Time Warner Cable Chairman and CEO Glenn Britt, who is also chairman of NCTA, covered a lot of ground in a far-ranging Q-and-A with UBS analyst Aryeh Bourkoff.
– Of course, a la carte was on the menu. Britt set the tone for the day’s “what, me worry?” approach to FCC Chairmman Kevin Martin’s suggestion of a la carte as a solution. Asked about Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan’s support of a-l-c, Britss reminded the audience that Dolan has been talking about for 20 years or so, then slyly suggested, “Next time you see them, ask them if they’re willing to sell their networks on an a la carte basis.”
– Britt said anyone looking at the new cable-Sprint Nextel joint venture as a wireless enterprise is missing the point: “We could do that today; we were testing that in Kansas City even prior to this day. What this deal is really about is doing cross-platform things — things that tie together wireless and cable platform.” One example — using the mobile phone to program a cable DVR.
– He challenged the lower prices being touted by rival telecos and suggested that fees are going up evan as package prices drop. “I think you’ll see in real life phone prices and package prices have not come down a lot.”
– About that competition: “We have the plant in place. We’re doing these things. Our competitors are playing catch-up.”
– He sees mobile video as a substitute more for DVDs than TV.
Webcast
Related: Cable, Wireless Quad Play: Joint Venture Includes Sprint Nextel, TW, Comcast, Cox and Advance
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