Convergence big item at Vegas conferences NAB, A.G. Edwards media confabs set for next week
By David B. Wilkerson, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 3:19 PM ET Apr 16, 1999
Radio index Broadcast TV
LAS VEGAS (CBS.MW) -- Multimedia convergence will be one of the main themes here next week as some of media's biggest players gather to discuss how to bring television, radio and the Internet together.
The events will include speeches and panel discussions with new media moguls -- such as Yahoo's Jerry Yang, Broadcast.com's Mark Cuban, and WebTV's Steve Pearlman -- and more traditional players like Time Warner's Ted Turner. FCC Chairman William Kennard and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will discuss regulatory issues.
The National Association of Broadcasters holds its 1999 spring convention April 17-22, while St. Louis-based brokerage A.G. Edwards (AGE: news, msgs) conducts a media conference April 19-22.
Both Las Vegas conferences take place against a backdrop that finds traditional media players trying to leverage their mass audiences into new revenue streams -- interactive and otherwise.
CBS has made a number of Internet-related investments in recent months, including its move this week to buy equity stakes in two online retailers. Those agreements came on the heels of a proposed $2.5 billion acquisition of syndicated television distributor King World. Walt Disney Co. (DIS: news, msgs), owner of television networks ABC and ESPN, among others, is reportedly considering the conversion of some of its Internet holdings into a separate stock, echoing a plan also under consideration by CBS. Disney owns 43 percent of online portal Infoseek. General Electric's (GE: news, msgs) NBC has been aggressive on the new media front as well, grabbing a stake in CNet, the launch of the Snap! portal with CNet, and the acquisition of a 20-percent interest in television/Internet shopping retailer ValueVision (VVTV: news, msgs).
One indication of how important multimedia issues will be at both events will be the ubiquitous presence of Broadcast.com's (BCST: news, msgs) chairman and president, Mark Cuban. Yahoo! (YHOO: news, msgs) agreed earlier this month to buy Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion.
Cuban will do an official company presentation at the A.G. Edwards confab on the 19th, then participate in a panel discussion with other broadcast industry heavyweights the following day.
At the NAB, Cuban will keynote an April 18 session devoted to building new models for new media convergence, and on the 21st, a panel discussion with Wall Street analysts.
Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang will participate in a discussion at NAB titled "Broadcasting in the 21st Century: Players, Partners and Opportunities." Other panelists include Tom Rogers, president of NBC (GE: news, msgs) Cable president, and executive vice president of NBC; TCI (T: news, msgs) President Leo Hindery and EchoStar (DISH: news, msgs) Chairman Charlie Ergen.
During a number of broadcasting panels at both get-togethers, the agendas are sure to include the increasingly tension-filled relationship between over-the air television networks and their affiliates; the FCC; changes in viewing patterns; rising programming costs and technical challenges.
Among other highlights:
Time Warner (TWX: news, msgs) Vice-Chairman Ted Turner will keynote the NAB general luncheon.
FCC Chairman William Kennard will address the NAB. Among the items on his agenda will be digital television and radio, cross-ownership, content regulation, equal employment initiatives and microbroadcasting.
A broadcast panel discussion with WB Network CEO Jamie Kellner, Lowell "Bud" Paxson, CEO of Paxson Communications (PAX: news, msgs), David Poltrack, vice president of marketing for CBS (CBS: news, msgs), LIN Television CEO Gary Chapman, Steve Pruett, senior vice-president of media brokerage Communications Equity Associates, and Broadcast.com's Cuban.
Arizona Senator John McCain will address the NAB Radio Luncheon. McCain has been an outspoken critic of the FCC.
At the A.G. Edwards event, company presentations by Tribune (TRB: news, msgs), television station owner Ackerley Group (AK: news, msgs), set-top box maker Scientific-Atlanta (SFA: news, msgs), Spanish-language radio group Heftel Broadcasting(HBCCA: news, msgs), TV station owners Hearst-Argyle Television (HTV: news, msgs) and Granite Broadcasting (GBTVK: news, msgs), publisher-broadcaster A.H. Belo (BLC: news, msgs), and others.
An e-commerce panel at the NAB, including executives from CBS (CBS: news, msgs), Walt Disney's (DIS: news, msgs) ABC unit, IBM (IBM: news, msgs), the McCann-Erickson advertising agency, media buying firm Western International Media, and other companies.
At the NAB, Peter Bart, editor-in-chief of the trade magazine Variety, chairs a discussion with advertising executives titled "Broadcast vs. Cable." Bart claims the cable industry has used dubious tactics to mislead advertisers about the market share gains it's made against broadcast television.
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