He made his comments at the Western cable show in Anaheim, Calif., during an eye-opening session hosted by comedian Ben Stein. Sassa added that TV will probably remain a passive environment enhanced only by the Internet and interactive services. Asked how companies will make money, panelists said advertising will remain a strong source in the developing business. Her company is starting a new cable channel for women with partners Oprah Winfrey and TV producer Marcy Carsey. Consumers actually like being given more information and want to go deeper into it.
Advertisers have to learn to live in a more persuasive land rather than with bombardment.
Show Commercial satellite operators are out in force at this year's Western Show, promising not only an uplink for typical video programming but Internet and multimedia content delivery. PanAmSat unveiled SPOTcast for Cable, a satellite transport service offering Internet access as well as delivery of high-bandwidth multimedia content to headends worldwide. It also provides high-speed Internet access to cable systems. Time Warner will multiplex programming feeds and deliver Time Warner-controlled networks and other basic and premium channels. Athena is undergoing testing on Telstar 5, and will switch to the Telstar 7 bird shortly after its launch in May 1999.