Things are in full Vegas swing as the Cable Show kicks off. In one of yesterday's more interesting panels, Turner’s Coleman Breland offered an apt analogy for the dynamics of the cable industry. Keeping things interesting and lighthearted in a potentially tense session on programming which touched on new platforms, the threat and opportunity of the Internet, and challenges to traditional revenue models for content, Breland compared cable companies (programmers and operators) to members of a rock band who find themselves struggling to get along after reaching uber-success.

He explained how musicians in a rock band start out creating music together, working together to achieve success, and also partying together. In the beginning, the members of the band aren’t necessarily that good at what they do individually, but together they do something that resonates. They achieve success, and over time they become better at their craft. With success comes the pressure of expectations for continued success, and individual members become restless and want to try new things. He suggested the importance of the band members allowing their colleagues the room to grow. The point, he said, was that the members of the cable industry had been very successful together and could continue to be so. He pointed to the Stones and the Beatles and noted that the Stones were the model since they were still making lots of money together.

The discussion made a strong case for continued development of non-linear programming, but there was agreement that linear networks are here to stay. Without strong brands and the opportunity to promote new content, the belief is that consumers won’t not know what to view in the non-linear format, nor what to program into their DVRs or search out on the Internet.

Speaking of the Internet, Mike Hopkins of Fox Cable Networks said that his company had used a vendor named Media Defender and had determined that 54 million people had tried to illegally download one of their programs. Bridget Baker of NBC Universal echoed his concerns over copyright infringement and said that TV programmers could not go down the same path as record companies. The bottom line, however, was that the Internet does provide programmers an additional revenue stream and it does give consumers an additional platform for accessing and enjoying their products. Baker commented that the availability of NBC content online is not cannibalizing the success of their programming on television, even though NBC programs such as “The Office” are the most popular on iTunes. (NBC accounts for roughly 50% of the video sales on iTunes.)

There seemed to be general agreement that there’s no replacement for the immersive television experience. Consumers are spending more money than ever to build home theaters and will always want the escapism of vegging out in front of their television. Alternative options such as viewing programs on an iPod, on the PC or even on cell phones were viewed as ancillary, a way to catch up when on the run, and ultimately additive to main event TV experience. From the distributor perspective, Cox’s Bob Wilson indicated that concern over Internet distribution had relaxed somewhat, stating that there is recognition that distribution over multiple platforms was simply the way things were going to go.