Sunday General Sessions Co-Hosted by CTAM and SCTE Plans Unveiled for Eight Session Tracks
Washington, D.C. – Back-to-back general sessions highlighting cable’s new technologies for the home and the challenges facing the industry as it continues the transition to a digital environment, will lead off the educational portion of The National Show, the 53rd Annual Convention & International Exposition of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), May 2-5, 2004, in New Orleans.
Each of the two General Sessions for Sunday, May 2, will benefit from a co-sponsorship by an NCTA-partner industry organization – the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE).
NCTA also announced eight session “tracks” designed to better equip delegates to chart a course through the 43 sessions at the conference. Tracks include consumer technology, finance, management & operations, programming, marketing, public affairs, public policy, and technical papers.
Cable’s Broadband Home
Sunday, May 2 – 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. (CDT)
Building on this year’s special industry exhibit “The Broadband Home,” which will be located on the exhibit floor, this Sunday General Session will focus on how cable’s broadband platform is uniquely equipped to deliver a full range of new products to the home. Participants will share successful strategies for marketing the new services available today to broadband consumers. This General Session is part of CTAM’s Broadband Opportunity Conference, being held in conjunction with The National Show.
Session speakers include:
Speakers:
Maggie Bellville, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Charter Communications
Sean Bratches, Executive Vice President- Affiliate Sales & Marketing, ESPN
Michael Collete, CEO, Ucentric Systems
Patrick Esser, Executive Vice President, Operations, Cox Communications, Inc.
Moderator: Char Beales President & CEO, CTAM
When the Bits Come Marching In: Transition to All Digital
Sunday, May 2 – 3:15 to 4:15 p.m. (CDT)
With the “fully digital” cable system on the horizon, a panel consisting of some of the industry’s technology leaders will discuss what it will take to complete the transition to digital. This Sunday General Session will look at the impact on cable’s infrastructure, solutions for legacy support issues, and competitive and regulatory pressures accelerating the transition.
The session, co-hosted by SCTE, will feature:
Speakers:
Chris Bowick, Senior Vice President Engineering & Chief Technology Officer, Cox Communications, Inc.
David Fellows, Chief Technical Officer, Comcast Cable Communications
Yvette Gordon-Kanouff, Corporate Vice President-Strategic Planning,SeaChange International
Mike LaJoie, Chief Technology Officer, Time Warner Cable
Tony Werner, Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer,
Liberty Media Corporation
Moderator: John Clark ,President & CEO, SCTE
This session also will preview CableNET®, the 10,000-square-foot National Show exhibit by CableLabsâ, featuring technology demonstrations by a wide variety of companies supporting the cable industry.
NCTA Previews Session Tracks
The 43 educational sessions at The National Show have been grouped into eight session tracks, to help show attendees navigate the robust Show schedule. The tracks are as follows:
Consumer Technology: Nine sessions, including the two Sunday General Sessions, will fill this track, looking at topics including broadband content, VOD/SVOD, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), interactive services and WiFi.
Finance: Two finance sessions, both on Tuesday, May 4, will concentrate on issues affecting long-term growth, profitability and shareholder value for the industry’s companies.
Management & Operations: A range of management and operating issues will be tackled in nine sessions focusing on topics such as improving operations, revenue growth, new business opportunities, advertising, and theft of service.
Programming: This track of three sessions will focus on the business of programming, and is highlighted by the Tuesday General Session, featuring the chief executives of several major programming services.
Marketing: Six sessions designed specifically for marketing professionals will focus on a variety of topics, including tactics to improve marketing approaches, multi-ethnic markets, cable in the retail environment, and the deployment and marketing of HDTV.
Public Affairs: The two sessions in this track highlight the industry’s focus on localism through programmer/operator partnerships, and the industry’s initiative, Cable Puts YOU in Control, the comprehensive multi-media campaign to educate consumers about the tools they have to help manage family television viewing.
Public Policy: This slate of five sessions covers issues before Congress and the FCC as well as state and local governments. Also included in this track is a special continuing education credit course under the auspices of the Federal Communications Bar Association.
Technical Papers: Thirty-five of the industry’s top engineering professionals have been selected to present the highlights of their submittals for NCTA Technical Papers, during seven technical sessions focusing on the latest in broadband technology.
Additional, up-to-the-minute information for The National Show is available on its official web site (www.thenationalshow.com) or from the NCTA Department of Industry Affairs (202/775-3669).
NCTA is the principal trade association of the cable television industry in the United States . NCTA represents cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks, as well as equipment suppliers and providers of other services to the cable industry.