Cable TV industry goes from high to low in a year

It hasn't been a good year for television. That seems clear from 2015's annual convention of the nation's pay-TV industry here. The lofty expectations from 2014's gathering of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association have given way to 2015's anxiety over digital disruption. The most obvious sign? A new name for the massive event -- the Internet and Television Expo -- a nod to the rising threat of online platforms and streaming services. Gone is 2014's buzz about Comcast's audacious $45-billion bid for Time Warner Cable. That deal is dead. The renewed ratings strength at major programming companies such as NBC and Viacom 2014? It's been a struggle. And 21st Century Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch's play for Time Warner ended up failing.

"It's an interesting time for the cable TV business," said Richard Greenfield, media analyst with BTIG Research. "The chessboard keeps wanting to be reset, but at the same time the business is increasingly threatened by rapid growth of Internet video." Top executives of all the major cable companies, as well as top government regulators, plan to attend the cable convention in Chicago, which begins May 5th and typically draws more than 10,000 attendees. 2015's key topic is expected to be how well the cable industry can weather the digital storm that looms over the landscape. Sluggish ratings at major cable and broadcast networks are giving industry leaders more cause for concern. Conventional media companies have been roiled by consumers' increased use of high-tech devices to watch TV shows and films, and that's led to slumping television ratings.