FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:

July 13, 2004 Suzon Cameron (202) 418-1916

**MB Docket No. 04-207**

**MEDIA BUREAU ANNOUNCES**

**SPEAKERS FOR SYMPOSIUM ON "A LA CARTE" MVPD PRICING**

**Washington, D.C. - The Federal Communications Commission's Media
Bureau will sponsor a symposium on Thursday, July 29, 2004**, to examine
the provision of a la carte programming services on cable television and
direct broadcast satellite systems. The speakers will discuss legal,
technical, and economic issues related to the provision of programming
on a per channel basis. The speakers will specifically explore the
implications of such offerings for consumer rates, program diversity,
rural and small market concerns, and FCC regulation, among other
subjects.

**The event will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Federal
Communications Commission** **in the Commission Meeting Room at 445
12^th^ Street, S.W., Washington, D.C**.

Written materials associated with the symposium will be included in MB
Docket No. 04-207.

***[Morning Session]{.underline} -- 9:00 a.m.***

**John Freulinghausen**, Vice President and Partner, Booz Allen
Hamilton.

**Bennett Hooks**, CEO, Buford Media Group.

**Gene Kimmelman**, Senior Director of Public Policy and Advocacy,
Consumers Union.

**Geraldine Laybourne**, Chairman and CEO, Oxygen Media.

**Philip Lind**, Vice Chairman, Rogers Communications.

**Jon Mandel**, Co-CEO, MediaCom US and MediaCom Latino; Chief Global
Buying Officer of MediaCom Worldwide.

**Michael Willner**, President and CEO, Insight Communications.

***[Afternoon Session]{.underline}*** -- ***2:30 p.m.***\
\
**Erik Brynjolfsson**, Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of
Management and Director of the Center for eBusiness at MIT, Cambridge,
MA.

**Gregory Crawford**, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics,
Eller College of Business and Public Administration, University of
Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

**David Waterman**, Professor, Department of Telecommunications, Indiana
University, Bloomington, IN.

**Steven Wildman**, Professor of Telecommunication Studies, Michigan
State University and Director of The James H. and Mary B. Quello Center
for Telecommunication Management & Law, Michigan State University in
East Lansing, MI.

Open captioning will be provided and other reasonable accommodations for
people with disabilities are available upon request. Requests should
include a description of the accommodation needed, as well as contact
information should additional information be required. All requests will
be accepted and every effort will be made to fulfill them, although
timing considerations may make that impossible in some cases. Send
requests via e-mail to <fcc504@fcc.gov>, or call the Consumer &
Governmental Affairs Bureau:

> For sign language interpreters, CART, and other reasonable
> accommodations: 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
>
> For accessible format materials (Braille, large print, electronic
> files, and audio format): 202-418-0531 (voice), 202-418-7365 (TTY).

A live audiocast of the symposium will be available at the FCC's website
at [www.fcc.gov](http://www.fcc.gov/) on a first-come, first-served
basis.

Press inquiries should be directed to Suzon Cameron at 202-418-1916.

\-- FCC \--