Chris Blount
05-04-04, 06:45 AM
Robert Sachs, president of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, praised the work that has been accomplished by the wired industry, but he warned those attending NCTA's National Show in New Orleans Monday the business faces challenges, especially with lawmakers and regulators in Washington, D.C.
Sachs spoke about new efforts in Congress for a fundamental restructuring of the way cable and DBS providers sell services to consumers, including calls from lawmakers for a la carte programming options. "As you know, a la carte pricing would have a devastating impact on ad-supported program networks that depend upon wide distribution to generate sufficient revenues to create innovative programming," he told the crowd.
"Fortunately, many others in Congress recognize that consumers have real competitive choices when it comes to multichannel video and understand the dangers and pitfalls of government regulation," he said. "One only has to look back to the mid 1990's when government regulation stymied programming investment."
Nonetheless, Sachs said the cable industry must be sensitive to concerns about price. "And we have to do a better job of educating consumers – and policy makers – about the ever-increasing choices that cable offers," he said.
As for competition, Sachs pointed out that on the video side DirecTV and EchoStar's DISH Network together are serving more than 21 million subscribers. On the telephony side, incumbent telephone companies still serve more than 87 percent of local phone subscribers, he said, and phone companies are aggressively marketing DSL, a product that competes head on with cable's broadband business.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)
Sachs spoke about new efforts in Congress for a fundamental restructuring of the way cable and DBS providers sell services to consumers, including calls from lawmakers for a la carte programming options. "As you know, a la carte pricing would have a devastating impact on ad-supported program networks that depend upon wide distribution to generate sufficient revenues to create innovative programming," he told the crowd.
"Fortunately, many others in Congress recognize that consumers have real competitive choices when it comes to multichannel video and understand the dangers and pitfalls of government regulation," he said. "One only has to look back to the mid 1990's when government regulation stymied programming investment."
Nonetheless, Sachs said the cable industry must be sensitive to concerns about price. "And we have to do a better job of educating consumers – and policy makers – about the ever-increasing choices that cable offers," he said.
As for competition, Sachs pointed out that on the video side DirecTV and EchoStar's DISH Network together are serving more than 21 million subscribers. On the telephony side, incumbent telephone companies still serve more than 87 percent of local phone subscribers, he said, and phone companies are aggressively marketing DSL, a product that competes head on with cable's broadband business.
http://www.skyreport.com (Used with permission)