House Energy And Commerce Subcommittee Chairman Fred Upton To Keynote CEA HDTV Summit

Conference Features Broadcast And Cable Association Presidents Fritts and Sachs 

5-Mar-04

The Consumer Electronics Association announced Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, will deliver the opening keynote at the upcoming HDTV Summit: Partnership, Policy, and Profits on March 29, 2004 at the Washington, DC Convention Center. The ninth annual HDTV Summit will also feature an industry leaders panel with Eddie Fritts, President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters; Robert Sachs, President and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA); and CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. The three will share their insights on the competition and cooperation that has occurred over the past two years since Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell issued his voluntary DTV plan, and will discuss the road ahead. The Partnership with Industry Leaders panel will be moderated by Mike Feazel, managing editor of Communications Daily. Government leaders from the FCC and various congressional offices, in addition to key representatives of the broadcast, cable, satellite and consumer electronics industries round out the seminal HDTV conference. ìCEAís ninth annual HDTV Summit will kick off with remarks from one of the countryís leading communications policymakers, Chairman Fred Upton,"" said CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro. ìA key congressional player on DTV and technology issues, Chairman Upton has been a strong and consistent advocate for HDTV and has worked to speed the benefits of HDTV to American consumers. His remarks will set the stage for a full day of active discussion on how best to move the transition further towards completion.î Following Chairman Upton's keynote remarks, CEA Director of Industry Analysis Sean Wargo will present new digital television (DTV) research data; including display production and purchasing trends, as well as an additional data segment dedicated to off-air DTV tuner projections. The morning's first panel session covers HDTV consumer education and will be moderated by Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Jonathan Takiff. The high-level panel includes Bryan Burns, Vice President of Strategic Business Planning And Development, ESPN, Inc.; Mark Cuban, Chairman And President, HDNet; W. Kenneth Ferree, FCC Media Bureau Chief; Samuel Goldstein, Director And Producer Of Capital Region Broadcasters/WRGB; and Jim Barry, National Spokesperson for CEA. DTV public policy issues will be the focus as CEA Vice President of Technology Policy Michael Petricone moderates 2006 - A Spectrum Odyssey and poses questions to panelists Hillary Brill, legislative counsel to Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA); Rick Chessen, FCC DTV Task Force Chairman And Associate Chief Of The Media Bureau; Gregg Rothschild, Minority Counsel to the U.S. House Commerce Committee; Paul Martino, Counsel to the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and Rob Stien, Legislative Aide to Congressman Lee Terry (R-NE). The HDTV Summit and the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers Awards luncheon will be taped in high-definition by the all-HD network, HDNet. A compilation segment will air on HDNet during April and May. HDTV Summit partners include: Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), Broadcasting and Cable, Canadian Digital Television (CDTV), Consumer Electronics Retailers Coalition (CERC), Home Theater Specialists of America (HTSA), Multichannel News and TWICE. Event sponsors include: Aquos, Comcast, Decisionmark, DirecTV, Discovery HD Theater, DLP, Gemini, LG Electronics, Toshiba, and Zenith. For information about the Consumer Electronics Association, please visit www.ce.org. 

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