All is milk and honey between the broadcast and cable industries as they move toward next February's digital transition. At least that was the main message at the panel called DTV Transition: Partnering Opportunities for Cable and Broadcasters, that took place Monday at the NAB Show.

NAB President-CEO David Rehr opened the session and set the tone, saying the transition presents new opportunities for the two industries to collaborate.

“We have to have a process and a standard that works for both cable and broadcast because they serve the same American consumers,” added panel moderator Richard Wiley, partner in Wiley Rein LLP and a former FCC chairman. “This is a historic discussion and it's incumbent on both broadcasters and cable to forge that process.”

Everyone agreed that education is key to a successful transition. NCTA President-CEO Kyle McSlarrow pointed out that the two industries agreed back in 2006 to back a $200 million educational campaign. Robert Miron, chairman and CEO, Advance/Newhouse Communications, said that his company is educating people internally as well as running spots for the public.

“We need consumer education as well as employee education,” agreed Glenn Britt, president-CEO, Time Warner Cable. “Many of our 47,000 employees deal with customers every day. We want to make sure they say the right thing.”

But much remains to be done, according Paul McTear, president-CEO, Raycom Media. “The broadcast and cable industries have only recently begun to cooperate,” he said. “We have everything to lose if we don't continue to work together.”

Another area where the two industries can collaborate, said some panelists, is in devising so-called cable lifeline programs, whereby local cable systems offer bare-bones tiers consisting only of over-the-air channels plus educational and public access programming.

“It's the lowest-prices service we have,” said Brad Dusto, president, Western division, Comcast Cable. “We price it at $10 to $14 per month. For that, customers get a good signal. Any Comcast system will be happy to work with broadcasters to make that offer.”

While the concept has long been talked about in the cable community, broadcasters need to be brought up to speed, according to Jack Sander, NAB joint board chairman and senior adviser, Belo Broadcasting. “I didn't know what lifeline meant until a few weeks ago,” he said. “I see it as a partnership that you [cable] guys can craft that will allow you to solve your challenges in your local markets.”

Sander acknowledged that “to make sure the switch to digital leaves no set behind, we have to embrace some of these new ideas.” He added that it's important to avoid the complaint calls that would follow a botched transition. “Those phone calls won't go to Washington, D.C. They'll go to local TV stations and to local cable companies. Anything we can do to preempt that would be to all our advantages.”

Cable companies, on their part, could see an uptick in subscribership if households that now get their TV service exclusively over the air decide to subscribe to cable—perhaps a lifeline service—instead of buying converter boxes. “Some of them may use this juncture to decide to buy cable,” said Britt.

“I worry about the people who are over the air now, or who have multiple sets,” said Sander. “They're at risk, and they're our highest viewers. The spirit of the lifeline package provides us with a lot of opportunity.”

“There's no question [the cable industry] may get a few more subscribers,” McSlarrow told TVNEWSDAY. “But in any case I don't think much will happen till the new year. We're laying the groundwork now, but I think there's going to be this zone in September and October where it's all about the national election, and then I think it's going be a sprint from then on, purchasing coupons in the Christmas holiday season.”

McSlarrow added that he hoped the country will be at “99.9-percent awareness” by the new year. Sanders said he would be happy if it was over 90 percent. “By Jan. 1, we've got to know where we are,” he said. “By then it should all be just clean-up.”

“I'm encouraged by the good will and good faith I've heard at this panel,” Wiley concluded.

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