Editor’s Letter: Who Were Those Guys?

By John P. Ourand

Steve Burke's decision to include other industries in the National Show proved to be more than just a good idea. It was essential. That's because it is obvious that the industry's message is resonating with too few people outside of cable's clubby clique.

For me, the dominant theme at every general session in San Francisco was the non-industry types' absolute ignorance of the cable industry. I was shocked at how little these executives knew about cable.

It started in the first session when Electronic Arts' Bing Gordon was taken aback when Tom Rutledge told him that Cablevision has more than enough bandwidth to handle whatever service Gordon offered. This was after Gordon complained that cable wouldn't be ready for services that haven't even been developed yet.

The theme of ignorance continued the next morning when Google's Larry Page admitted that he was a recent convert to cable modems. It was almost pathetic to hear him declare that cable modems are "much faster" than DSL. The co-founder of Google hadn't realized that cable modems are faster until a couple of months ago? Cable's been making that claim for several years now. That's downright shocking.

This ignorance is not just limited to Silicon Valley; regulators don't understand cable's business either. While in San Francisco, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) seemed amazed that the cable industry already has the technology to block objectionable channels and programs. Remember, this is the guy who's threatening to subject cable to a whole host of indecency regulations.

Cable still has a lot of work to do with new FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, our cover boy. While Martin didn't break any new ground during his first public talk as chairman, it was disheartening to see him continue supporting family-friendly tiers. Nobody in cable thinks these kinds of tiers are a good idea. The industry needs to keep demonstrating why.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. Executives who hear cable's story are buying into it. Witness RealNetworks' Rob Glaser, who became a cable convert once he saw how popular his applications could be on Comcast's high-speed system. Not only did he re-up with Comcast, he expanded the relationship and trawled San Francisco's Moscone Center looking for more operators to add to its growing roster.

While it was a good idea to get folks like Gordon, Page and Glaser on panels this year, it would have been a brilliant idea two or three years ago.

It also was nice to see scores of financial analysts and some regulators touring the show floor.

Cable's rank and file already know the message. They are concentrating on the nuts and bolts of the business, preparing for competition from DBS, telcos, wireless, etc.

It's the other folks who need the cable education.