The moments of life blur together as the years speed by faster and faster. Travel tends to accelerate the blur, as the towns and conferences seem to melt into a collage of images and seem to be part of another life. The moments that standout are when those different paths intersect, like they did last week at The Independent Show in San Diego, when my kids literally got a close-up of my friends and colleagues from around the country. It was better than that, as my kids were active participants in bringing ViodiTV to the hotel channel of the conference.
Thanks boys for the great work and thanks ACA and NCTC for your support in making it happen and to AXS TV and Viamedia for the advertising on this extremely local channel.
Opportunities Amidst Uncertainty
Slices of last week’s Indy Show with soundbites from several of the speakers are found in this video. Outdated rules, regulatory uncertainty and the burdens of regulations were on the minds of many of the speakers and attendees, as reflected by comments from Ross Lieberman of ACA, Shirley Bloomfield of NTCA and Matt Polka of ACA. At the same time, there was a sense of optimism around broadband.
Stay tuned, as Viodi will be releasing the complete video interviews of the aforementioned industry experts, as well as others who participated in the 2013 Independent Show.
Click here to view and to read more.
Be Careful What You Ask For
Retransmission consent reform was a hot topic at this week’s Indy Show. In this interview, Mike Grebb, Executive Editor of CableFAX provides an overview of some of the discussions heard on this topic, including thoughts on the retransmission consent flare-up between CBS and Time-Warner, comments from Insight founder Michael Wilner on being careful what you wish for regarding legislative or regulatory relief and the potential for Aereo to disrupt retransmission rules.
Click here to view and to read more.
Advertising Partnership Drives New Revenue for Existing Networks
Many years ago, a wise marketer suggested that the value from cross-promoting different parts of his triple play would, by itself, justify ad insertion in his channel line-up. His challenge was that there were higher priorities for his company’s staff and ad insertion was way down the list of priorities for his IPTV network. Fast-forward almost a decade later and his words echoed in my head as I spoke to Becky Jones, VP Marketing and Research for Viamedia, at The Independent Show.
Thanks Viamedia for advertising with ViodiTV on the hotel channel at The Independent Show.
Click here to view and to read more.
Arash Afrakhteh on How to Create a Successful Network Software Company by Alan Weissberger
In 1993, Arash Afrakhteh immigrated to the U.S. from Iran to work at Microsoft. He initially felt like “a kid in a candy store,” as a result of the stimulating intellectual environment, bright people, and excellent software tools at the software giant. In 2001, Arash became an entrepreneur when he co-founded Cariden Technologies, Inc. without taking any money from VC’s or angel investors!
Click here to read his story.
AT&T Offers Faster U-Verse Internet in CA and NV by Alan Weissberger
AT&T has launched a very tangible piece of its Project Velocity IP (VIP) in Nevada and California, introducing a faster U-verse broadband tier that delivers theoretical download speeds of up to 45 M bits/sec and upstream speeds of 6 M bits/sec. The new broadband tier, called U-verse High Speed Internet Power, will cost $50 a month as a promotional price to consumers who bundle it with TV and voice services on a two-year deal, after which the tier will cost $76 a month, AT&T said.
Click here to read more.
The Korner – Back In, Safety First
“Attaboy,” is a quote from Chris Trembley that I will remember for a long time. Trembley and Dan Berg are safety experts from the Minnesota Telecom Association who train operator employees within Minnesota as well as other states, such as Iowa. In this video interview, they emphasize the importance of creating a culture of safety within an organization. They suggest that safety starts with and has to be a priority of the company leaders. Other good things will result, when safety is put first.
Dan Berg points out that safety doesn’t end at the workplace and that, “Slips, Trips and Falls are horrible on the job and off the job.” Of course, safety and driving go hand in hand. An important part of driving is parking and Trembley confirmed that backing in a parking spot is the safe way to park (better visibility when one leaves). Hopefully, Trembley’s comments will finally put to bed the decades long debate in the Pyle household as to the best way to park a car. Thanks Chris and Dan for your insight!
Click here to view the video.
