Cable's Jornadas mix biz & tech growth.

This year's Jornadas de Cable had two novelties: a change of date and location. Due to Argentina's October presidential elections, the cable and satellite organizing associations--Camara Argentina de Distribuidores de Senales Satelitales (CADiSSa) and Asociacion Argentina de Television por Cable (ATVC)--decided to move up the annual cable TV meeting to the end of September from its traditional October or November dates In addition, the venue was changed from last years unsuitable Sheraton to the Hilton Hotel in Buenos Aires. The event, which gathers executives from all over Argentina and throughout Latin America, showcases programming, technology and services through its exhibits, workshops and academic debates where executives analyze and discuss topics related to the development of the field.

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Before the event, Eduardo Suarez, general manager of CADiSSa, said the organizers chose to hold the event before the elections, to draw attention to me countrys cable and satellite industries before its change in Presidents.

Jornadas also serves Argentina-based Claxson as a platform for closing affiliation deals with cable operators. For his part, David Guerra, Affiliate Sales director of Sparrowhawk Media Latin America (a division of the London-based company) stressed the importance of Jornadas for his firm, which has more than 90 percent cable TV penetration in Argentina.

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Enrique R. Martinez, evp and general manager of Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic, said that at Jornadas his company showcased a campaign called Descubre el Verde, which will be presented as Planet Green. It consists of special programs, interactive tools and Internet sites that focus on the "green" lifestyle. The U.S. launch of an environmentally dedicated channel has been scheduled for 2008. "This initiative will be supported by an investment of U.S.$50 million from Discovery Communications for original content that deals with the preservation of the world's environment," he said.

Channel provider Pramer of Buenos Aires and Atlanta, Georgia-based pay-TV service LAPTV attend Jornadas to strengthen bonds. "It's a great opportunity to gather together all the people who make up the industry and to meet with the different operators. Of course this year was a larger event because the market has changed, but it's always a good opportunity to show the new things we're doing. Technology has greatly influenced our business," stated Emilce Cebrian, executive director of LAPTV South Region. LAPTV focused on its HD Movie City, and its premium channels.

Patricia Thompson, affiliate sales and distribution vp at Pramer, said Jornadas is the right place to be because "the Argentine market is the sector that has developed most in the last few years."

At Jornadas, ATVC and CADiSSA celebrated 15 years of the ATVC Awards, this time with the slogan: Porque la television es por cable (Because television is on cable). The awards, which decorate the best Argentine and Latin American TV productions, included the addition of a new category that recognizes the participation of students of social communications. TURNOVERS DURING 2006 An official document distributed by ACTV shows the 2006 turnover of Argentina's major cable TV operators and telecommunications companies: Major Cable TV operators 1.900 billion Argentine pesos

(U.S. $603 million) Grupo Telefonica Argentina 8.800 billion Argentine pesos

(U.S. $3 billion) Grupo Telecom Argentina 7.500 billion Argentine pesos

(U.S. $2 billion) Grupo Slim Argentina 4.400 billion Argentine pesos

(U.S. $1.4 billion)