December 1, 2010

CableFAX: The Competition

Competition is a major issue for cable. Below is a short, unranked list of some of those competing against cable.

Ivan Seidenberg

Chair/CEO, Verizon

Seidenberg spearheaded Verizon’s FTTH FiOS rollout and planned 4G wireless deployment. With 3mln subs, further FiOS expansion into new markets is on hold, as Verizon completes fiber upgrades already underway.

Randall Stephenson

Chair/CEO/Pres, AT&T

U-verse counts some 3mln subs, with more than three quarters taking the triple- or quad-play. When not leading the telecom giant, Stephenson, a 30-year veteran of the industry, supports the Boy Scouts of America and chaired its 100th anniversary celebration.

Michael White

Chair/Pres/CEO, DIRECTV

In his first year, the veteran of PepsiCo and Frito-Lay saw subs grow to nearly 19mln in the US, driven by HD, DVR and interactive services. Subs for the US and Latin America top 27mln.

Charles Ergen

Chair/CEO, DISH Network

DISH grew its subscriber base to nearly 14mln customers. No stranger to the Hill, feisty Ergen has testified numerous times before Congress.

Edward Mueller

Chair/CEO, Qwest Communications International

Serving 14 states in the Midwest and West, Qwest provides broadband to 2.9mln subs. Of those, 92K buy service from Qwest’s expanding FTTN network. Telecom veteran Mueller detoured from the industry to serve as CEO of Williams-Sonoma Inc for 3.5 years.

Maggie Wilderotter

Chair/CEO, Frontier Communications

Wilderotter proved her nimbleness as Frontier won approval from the FCC and 14 PUCs to acquire Verizon’s local wireline operations in those states. The telco’s customers include 1.69mln Internet subs and 516K video subs in 27 states, primarily in small cities and rural areas.

Thomas Moore

Pres/CEO, WildBlue Communications Inc (subsidiary of ViaSat)

Serving 400K primarily rural subs, WildBlue’s Moore is developing a next-gen broadband satellite that’s expected to alleviate capacity constraints and support higher-speed services. It’s set for launch next year.

Pradman Kaul

Chair/CEO, Hughes Network Systems

HNS provides broadband satellite service to 600K mainly rural customers, with concentrations along the coasts. An engineer, Kaul is overseeing the Jupiter satellite, set to launch in ’12.

Colleen Abdoulah

CEO/Board Chair, WOW!

Abdoulah’s unabashed embrace of her staff and 400K customers has propelled WOW! on a sharp growth curve and brought the Denver-based overbuilder numerous honors for customer care. Last year, it topped J.D. Power’s regional awards for video, Internet and phone. Nobody’s ever done that.

James Cicconi

Sr EVP, External/Legislative Affairs, AT&T

An insider’s insider, baseball addict Cicconi served President George H.W. Bush, as deputy chief of staff, and President Reagan, as a special assistant.

Thomas Tauke

EVP, Public Affairs, Policy and Communications, Verizon

Although the former House member says he’s not a lobbyist, Tauke develops the policy positions that his lobbyists advocate. Top on his list are broadband policy and the Internet ecosystem.

Derek Chang

EVP, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV

The former cable guy spearheads DIRECTV’s programming strategy, development and acquisition. It’s working. DIRECTV netted 174,000 subs in the last year.

Terry Denson

VP, Content and Programming Verizon Communications

Another former cable exec (Insight and MTV), soft-spoken Denson acquires content for FiOS Internet and TV, as well as Verizon Wireless.

Dave Shull

SVP, Programming, DISH Network

In addition to programming acquisition, Shull oversees DISH Cinema, DISH World and DISHOnline.com.

Dan York

Pres of Content, AT&T

A veteran of HBO and iN DEMAND, York cuts content deals for all of AT&T’s platforms: television, broadband and wireless.