All of Cox’s subs will have access to digital simulcasting in 4 years; about 75% of them will be digital subs; and 70% of them will have a DVR. That’s according to the MSO’s pres Pat Esser, who offered a vision of Cox in ’10 at a Media Institute lunch in DC Wed. Some of his more noteworthy predictions: HD will be a big driver, with 65% of subs taking an HD package of at least 50 channels. Many movies will be available on VOD at the same time they’re released from Hollywood. Cox will work closely with multiple application providers for HSD. And voice/Internet services will be fully integrated. As any good cable exec would do, Esser made sure to predicate his vision on regulation being applied fairly. Calling the current state of DC a "mess," Esser said "consumers lose big on a tilted playing field that favors one provider over another." The newly installed Cox chief also plans to target "Echo Boomers," those 15-25 who prefer a PC to a TV. 10% of consumers have dropped landlines; he expects 30% of EchoBoomers to do the same. In fact, Esser had just come from a Discovery board meeting where programming to Echo Boomers was one of the topics discussed.

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S&P ’s TMT deal tracker reports that media and telecom M&A plunged to a 13-month low in February, with North American media and telecom companies striking 96 transactions worth nearly $160 million in

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