"CableCares" at Cable Show '09 Will Benefit DC Schools.

Cable Partners with "City Year" on Community Service Projects

Back By Popular Demand! "Battle of the Bands" Charity Fundraiser Reprised for 2009

WASHINGTON -- As the cable industry's Cable Show moves to Washington, DC, for the first time since 1971, the industry's "CableCares" initiative will shift its focus in 2009 to donate time, materials and financial support to helping improve Washington, DC schools.

When the Cable Show visited New Orleans in 2008, the CableCares community service project provided assistance to ongoing recovery efforts in New Orleans. The 2009 CableCares effort will culminate during The Cable Show '09, the 58th Annual Convention and International Exposition of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), scheduled for the Washington Convention Center, April 1-3.

CableCares will leverage the resources of the cable broadband industry and the goodwill of Cable Show delegates, many of whom will participate in volunteer activities. NCTA is also working with City Year Washington, DC - a national community service program for young people - in organizing, funding and recruiting volunteers. City Year also will be the beneficiary of NCTA's popular "Battle of the Bands" fundraiser, which last year raised more than $370,000 to support post-Katrina rebuilding projects in New Orleans. Eighty percent of the funds raised this year will go specifically to fund City Year's programs in DC schools and after-school centers.

"Washington, DC, the site of this year's Show, is our hometown," said Kyle McSlarrow, President & CEO, NCTA. "So we're pleased that the rest of the industry will be able to contribute to the local economy and help the children of our nation's capital."

Under the CableCares umbrella, and with cooperation from city officials and City Year, NCTA has identified the following projects that will be the focus of NCTA's fundraising and volunteer initiatives:

Schools and Community Centers - CableCares and Cable in the Classroom, the cable industry's education foundation, are working with the local school system and City Year to identify a school and/or after school care facility in need of maintenance, repairs, and general beautification and will mobilize industry volunteers from 8:00 am to 11:00 am on Wednesday, April 1 to take action.

Book/Video Drive - CableCares will reprise 2008's very successful book and educational video drive, this year to help fill the bookshelves in local DC schools and libraries. Delegates to The Cable Show '09 will be asked to "bring a book," with the goal of collecting thousands of books and videos. CableCares will coordinate the effort with DC Public Schools to identify the titles most in need.

Supplies and Instruments - The Gospel Music Channel, in partnership with Feed the Children, will provide food, school supplies, and musical instruments by the truckload to a project school, as it did in New Orleans in 2008.

The Sportsman Channel's Hunt.Fish.Feed(SM) Initiative - The Sportsman Channel's Hunt.Fish.Feed. initiative is a unique outreach program that taps a new food source for those who are in need during this economic hardship, made possible by sportsmen to whom hunting is synonymous with harvesting. The Washington, DC, initiative is part of The Sportsman Channel's seven-city tour helping to feed the homeless at the Central Union Mission on Tuesday, March 31st.

For more information on Washington, DC, CableCares volunteer opportunities, email Melinda Schwartz at [e-mail] or contact NCTA's Industry Affairs department at 202-222-2430.

Battle of the Bands Is Back!

NCTA also has issued a call for industry talent to participate in The Cable Show '09 closing night "Battle of the Bands" concert on Friday, April 3, 2009 at the DC Convention Center.

At its debut last year in New Orleans, thanks to generous support from Cable Show attendees and sponsors, Battle of the Bands raised more than $370,000 through event sponsorships and ticket sales. Cisco Systems and Motorola have once again pledged their support as event sponsors for the 2009 show. A full listing of sponsorship opportunities is available at www.thecableshow.com/band.

The concert event will be emceed by award-winning actress, singer, and host of TV One Access, Tatyana Ali, courtesy of TV One. In addition to being a Harvard University graduate, Ali has numerous film and TV credits include playing Will Smith's cousin, Ashley Banks, on the hit sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. In 1998, Ali released her debut album, Kiss the Sky, which went gold. In 1999, she recorded Precious Wings, a song on the Sesame Street soundtrack which won her a Grammy for "Best Musical Album for Children."

The competition will once again feature a panel of celebrity judges, led by returning judge and Grammy-winning guitar impresario, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter. Baxter has played on 150 albums with such popular acts as Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr and more, and has 17 gold records and eight platinum records to his credit.

First place winners from the 2008 Battle of the Bands - Cox Communications' "Xpanded Bandwidth" - will return to the stage in DC to defend its title as the top cable rockers.

NCTA is seeking additional bands to join the competition. Interested acts should submit band name and demo track to [e-mail]. Selected bands will perform a three-song set during the concert with the winners determined by a combination of the judges' scores and the popular audience vote. For more information on bands, tickets, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.thecableshow.com/band or call NCTA Industry Affairs at 202/222-2430.

Additional, up-to-the-minute information for The Cable Show is available via the official web site (www.thecableshow.com) or from NCTA's Department of Industry Affairs, at 202/222-2430.

NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation's largest broadband provider of high-speed Internet access after investing more than $130 billion to build a two-way interactive network with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to millions of American consumers.