NCTA reinvents Cable Show as OTT-themed INTX

Faced with a mature, consolidated cable-industry constituency, the National Cable Telecommunications Association is reinventing and rebranding The Cable Show as an event focused on the distribution of online video.

The newly configured Internet and Television Expo (INTX) will be held May 5-7, 2015 in Chicago and will seek to draw, in the words of the NCTA, "everyone from network operators and content creators to technologists and thought leaders to share ideas, showcase innovative services and plan for the future."

"Everything about media and communications is being reinvented: the way we watch, how we keep in touch, what we know, how we play. So now is a perfect time to reinvent the way we come together to learn, network and do business," said Michael Powell, NCTA's president and CEO, in a statement. "Everyday the digital landscape changes and the networks that enable it becomes more powerful. This new expo will highlight all of these new trends and voices in every corner of today's digital economy."

Attendance for the last Cable Show, conducted in Los Angeles in late April, was disappointing, with the final participation tally coming in at around 10,000 vs. the 12,000 attending the 2013 event in Washington, D.C.

As the broadcast industry has also become consolidated, a number of its trade show backers, such as the National Association of TV Program Executives and the National Association of Broadcasters, have also shifted their flagship conventions to focus on Internet video.

In the case of NAB, which has slated its 2015 event for April 11-15, the NCTA might find itself with competition to draw its new constituency.

For more:
- read this NCTA press release

Show coverage: INTX Live 2015

Related links:
NCTA Live 2014
NCTA's Powell calls on industry to invest in the network, not become complacent
NCTA draws 12,000 to The Cable Show; will hold 2013 convention in Los Angeles