康卡斯有線電視執行長史密(Neil
Smit)(左)和透納(Turner)廣播系統執行長肯特(Philp
Kent)(右)。(菊子攝)
麻州州長派區克(Deval Patrick)
麻州州長派區克(Deval Patrick)(左)和Michael Powell在The Cable Show中交接舞台。
Michael Powell's Opening Remarks at The Cable Show 2012
Welcome to the great city of Boston and to the 2012 Cable
Show. When I joined NCTA a year ago we set out to bring more creativity
and energy into the industry. Our efforts are bearing fruit and you
will see it reflected throughout this gorgeous convention hall. And our
new ad campaign, which is up in Washington, reflects the emotional
connection we hope to get across in telling our story. Let's take a
look.
Cable is thriving with new energy, new products and a very
promising future. As the ad makes clear, cable is the platform that
offers instant access to infinite possibilities-to great programming,
the web, friends and family, and the hottest Internet applications and
devices. Cable is how we connect to the world and to one another.
Americans adore television. We watch about 147 hours of TV per
month-which may not be entirely healthy, but there is no escaping the
immense pleasure we get from the tube. Television is the original
social medium. Watching is a communal experience; sharing what was on
last night, convincing a friend to jump on the bandwagon of your
favorite show and to catch up quickly so you can talk about it. The joy
we feel watching something inspiring, the laughs we share taking in a
great comedy, and the exhilaration we feel when our favorite team hits
the winning shot at the buzzer is available to us because the cable
industry took a mediocre TV experience and made it better.
Once upon a time, Americans had only three channels that signed off
at midnight to the sounds of the Star Spangled Banner. There was little
diversity of content and static-riddled pictures. Cable delivered a
better technology that improved reception, expanded and diversified
what we watch and gave artists a better canvas for making quality
shows.
Dramas like Homeland and Mad Men, educational content from Discovery
and History, kids programming on Nickelodeon, Sports Center on ESPN,
cooking shows on Food Network and news and public affairs from fixtures
like CNN, C-SPAN, CNBC and Fox News have made television a rich
experience. The fact that so many Americans stuck with cable during the
recession is a testament to our value and stability.
But electronic communications does not stand still. The Internet may
be the most extraordinary advance in the history of information,
ushering in a new age of infinite possibilities. Leaders take risks,
and the cable industry chose to bet big on the promise of delivering
broadband. It was an ambitious and risky play, but one that is now
paying off for consumers.
Over the doubts of many, cable got the job done. Our industry has
invested nearly $200 billion of private capital to build the
infrastructure to get America online. The men and women who serve our
industry painstakingly dug, pulled, and connected homes to the Internet
across the nation. And they did it without shovel-ready stimulus funds
from the government.
Cable broadband now reaches 93 percent of homes-rich, poor, urban
and rural. But the industry has never stopped pushing forward. We have
increased broadband speeds over 900 percent in a decade. And we are on
the verge of deploying additional technology to reach speeds so fast,
the Internet itself may be unable to deliver content fast enough to
match cable’s last mile.
This incredible network makes it possible for us to tweet, friend
and google, which are now household words. Amazon was a river in South
America until nationwide broadband service made it the world’s largest
online retailer. Last week Facebook launched the richest IPO in history
for a tech company. We congratulate them, and the California
Department of Revenue thanks them. That kind of extraordinary American
success is only possible because of the rich and robust platform that
supports it. We celebrate these successes and our progress but there is
more work to do.
Many Americans still are not online and that needs to change. Cable
is working to increase adoption by partnering with the FCC to launch a
low cost broadband service to low income families across America. This
is critical because a child without access to the Internet will find
life increasingly difficult in the Information Age.
For all cable has proudly done so far, we owe the consumer more.
Consumers want an imaginative future that blends the power of the web
with the magic of television. This industry has never been content to
rest on aging business models. It has always looked to the future to
provide consumers with the next exciting thing. Too many incumbent
industries have failed to keep pace with consumer preferences and
disruptive technologies, but cable will not be one of them.
We all know the challenges consumers face in today’s dizzying
digital marketplace. The consumer experience should be simpler-easier
to find the content we want, easier interfaces to control our
experience and less reliance on clunky set-top boxes. We want the
ability to get the content that we have paid for here, there and
everywhere. We say to consumers – we’ve heard your wish and we are
working to make it come true, by delivering cable content to iPads,
Xboxes, smartphones and whatever that next cool thing is that pops out.
You should get greater value for what you pay- including additional
services, content on other devices, and content that cannot be found
elsewhere.
We have embarked upon an exciting period of intense innovation.
Cable is experimenting with more portable services, fairer pricing
models and more web integration. It is a work in progress. There will
be adjustments along the way. We face competition and that is healthy.
Wireless broadband is enjoying astronomical growth. Telcos remain in
the thick of the fight. And, satellite companies continue to battle,
convinced that you will end up in a ditch, sell your hair to a wig
shop, or have a grandkid with a nose ring if you don’t “get rid of
cable.” There is also a place for Internet video providers to compete
and complement the cable model and some consumers may even cut the
cord. At the end of the day, cable benefits from the competition and
will work even harder to compete fairly and effectively on value and
consumer experience.
As these changes unfold, critics will wail. Compelling change rarely
escapes the doomsayer chorus in Washington. Rather than dismiss these
concerns out of hand, we will respect and weigh them carefully, guided
by our commitment to ensuring a better experience for consumers.
But some naysayers are carping because they don’t like the U.S.
private enterprise model. They prefer European-style regulation where
the government effectively owns or controls the network, pumping
taxpayer money into subsidizing service and managing competition. They
would like government to have the last word on the pace and scope of
innovation.
This would be a disastrous path to take. Confiscating private
networks would put our already broke government on the hook to keep
tens of billions of dollars annually flowing into network innovation.
Letting politics allocate resources - rather than market economics
and entrepreneurs - would kill investment and leave the Internet in the
state we find today’s post office, electric grid or crumbling
transportation system. A Washington Post article recently said that
“our nation will need to spend $75 billion a year if you want to keep
the lights on and our iPhones charged. We will need to spend $9.4
billion a year if you would like the toilet to keep flushing.” To do it
all, our country needs to spend a staggering $262 billion.
In stark contrast, broadband is thriving, fueled by the dynamics of
the free market. Broadband is an American success. A light regulatory
model that favors free enterprise has led to a vibrant digital economy
that is empowering educators, business owners and consumers no matter
where they live.
I hope you are as excited as I am that we are holding our convention
here in Boston. This is a storied city with great people and a proud
history. We hope to tap into the revolutionary spirit that gave birth
to this great nation and continue building a great network worthy of
the stars and stripes.
