CHICAGO — The National Cable & Telecommunications Association held its 60th Cable Show this week in Chicago, returning to the city for the first time since 2003. Industry leaders gathered at McCormick Place to discuss emerging technologies and trends in how consumers are using video content.
The association projects 2011 attendance at 13,000, about on par with last year. The eclectic lineup of speakers and celebrity appearances ranged from Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, to reality TV personality Kendra Wilkinson.
Here are some highlights from the three-day gathering, which ended Thursday:
The Netflix factor
Cable executives were peppered with questions about Netflix, which has evolved from an online DVD rental service to a major provider of high-definition video streaming. The company also has plans to launch original programming.
Industry officials acknowledged Netflix's popularity but dismissed the possibility that the company could take the place of traditional cable operators.
"Netflix is primarily a service that provides library programming," Philippe Dauman, president and chief executive of Viacom Inc., said during a panel Tuesday.
At a Wednesday discussion, Michael Willner, chief executive of Insight Communications, pointed out that cable companies provide the "big, thick broadband pipe" that enables applications such as Netflix streaming.
Other executives said Netflix's business model doesn't support the kind of significant investment in extensive original or current programming, such as sports, that keeps customers loyal to their pay-TV subscriptions.
Even so, Netflix is shaping media-consumption habits in ways that are making cable operators take notice.
"Maybe you just have multiple animals in the jungle," Coleman Breland, chief operating officer of Turner Network Sales, said at a different panel Wednesday. "I don't think Netflix is going to go away tomorrow."
Motorola Mobility
Motorola Mobility unveiled several new products, including a device called Televation, which plugs into a home Wi-Fi router and can stream live TV to any device connected to the wireless network. Although the company didn't offer details about availability, it said it worked closely with Comcast Corp. to develop Televation.
Motorola Mobility also announced it will be working with Honeywell Security Group on a home security system that cable companies can offer to their subscribers. This foray springs from Motorola Mobility's 2010 acquisition of 4Home Inc., a technology firm that specializes in "smart home" software. With a connected home security system, consumers can monitor their houses remotely with a smartphone or tablet, accessing video surveillance footage or setting a thermostat from afar.
"Content takes on a whole new meaning" when home security is added to the mix, John Burke, Motorola Mobility's senior vice president and general manager of converged experiences, said. He defined content as "anything the consumer feels they want to stay in touch with."
Startups in the spotlight
Entrepreneurs got a chance to pitch technology ideas to a group of cable executives, with each startup presenting for 10 minutes and then fielding questions from the panel. The event gave the emerging businesses an opportunity to receive feedback from seasoned industry officials and hone their pitches for potential investors.
Sreekanth Ravi, co-founder and chief executive of a Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm called Tely Labs, showed off a device for high-definition video-calling. The device, which rests atop a TV, runs on Google's Android operating system and has a built-in webcam and microphone.
Like Comcast, which announced a partnership with Skype this week, Tely Labs believes many consumers want an immersive video-calling experience through the TV.
But Michael Lee, chief strategy officer at Rogers Communications, wasn't so sure.
"I'm not sure I get it," he told Ravi, adding that he was skeptical about the quality of the call. "Is there a group of people dying to do this?"
Ravi said he believes Tely Labs' product resolves the "hassle factor" involved in making a video call via a TV. He also pointed to the popularity of Skype as evidence that the technology is "ready for mass adoption."
"Video usage has become much more mainstream," Ravi said.
Oprah on cable
Addressing the crowd during Thursday's opening session, Oprah Winfrey said launching her cable network was harder than she anticipated. Ratings for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture with Discovery Communications that launched in January, have not lived up to expectations.
Winfrey said she wants the network to reach its full potential within three years. Winfrey acknowledged that while she was wrapping up the final season of her Chicago-based and nationally syndicated daytime talk show, she wasn't able to fully focus on the cable venture. But with the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" finished, she said she is "all in" and has "the ability to commit my full energy" to the network.
"I have committed everything I have to this cable venture," she said. "I wouldn't bet against me."
Winfrey said about 300 staff members at Harpo Productions in Chicago would continue working on OWN projects, including "The Gayle King Show," a talk show hosted by Rosie O'Donnell and a travel program called "Oprah's Next Chapter."
Paula Zahn, host of "Investigation Discovery," asked Winfrey about her wish list of interviewees.
Winfrey named Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother who was sentenced to life in prison in 1995 for drowning her two sons after claiming they were taken by a carjacker. Winfrey said she is interested in how Smith has changed the way society looks at parents who say their children are missing.
The other person on Winfrey's wish list?
"I have a dream of O.J. Simpson confessing to me — and I am going to make that happen, people," Winfrey said.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.