Comcast Chief Roberts Says Cable Can Learn From Apple

LOS ANGELES -- Comcast needs to take a page from the programmers’ playbook by better promoting itself and emphasizing content, and from companies including Apple in having easier-to-use devices, CEO Brian Roberts said Tuesday at the NCTA show. Apple’s iPad is the type of device Comcast wants its services to work with, he said, indicating there will be more to come on that subject. Speaking in a Q-and-A with ex-News Corp. President Peter Chernin at the show Monday, Roberts said cable has to do a better job promoting itself.

A big disappointment in Roberts’ career is that Comcast “didn’t pick up on content early enough,” he said. The Discovery Channel years ago asked the cable industry to void existing carriage contracts and pay 5 cents a subscriber monthly to get a stake in either the channel or owner Discovery Communications, Roberts said. That didn’t happen. “I feel like we were there at the ground floor, but we're kind of starting later today,” Roberts said. The cable operator’s move into VOD, with more than 15 billion total orders for various types of on-demand video, has met “staggering” demand, he said. “It’s a big deal, and I think it’s going to be an even bigger deal."

Comcast can learn from brands like Apple “that are universally loved -- how do we do better at that?” Roberts said. “I'm not giving up that goal. … We can improve the service experience.” Cable is “always the industry people love to hate, and I think that’s a shame,” he said. This is in part a “self-inflicted” wound because it’s operators that send customers bills, Roberts said: Still, “there are a lot of people who are very satisfied and are very happy."

Cable subscribers now “navigate with a clunky device, a clunky box,” Roberts said. “I think new devices are going to make it easier for customers to know all we have. … I think we're on the doorstep” of vast improvements, he continued. “We need to learn from the content industry how to promote even better than we do today.” The TV Everywhere initiative to put content from cable channels online for subscribers has “made good progress” though initially authentication was too complicated, Roberts said. This too is an area where Comcast can learn from Apple, and there will be an updated version of TV Everywhere out soon, he said. “It’s in simplicity -- it always seems to win,” he added. “I don’t think that’s our strong suit."

On Comcast’s planned buy of control in NBC Universal, “we're not going to try to Comcastize NBC Universal” and the buyer will respect the culture of each brand, Roberts said. CEO Jeff Immelt of NBC Universal parent General Electric “made no secret” that NBCU wasn’t a core business, Roberts said. Addressing himself to NBC Universal employees in the room where he spoke, Roberts said, “You can’t say that about Comcast.”