CABLESHOW-Cable TV chiefs say industry recession-resistant

By Yinka Adegoke

NEW ORLEANS, May 18 (Reuters) - Leading U.S. cable television chiefs said on Sunday the industry has been "recession-resistant" in spite of fears that it would be tripped up by the housing market downturn and slowing U.S. economy.

Any signs of a slowdown they have seen have been minimal or localized for both the cable operators and network owners, according to executives speaking at the annual industry trade event, The Cable Show, in New Orleans.

"(We) can probably all be categorized as recession resistant industries, not immune," said Philippe Dauman, chief executive of Viacom Inc (VIAb.N). "We (Viacom) haven't been impacted in a significant way thus far," he added.

Dauman's thoughts on the economy were echoed by all his co-panelists, including Brian Roberts, chief executive of Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O); Peter Chernin, president of News Corp NWSa.N; Yoshi Yamada, chief executive of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd's (6752.T) Panasonic North America; and Intel Corp (INTC.O) CEO Paul Otellini.

Roberts said the cable industry has been hurt somewhat by the slowdown in new housing starts in the U.S., which has led to some losses in basic TV subscribers.

"For a little while that threw off Wall Street," said Roberts. But he said that the basic subscriber losses were outweighed by strong growth in Internet and digital phone sales.

The cable industry posted strong growth in digital video additions in the first quarter, as more subscribers bought digital video recorders and flatscreen high definition televisions.

"We're very fortunate in the consumer electronics industry (that) we're in the middle of a high definition revolution," said Yoshi Yamada, chief executive of Panasonic North America. "We have a very strong business right now."

WIRELESS OPTION

The cable industry is making plans to extend its services with wireless capability after several fumbled attempts. Comcast said earlier this month it is teaming up with Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC.N), Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N), Clearwire Corp (CLWR.O), Intel and Google Inc (GOOG.O) to launch a wireless network using WiMax technology.

In April, Comcast and other cable partners pulled out of a two-year old partnership with Sprint, saying the partnership was too complicated.

Roberts said the new venture offers more freedom for Comcast to work autonomously.

"This is definitely our preferred course," said Roberts.

Though WiMax technology is still unproven, Comcast and Intel said it would be the fastest wireless data nationwide network in the U.S. and would put pressure on AT&T Inc (T.N). and Verizon Wireless to build out their own 4G networks more quickly. Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L).

Intel's Otellini said the network would have speeds of around 14 megabits per second, nearly 10 times faster than a typical Wi-Fi network today.