Boston Mayor Menino Can't Make Cable Show

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino won't be attending the National Cable & Telecommunications Association convention in his city later this month, according to a spokesman for the mayor's cable office.

"Mayor Menino isn't available to participate in the Cable Show, which was conveyed to NCTA and Comcast upon receiving an invite," said Mike Lynch.

Menino has been hammering Comcast over its rates, successfully getting the FCC to recertify the city to regulate the MSO's basic rates there. He also weighed in against granting Comcast and other cable operators' deal to sell wireless spectrum to Verizon.

But according to Lynch it was a conflict in schedules, not over cable rates or wireless spectrum transactions, that will keep him away. "Apparently, the timing conflicts with a longstanding commitment to an economic development conference he's actively participating in," said Lynch..

Menino had told B&C/Multichannel News that he had planned to personally greet cable ops heading to Boston for the NCTA Show May 21-23.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.