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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Sarah Sweeney for CTAM Europe
+41 (0) 43.534.5440 or ctameurope@yahoo.com

CTAM Europe Announces Formation of first Pan-European Cable Marketing Association

Organization Focused on Providing Resources in Dynamic, Competitive Environment

Zürich, Switzerland – June 5, 2004 – CTAM Europe, a chapter of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing, announces its formal launch as the continent’s first ever, not-for-profit association dedicated to advancing marketing excellence in cable, broadband and other emerging media. The intent is to provide the resources and education as well as the networking opportunities needed by cable marketing executives to achieve success in an increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.

Co-Chairperson, Jude Blake, CMO at Cablecom GmbH in Zurich, Switzerland, noted that, “The digital revolution of the last 10 years has brought enormous change and increased competition to the cable industry across the world. Now, more than ever before, marketers in the European cable community can benefit from the networking, shared knowledge and resources that an organization like this can provide.”

Blake’s insight is echoed in recent market research. According to a study by BNP Paribas (European Cable revisited 9 February 2004), “The competitive landscape for broadband today is even more difficult…than it was several years ago. In almost every country, telecom incumbents have been priming themselves for deep and extensive DSL campaigns and can marshal resources well beyond even the largest and most entrenched European cable operators.”

CTAM Europe co-chair Jim Helfgott, Vice President, Sales and Marketing for HBO Central Europe, noted also that, “The developing cable industry in Eastern Europe can certainly benefit from networking with cable executives from a wide variety of market environments. The applicable insights are invaluable and will enable us to develop better, more targeted marketing solutions.”

While new to the region, the organization has already captured the attention and support of some of the industry’s leading companies, including: HBO Central Europe, Cablecom, UPC, Chello, Motive and many others. In fact, these organizations have dedicated resources to make the organization a success. For example, the board includes representation from cable operators and programmers from across Europe including:

Currently CTAM Europe is focusing on the development of two key deliverables to support networking and communication among their membership. The first is the development of a web site that centralizes access to key resources and personnel in the cable industry. The second is an annual conference designed to provide access to education and industry experts through interactive presentations, and round table discussions with industry leaders.

Helfgott, described the organization’s web strategy as an evolving process. “We see the CTAM Europe web as critical to effectively centralizing communications and access to information among our membership. Phase One of the site development will focus on developing the public site at www.ctameurope.com to effectively communicate our organizational objectives and resources. Phase Two, which we recently began work on, is focused on developing the “member’s only” section of the site, which will provide access to industry research, best practices, project management resources, a job bank and more.”

CTAM Europe’s first annual Euro-Summit is scheduled for September 9th and 10th in Budapest, Hungary. The agenda, developed with marketing, customer service and sales professionals in mind, includes keynote presentations, panel discussions and working sessions on topics like: Branding for Differentiation; Content Innovation; Customer Service Strategies; Acquisition and Retention Strategies.

Additional details about the summit will be issued shortly, but already the industry is expressing enthusiasm for both the organization and the upcoming event. Nimrod Kovacs, CEO, UPC Central Europe Group noted that, “We’re very impressed with the fresh thinking coming out of CTAM Europe and are pleased to be a charter sponsor of the organization. Networking and learning organizations like CTAM have been popular for some time in North America, and we see a strong need for a similar operation with a more European flavor to facilitate the exchange of ideas among cable professionals.

About CTAM Europe

CTAM Europe is a chapter of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing in Europe. The organization is dedicated to advancing consumer and business-to-business marketing excellence, the mastery of new technologies, and strategic learning in cable, broadband and other emerging media. The not-for-profit organization is affiliated with CTAM in North America, which began in 1976 and now has more than 5000 members worldwide. For more information, please visit our web site at www.ctameurope.com.

About ECCA

The European Cable Communications Association (ECCA) groups European cable operators, as well as their national associations. ECCA has 35 members from 21 different countries across Europe, representing amongst them more than 55 millions subscribers. The main goal of the Association is to foster co-operation between cable operators/associations and to promote and represent their interests at European and international level. For more information, please visit our website at www.ecca.be.

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