Powell Says He's Not Worried By Cord-Cutters

National Cable & Telecommunications Association president Michael Powell says that he is more intrigued than worried by the prospect, which he emphasized was more prospect than reality.

That is according to an interview for C-SPAN's Communicators series, a copy of which was supplied to B&C/Multi. He said he thought the market was "rightfully generating a set of complimentary opportunities" that he said also has risks. He pointed out that those options drive a lot of broadband consumption, a business cable is also in, big time. "These things aren't zero sum for our industry. Some of those same things accrue to us as a benefit."

But he was not conceding the point entirely. He pointed to studies he said had "poured cold water" on the "overly enthusiastic" cord-cutting theme. He added that annually, it seems, the media have to grudgingly report that folks are still primarily watching the same "favorite shows" on the same "favorite platforms" and that cord-cutting is more an idea than a reality, "at least at scale."

Powell also said that there would be nothing to watch on Netflix or Hulu if it were not first monetized on cable, and that over the top and over the cable content is much more interdependent than it gets credit for.