Editor's Letter: Bards R Us

Cable World,  March 21, 2005  

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By John P. Ourand

I've been having a lot of fun comparing Chuck Dolan to King Lear (and Chuck's offspring, Jimmy and Tom, to Lear's offspring, the scheming Goneril and the loyal Cordelia). In that vein, I started thinking about other cable-as- Shakespeare comparisons.

After all, Shakespeare's life mimicked the cable industry's growth. He retired a rich man. He became rich by selling drama to crowds by the most modern means possible (secular theater). That's not too different from the cable industry.

Here are some more metaphors that crossed my mind. (I knew my decision to be an English major would pay off someday!) Shoot me an e-mail with more ideas. I'll print the best ones.

Richard III: The Roberts' ascension to cable royalty closely mirrors the rise of Richard III. An unlikely pick as king, Richard obtained his power by listing all the folks he had to knock off in order to be on top; then doing it. Similarly, Ralph Roberts was an unlikely pick to create cable's biggest MSO when he started his system in Tupelo, Miss. By deftly picking its acquisition targets, Comcast has become the unquestioned king of cable. Comcast most likely won't fall apart on Bosworth Field, however.

Henry IV, Part 1: King Henry's dysfunctional son Prince Hal is a good match for John Rigas' dysfunctional son, Tim. Like Hal, Tim was a guy who didn't accept responsibility. Tales of Tim's boondoggles before his tragic (almost Shakespearean) fall were legendary. But Prince Hal ultimately grew up (in Henry IV, Part 2 and Henry V) becoming one of the greatest kings of England. Tim's story still is being written, though I doubt the outcome will be as triumphant.

Othello: Leo Hindery makes a perfect Iago, who vowed to stay loyal to Othello only as long as it worked to his advantage. One of cable's grand statesmen in the 1990s when he was leading TCI and AT&T Broadband, Hindery was loyal to the industry only until he went to work for YES Network. He went out of his way to bring regulation to the industry. Unlike Iago, who killed Othello, Hindery didn't kill cable. But he sure tried...

Romeo & Juliet: Let's call the operators the Capulets, and let's paint the programmers as the Montagues. I'm not sure there's any true love to be had here, but the hatred between the operators and programmers rivals anything the two families can muster.

Macbeth: Macbeth went for broke to become king, only to be bumped off by the rightful heirs. Former AT&T Broadband head C. Michael Armstrong went for broke to become the head of the cable industry, only to be bought out by cable's rightful heirs.

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