Cable, Programmers Must Collaborate, Roberts Says
PHILADELPHIA -- Cable operators and programmers must work together to ensure their industries’ continued vitality, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts told the final keynote gathering of the Cable & Telecommunications Assn for Mktg. here late Tues. “My No. 1 priority is to find ways for programmers and operators to work together to support each other,” said Roberts, who is also NCTA chmn. “Only by working together, particularly in Washington, will we succeed, and apart I believe we will both fail.” Speaking to us after the show, he said “we''ve made real progress” in relations. He declined to be more specific.
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Shrugging off what he said are baseless doubts voiced by some Wall Street analysts, Roberts said there’s a big difference between perception and reality in cable. He said Comcast has a “very forecastable” business, which should boost investor confidence, even as he pointed to the examples of cable operators including Cox being taken private amid sagging stock prices. From listening to some naysayers, Roberts said: “You'd think cable future is in doubt.”
Another example of cable’s draw for investors is its growth potential, Roberts said. Comcast, like other operators, expects sales to rise 10% or more this year, he said. That compares to the 1% growth recently reported by SBC, he said. Amid strong competition from DBS, Comcast has made better customer service its highest priority, Roberts said.
Delaying Comcast’s expansion is the “slow” process of buying Adelphia systems with Time Warner as the deal undergoes FCC and bankruptcy court review, Roberts said. He expects to complete the $17.6 billion deal in the first quarter. “It’s a shame, because a lot of great customers are sort of caught in limbo,” he said. “There’s probably not decisions getting made.” Adelphia properties will take the Comcast name, as have other cable systems that Comcast has purchased. As for other large cable deals in the pipeline, Roberts told us: “There’s nothing we're looking at doing.”