Insight Communications president Michael Willner said that cable operators who have woken up to the fact that each of them is competing for every customer is ahead of the game. Diller concurred with that and noted that cable ops should be most concerned about getting content out there. What does exist is intelligent services. In the future purchases will be made through a warm environment. Cable will be the infrastructure for this change.
Cable is a better mousetrap if it can get to the customer first.
On the subject of interactivity, Malone said it will sneak up on the industry, just as digital television slowly but steadily collected 40 million viewers. On the subject of pornography and programming with a violent content, such as Jerry Springer, the panel gingerly danced around the fact that content of that sort is a moneymaker, but placing emphasis on dealing individually with each community in which they have franchises and knowing what that community demands in programming. Attendees looking forward to catching a glimpse of Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison were disappointed on Wednesday. Cisco Chief Executive Officer John Chambers will discuss networking and the future of broadband communications. CED News Briefs PanAmSat has signed a deal with Lifetime to deliver the Lifetime cable network East feed to U.S. cable operators over the next 18 years.