The National Cable & Telecommunications Association is gearing up for its big annual conference in May, soliciting ideas for its information technology (IT) track and getting the ball rolling on CableCares public service programs, including opening up registration for the Battle of the Bands.
At the same time, the NCTA announced the return of separate scheduling for Diversity Week events.
The NCTA is going to try something a little different with its CIO.IT track this year. Vendors and suppliers are invited to make a bid to participate in what’s being billed as a “panel-based competition.”
The NCTA is calling for proposals for presentations that will be scheduled as part of panel discussions at CIO.IT, in which vendors and suppliers will compete to help identify unique solutions to any of a wide variety of cable IT challenges, the organization said.
From the proposals that are submitted, a panel of cable CIOs will select a handful of finalists to make their presentations during the CIO.IT program. The presentations made at the show will be evaluated onsite by a jury of cable industry CIOs, who will identify their favorite ideas as winners.
Meanwhile, the events that used to constitute Diversity Week are being peeled back out of the two seasonal agglomerations of shows and will be held in New York City in September.
Diversity Week will feature the annual meetings for Women in Cable Telecommunications, the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications and the Walter Kaitz Foundation. The Association of Cable Communicators also will hold its annual forum during the September week in New York. Diversity Week also will feature a meeting of the NCTA board of directors.
Mashing all cable events into a week in the spring and another in the fall made some intuitive sense, but as a practical matter, these smaller organizations felt they were getting short shrift with the new schedule. Event overlap compromised attendance, they felt, and with attendance fees being combined, they were also worried about receiving enough revenue to fully finance their events and operations.
A full calendar of cable events, provided by the NCTA:
Cable Connection – Spring 2010 (Los Angeles Convention Center – Los Angeles)
- Cable Pioneers’ Dinner – May 10
- CableLabs’ Law & Technology Seminar – May 10-11
- The Cable Show 2010 – May 11-13
- CableLabs’ CableNet – May 11-13
- SCTE/NCTA/CableLabs Spring Technical Forum – May 11-13
- WICT Red Tie Gala Lunch – May 11
- Cable Hall of Fame Celebration – May 11
- CTAM Research Conference – May 12-14
- NAMIC Annual Awards Breakfast – May 13
Diversity Week 2010 (Hilton New York – New York)
- WICT Leadership Conference – Sept. 13-14
- NAMIC 24th Annual Conference – Sept. 14-15
- Association of Cable Communicators Forum – Sept. 15-16
- NCTA Board of Directors Meeting – Sept. 15
- Walter Kaitz Foundation Fundraising Dinner – Sept. 15
Cable Connection – Fall 2010 (Hilton New Orleans & Morial Convention Center – New Orleans)
- CTAM Summit – Oct. 18-20
- SCTE Cable-Tec Expo – Oct. 19-22
- WICT Tech It Out Breakfast – Oct. 20
The Cable Show 2010 will mark the third consecutive year for the industry’s “CableCares” initiative – including a Battle of the Bands.
CableCares, in cooperation with Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles, said it is pleased to announce that “A Place Called Home” (APCH), a non-profit youth center in south-central Los Angeles, will be the beneficiary of this year’s program.
“We’re proud to help stage The Cable Show in Time Warner Cable’s service area. It provides our company, and the entire cable industry, with a great opportunity to ‘give back’ to the residents and consumers of our host city of Los Angeles,” said Glenn Britt, co-chair of The Cable Show 2010 and chairman, president and CEO of Time Warner Cable.
APCH helps inner-city youth through educational enrichment and by providing a secure, positive family environment where children can regain hope, earn trust and self-respect, and learn skills to lead to a productive lifestyle free of gangs, drugs and poverty.
Proceeds raised from CableCares events will be used to support the APCH program, “A Bridge to the Future,” which includes college and career preparation and guidance counseling, scholarships and internships for students ready to enter the job market. Donations will help provide computers, software, supplies, a workspace renovation and other needed items.
The 2010 CableCares program will offer a variety of opportunities for Cable Show attendees to participate in the community affairs commitment in the following fashion:
- By donating financial support:
- Support Battle of the Bands with sponsorship dollars
- Purchase tickets for Battle of the Bands
- Make additional contributions
- By donating time for a half day of community service at APCH on the morning of May 11:
- Painting murals
- Planting a community garden
- Renovating the “Teen Trailer”
- Installing computers and cleaning server rooms
- By donating products and/or services:
- Computers
- Musical instruments, sound and recording equipment
- School supplies
- Office supplies and equipment
- Housewares
A full list of sponsorship and volunteer opportunities is now available.
Also under the CableCares umbrella, Sportsman Channel will once again sponsor Hunt.Fish.Feed. – a program that brings much-needed food and services to the homeless of Los Angeles.
The Battle of the Bands has traditionally been held on the last night of events. This time around it will be held on the first night of the NCTA show, on May 11.
A full slate of sponsorship opportunities is now available.
The NCTA is seeking bands to join the Battle of the Bands competition. To qualify as a participant in Battle of the Bands, musicians must be employed within the cable industry, its suppliers or supporting industries. Performance slots are limited and audition tapes (in MP3 format) should be submitted via e-mail by March 1. Selected bands will be notified shortly thereafter, and each will perform a three-song set during the concert.
