The Cable Center said Tuesday that it has rescheduled its 23rd Annual Cable Hall of Fame virtual celebration to Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. (ET).

“As we continue to navigate the world of Covid and the necessary rescheduling of various industry events, we made the decision to move our Cable Hall of Fame celebration to a later date,” Cable Center president and CEO Jana Henthorn said in a press release. 

This is the fifth time the Cable Center has rescheduled the event. Originally it was to take place at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City on April 30, 2020,  but the pandemic pushed that date to that fall of that year. In June 2020, the date was again pushed ahead, to April 29, 2021 because of pandemic concerns, and in February 2021 said it would try to hold the event both live in New York and virtually on Oct. 20. In June 2021, the Center said the event would be held virtually-only on Oct. 20. 

On Tuesday, the Center said the event will premiere on C-SPAN 3 and be available to view simultaneously online at CSPAN.org. The program will also be featured in the C-SPAN Video Library and available for on demand viewing immediately following the event.

The Cable Hall of Fame selected seven industry leaders in March 2020 for this year’s class:  Baker Media CEO Bridget Baker; former Charter Communications EVP IT and Engineering Jim Blackley; Urban One founder and chairwoman Cathy Hughes; TV One chairman and CEO and Urban One CEO Alfred C. Liggins III; Cable Pioneer Jeff Marcus; Comcast Cable president and CEO Dave Watson; and WarnerMedia News & Sports president and president CNN Worldwide Jeff Zucker.

The Bresnan Ethics in Business Award will also be presented to Ted Turner, Environmentalist and Philanthropist, during the Cable Hall of Fame celebration.

The Cable Center said Tuesday that its 23rd annual Cable Hall of Fame celebration, slated for Oct. 20, will be held virtually.

“After much thought and consideration, The Cable Center decided that it was best to host our Cable Hall of Fame event virtually at this time,” The Cable Center president and CEO Jana Henthorn said in a press release. “We are eager to gather in spirit with the industry on October 20, and finally have the opportunity to celebrate our honorees.”

The celebration will air on C-SPAN 3 at 8p.m. ET and be available for view simultaneously on C-SPAN.org. The program will also be featured in the C-SPAN Video Library and available for on demand viewing immediately following the event.

The Cable Center had hoped to hold part of the celebration at its regular venue -- The Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City -- allowing those that couldn’t make the trip to participate virtually. Now it appears that the entire offering will be held online. 

The Cable Hall of Fame selected seven industry leaders in March 2020 for this year’s class:  Baker Media CEO Bridget Baker; former Charter Communications EVP IT and Engineering Jim Blackley; Urban One founder and chairwoman Cathy Hughes; TV One chairman and CEO and Urban One CEO Alfred C. Liggins III; Cable Pioneer Jeff Marcus; Comcast Cable president and CEO Dave Watson; and WarnerMedia News & Sports president and president CNN Worldwide Jeff Zucker.

The Bresnan Ethics in Business Award will also be presented to Ted Turner, Environmentalist and Philanthropist, during the Cable Hall of Fame celebration.

“This year has proven that our industry is extremely resilient and creative, and the Cable Hall of Fame will be no different,” Michael Willner, president and CEO of Penthera Partners and chairman of The Cable Center’s Board of Directors, said in a press release. “We have some fun surprises in store as we roll out the red carpet virtually for our honorees and we are thrilled that C-SPAN has agreed to air this engaging celebration. We can’t wait to induct our 2020 class and hope that everyone will support this must-see event by not only viewing but also through our unique sponsorship opportunities.”

The Cable Center is still confirming its plans for 2021 honorees. For more information on the celebration, visit www.cablehalloffame.com.

The Cable Center said Wednesday that it will reschedule its 23rd annual Cable Hall of Fame celebration to Oct. 20 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City.

This is the fourth time the Center has had to reschedule the event. It was originally scheduled for April 30, 2020,  but was pushed to the fall of that year because of the pandemic.   In June 2020, it was rescheduled again to April 29, 2021.  

The Cable Hall of Fame inductees are: 

Bridget Baker: CEO Baker Media Inc.

Jim Blackley: Former EVP, IT and Engineering Charter Communications

Cathy Hughes: founder and chairwoman, Urban One

Alfred C. Liggins III: CEO, Urban One; chairman and CEO TV One

Jeff Marcus: Cable Pioneer

Dave Watson: president and CEO Comcast Cable

Jeff Zucker: chairman, WarnerMedia, News & Sports and president, CNN Worldwide 

The Bresnan Ethics in Business Award will also be presented to Ted Turner during the celebration. For those unable to gather in-person, the Cable Center said it will host a virtual celebration.

