Comcast, Turner execs to run The Cable Show convention in Boston

Comcast Cable Communications (Nasdaq: CMCSA) president Neil Smit and Turner Broadcasting System CEO Phil Kent will co-chair The Cable Show convention in May, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) said Monday.

Kent (left) and Smit

Look for multiplatform video distribution to be the hot topic at the convention, which runs May 21-23 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center in Boston. NCTA said the tagline for this year's confab is "experience more."

It's the first time that NCTA's annual convention--formerly known as the National Show--will be held in Boston. Last year's confab, which was held in Chicago, drew about 13,000 attendees.

Consolidation of major cable operators and networks has seen the number of national and regional cable conventions decline in recent years. For more than 30 years, the cable industry had two major annual conventions -- the National Show, which is organized by NCTA, and The Western Show, which was organized by the California Cable Television Association.

The final Western Show was held in 2003. That annual convention focused heavily on cable technology, while NCTA showcased cable programming. NCTA changed the name of its annual convention to The Cable Show in 2006, and has increased its focus on technology exhibits.

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) recently drew 10,000 attendees to annual Cable-Tec Expo in Atlanta, with attendance jumping 24 percent compared to last year. It will be interesting to see if NCTA will be able to post similar attendance gains at the Boston convention in May.

"Boston is an incredible innovation and intellectual ecosystem, and home to some of America's best universities, thought leaders and visionaries," Smit said in Monday's announcement. "It's a perfect city to demonstrate the cutting-edge distribution technologies being developed by our industry and the amazing, award-winning content that consumers value."

For more:
- see the NCTA release

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