and media relations, and the challenges presented by new media. 

Comcast’s Khoury believes the web has permanently altered the roll of communications personnel.  The media world has changed., she says.  Digital media is forcing changes in customer service, marketing, communications, reporting, deadlines, etc.  It is often a daunting task, she believes, but suggests “you try to work within the new structure and give people what they need.”

One of the most interesting highlights of the discussion was Annie Howell’s discussion of Planet Green’s new electronic press kit.  Not only has Planet Green stopped creating paper press materials and driven them all online, the press sites are developed using green design standards.  The colors are chosen for their lower wattage consumption and the sites use minimal images to draw less power.

The panel bounced back and forth between corporate branding, identity management and promotion of content with some discussion of the blurring line between corporate communications and marketing, but the predominant theme could be summed up by Bob Dylan – The times they are a-changin’.

Paul and I will be covering the Cable Show in New Orleans for the next few days. We invite you to check back for our coverage of new products, services, and technologies that will be changing the way you work, play and entertain yourself on the cable platform.

If you’re a Twitter user (or a Twit, for short), we’ll be using the hashtag #cs08. Track #cs08 on Twitter and follow the action.

If you’re in New Orleans for the Show, send us a note and let us know. You can also follow @CableShow for our updates throughout.