Sharing Intelligence at the NCTA Show

We are living in an exhilarating time filled with unlimited possibilities, yet with many uncertainties. Amid this incredible period of change in our industry and in technology, none of us has all the answers.

So all the more, Cable Show '07 is a relevant opportunity to come together from around the world to do four things: 1) to listen to experts from wide-ranging fields for their insight on our world; 2) to exchange perspectives with colleagues in our companies, industry and associations; 3) to continually focus on how we can better serve our mutual customers and consumers; and 4) to celebrate our successes.

Competition is growing in traditional and non-traditional ways and consumer behavior is evolving. Never before has the consumer had more choices for all types of services and content.

The good news is viewing of cable programming on the big screen is increasing, and HD set sales are accelerating.

At the same time, on-demand content is becoming more readily available, whether at home through set-top boxes and broadband, or on-the-go through mobile devices and the Internet.

Experimenting with new ways to deliver content and products and developing mutually-beneficial business models are equally critical.

At the convention, experts from programming to marketing to communications to customer service to engineering will share ideas and techniques. For the first time, the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau (CAB) will integrate its annual sales management conference at The Cable Show. The CAB will demonstrate advanced advertising technologies and dynamic ad insertion applications for cable companies that provide national and local advertisers new ways to reach and interact with consumers. There's great upside in tapping into a piece of the growing $25 billion advertising sales marketplace for programmers and operators.

NCTA and other associations are changing to meet the needs of our industry and our new world. For example, the Association of Cable Communicators (ACC), formerly CTPAA, is broadening its scope to serve all kinds of professional cable communicators in whatever field of the business they happen to be working. We need to spread the word on the value we deliver and to continually build customer loyalty.

While we deliver the message, technology and the content, it is the consumer who is ultimately in control. We must always focus on the consumer and how, together, we can deliver a quality experience for our customers.