The Center said it is still confirming its plans for 2021 honorees. For more information on the celebration, visit www.cablehalloffame.com.

The Cable Center named seven industry luminaries to its 2020 Cable Hall of Fame class, tapping a wide range of industry executives who will be feted at an April 30 red carpet event at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York.

The honorees were chosen for leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation in the cable industry. Since 1998, 140 individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“The 2020 Cable Hall of Fame class represents every facet of our industry,” Michael Willner, Penthera CEO and chairman of The Cable Center’s board of directors, said in a statement. “They have helped to change the entertainment world we now live in and continue to create new and innovative video consumption models.”

The 2020 class members are:

Bridget Baker, CEO, Baker Media, and co-founder of CNBC

Jim Blackley, adviser to the CEO and former EVP of IT and engineering, Charter Communications;

Cathy Hughes, founder and chairwoman, Urban One;

Alfred C. Liggins III, CEO of Urban One and chairman and CEO of TV One;

Jeff Marcus, Cable pioneer and founder of Marcus Cable;

Dave Watson, president and CEO, Comcast Cable;

Jeff Zucker, chairman WarnerMedia News & Sports, and president, CNN Worldwide.

“Our industry would not be the same without the significant contributions of the 2020 Cable Hall of Fame honorees,” The Cable Center CEO Jana Henthorn said in a statement. “What an honor it will be to recognize them at our Cable Hall of Fame celebration on April 30.”

In addition to the class of 2020, the ceremony will also recognize this year’s winner of the Bresnan Ethics in Business Award, who had yet to be announced at press time.

Profiles were written by Erica Stull.

For more information on the celebration, visit cablehalloffame.com.

A first-generation American whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Scotland after World War II, Jim Blackley joined the U.S. Navy after high school in 1974. A military aptitude test revealed his natural affinity for engineering. He entered a two-year training program in Tennessee, and then went to work on a Grumman stealth plane. After completing his military service and computer programming school, he found his first private-sector technology job and attended night school to earn his degree.

Blackley joined Royal Insurance and changed employers six times over the following years, working with companies in the finance and utility sectors. “There’s a lot of value in being an IT vagabond and chasing the next technology,” he said. Specializing in billing and workforce management systems, he said, “I was preparing for a life in cable that I didn’t know I was preparing for.”

After wandering for nearly 20 years, Blackley found a place to call home in 1996 at Cablevision Systems in Bethpage, New York, where his background was needed. The company was looking into building what it referred to as its own MOAB — Mother of All Billing Systems. Blackley convinced Cablevision management that rather than build a billing system from scratch, it would make more sense to modernize and automate the components already being used.

Chasing technology was no longer necessary at Cablevision. “I didn’t have to go anywhere,” he said. “New jobs and new technologies kept coming to me.”

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He was excited to be part of the company’s transition to all-digital, and in his 16 years at Cablevision, was instrumental in a number of groundbreaking industry deployments including outside-the-home WiFi service and the first downloadable security system for set-top boxes. In cable, Blackley said, he was now part of an industry that was changing the world.

In 2012 Blackley left his position heading Cablevision’s engineering and technology to become Charter’s executive VP, engineering and information technology. Under his leadership, Charter has been at the forefront of introducing innovative video, internet and voice solutions using advanced technology. He led the MSO’s integration of Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and legacy Charter systems into a single, virtual infrastructure and supervised the company’s technological transformation. Blackley was instrumental in the launch of the Spectrum TV App, Spectrum Mobile, the cloud-based Spectrum Guide, Spectrum Internet Gig, and Charter’s move to an all-digital network.

Blackley’s work on downloadable conditional access software enabled the development of Charter’s WorldBox. He was honored with the Vanguard Award for Science and Technology in 2015 by NCTA–The Internet and Television Association.

Blackley spends his leisure time golfing, reading and doing “anything on water, either on boats, paddleboards, surfboards or in scuba gear.” As he looks toward retirement, he advises those entering the industry to keep their eye on the horizon. “Technology is coming fast and furious, and we’re uniquely positioned to provide the technology platform that will power this country for a very long time,” he said.

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In the weeks before Charter Communications wrapped up its acquisitions of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, the operator was well down the road of identifying who will lead New Charter across key areas, including technology.

The new structure of the MSO offers some insights into Charter’s technology plans going forward, but still leaves some questions unanswered, including its future plans involving the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack that’s been managed by Comcast, TWC and Liberty Global.

