Rallying the Troops: Roberts Defends Cable; Disses Competition

Brian Roberts was spoiling for a fight Tues, as he accepted CTAM’s Grand TAM award in Philly Tues. Shooting off a Blackberry email seconds before taking the stage, Comcast’s chmn/CEO delivered a speech that should serve as a rallying cry for the industry. Criticizing Wall St and the press, Roberts said cable is battling a perception problem that’s proving to be as tough as telco and DBS competitors. "If you believe the stock analysts and some press reports, cable’s future is in doubt," he said. "We’re going to succeed and prove the naysayers wrong." In a following interview with Larry King, Roberts became even more pointed while talking about the competition. He bashed satellite for not being local ("They don’t exist. Where is the satellite company? It’s not in Philadelphia."). And he dissed the telcos for, well, being telcos (ie, they’re laying off people, dealing with unionized workers and trying to learn a new business). As far as the telco price cuts, he didn’t sound concerned, noting that offers typically have a lot of strings attached. "I’m not sure that the way you want to build a business is through discounts," he said. — Roberts Talk: Roberts bemoaned the slow pace of the Adelphia sale. "It’s a shame. A lot of great customers are caught in the middle. The faster we get there, the better it will be for customers." — Roberts won a gold medal in squash at the Maccabiah Games in Israel over the weekend. He captained the U.S. team.