THE CABLE PIPELINE

Why memorable quotes from Cable Industry executives in 2009 seemed either disconnected or a predictor of the future. Judge for yourself whether these quotes have merit or are they seriously off-track with the mainstream. Only time will tell whether these executives have done their homework, or they are just [in-the-moment] statements. As an Industry executive, should these leaders be better prepared before they speak?

Disney CEO, Robert Iger on Comcast/Time Warner Authentication for TV Everywhere – April 2009

“May be an “interesting” opportunity for consumers. On the other hand, preventing people from watching any shows online unless they were cable subscribers would engender a backlash. Important not to take away online video programming that’s already out there, and not to throttle access.”

NCTA Chief, Kyle McSlarrow: on the Cable Industry’s role in the economy – April 2009

“Fortunately, we have every reason to believe that our industry will continue to be resilient and grow. And I would go further…and say that we have a central role to play in our economic recovery as well.”

Comcast CEO, Brian Roberts: on working with programmers – April 2009

“I don’t think we should put our head in the sand,” he said. “We should allow customers to get video wherever they want. We have to have really thoughtful conversations with our partners in content and make it a win-win outcome for customers and programmers, and I think we can do that.”

Time Warner Cable CEO, Glen Britt: on Tiering Broadband Access – April 2009

“If you’re downloading a movie every day, you’ll spend more per month than someone who uses the internet just to check his or her e-mail. People could end up liking it: some will end up paying less, while those people paying more may get faster service.”

Time Warner Cable CEO, Glen Britt: on TWC subscription growth – December 2009

“Time Warner Cable increasingly hears from customers who would like to buy smaller packages of channels. As an industry, cable operators “need to listen” to those kinds of concerns.”

Time Warner Cable CEO, Glen Britt on Comcast-NBC Universal Merger: – December 2009

“What we found over the years was that there were very few synergies in being vertically integrated — in fact, the rules and regulations that control how this industry behaves are such that anything people might be tempted to do in a vertically integrated company is pretty much prohibited.”

How will these quotes hold up historically in 2010? Will they be on track with the market, or will they be (in-the-moment) statements that seem to be irrelevant for the future? Vote for the best and worst quote of the year; leave a comment.

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