Leading New Charter’s technology organization is Jim Blackley, the former Cablevision Systems exec who joined Charter in 2012, reuniting him with former Cablevision chief operating officer and current Charter CEO Tom Rutledge.

SEVEN DEPARTMENTS

Per a memo distributed internally in March and obtained by Multichannel News, Blackley noted that the MSO’s new tech organization would consist of seven departments: Information Technology, Advanced Engineering, Software Architecture, Software Development, Technology Services, Chief Scientist and Wireless Technology.

“My goal over the next 18 months is to consolidate all of the Advanced Engineering, Technology Services, Software Architecture and Software Development in Denver,” Blackley wrote, adding that Denver will also serve as the hub for the MSO’s Product Development organization. Blackley added that Charter’s IT division currently resides in St. Louis and will retain a “significant” presence there as well as in Charlotte, N.C.

At the time, Blackley also identified several executives who will report to him and lead the new technology organization at Charter:

• Jay Carlson was named senior vice president and chief information officer, information technology, heading up the design, development, testing and operation of IT.

• Jay Rolls will serve as senior vice president and chief technology officer, advanced engineering. for Charter.

• Jake Perlman, late of Bright House Networks, is to serve as senior vice president of software development, responsible for agile software development for customer-facing features, systems and products.

• Marti Moore, vice president of technology services at the combined company, is to head up integration planning, cross-functional program management and integrated release management and testing for “large, complex technology programs.”

• Craig Cowden, another former Bright House exec, is staying on in a newly created role of senior vice president, wireless technology. Cowden is on board to oversee Charter’s wireless and WiFi Advanced Engineering Team.

Blackley’s memo also named Rob Martell as New Charter’s senior vice president of software architecture. However, Martell is no longer with Charter, the operator confirmed. Charter has yet to announce who will take that role.

Charter declined to comment beyond the content contained in the information distributed internally a few weeks ago.

Blackley also identified other key roles in the new technology group that were still open, including a senior vice president of advanced engineering — TWC, who will head up network data and voice engineering capabilities and engineering for new network and product technology; and an SVP and chief scientist who will head up research and development for future data, video and voice products and oversee the MSO’s patent review and application process.

LINGERING RDK QUESTIONS

Before the deal closed, Charter had been clear about its plans for video: It intends to extend the strategy underway in its legacy markets to the newly acquired TWC and Bright House systems. The plan there, in part, is to roll out a new cloud-based guide on older, non-IP set-tops as well as new IP-capable “Worldbox” devices that run a downloadable video security platform.

A good portion of that work centers on a cloud-based platform from ActiveVideo, a vendor that is now owned by Arris and Charter via a joint venture formed in mid-2015. That set-up will also help Charter complement its core pay TV service with integrated over-the-top services.

Charter’s plan also centers on the use of two-way, interactive set-tops at every outlet, and the company plans to phase out one-way Digital Transport Adapters (DTAs) that Time Warner Cable deployed to accelerate its all-digital transition.

Charter’s current plan of attack with video opens up the question of whether the MSO will lend its support to the RDK, which creates a unified stack for IP-capable set-tops and gateways and, more recently, for broadband modems and gateways.

RDK Management, the entity that manages the stack, is run by a joint venture of Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global. TWC’s position in the venture transferred to Charter via the acquisition.

Charter confirmed last year that it had licensed the RDK and had established two parallel development tracks: one that centers on its current technical approach and another based on the RDK.

Charter did not comment further on its current RDK plans. But multiple industry sources said the MSO is more interested in supporting RDK-B, which focuses on broadband devices, than it will be for the video-focused RDK-V, in part because the operator is wary of having to support too many different varieties of set-top boxes.

But if Charter decides not to pursue an RDK strategy at the set-top level, it could miss out on the scale benefits that such a strategy could provide.

Comcast and Liberty Global, the world’s largest cable operators, are of course firmly on board with RDK, but so is Cox Communications, which has licensed X1 for the next generation of its “Contour” video platform for set-tops and mobile devices. Shaw Communications has also licensed X1, but has limited its early use to a mobile app. Even a telco, CenturyLink Communications, has said it was evaluating RDK for a new video platform that’s under development.

Heading into the recent INTX in Boston, RDK Management announced that more than 15 million devices were running the RDK, and that about 275 multichannel video programming distributors, consumer electronics manufacturers, chipmakers, software developers and systems integrators had licensed the RDK. As a subset of that group, more than 25 cable, satellite and telco service operators around the world have licensed it, though not all have committed to deploying it.