Cartoon Network Partners with CDC to Fight Childhood Obesity
Cartoon Network is supporting the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) VERB campaign in its ongoing battle against childhood obesity by launching the "What's Your VERB? Challenge," an on-air and online promotion created to inspire and reward children for pursuing their favorite physical activities. The VERB campaign encourages physical activities and aims to reduce unhealthy, risky behaviors among youth.

Starting August 4, Cartoon Network will ask children to submit videotapes of themselves doing their favorite VERB for a chance to have portions of their tape featured on television. Six winning entries will be selected based on the activity level displayed, enthusiasm shown for the particular pursuit and the overall quality of the presentation. Portions of each winner's videotape will be telecast on Cartoon Network from October - February and videostreamed at http://www.magnetmail.net/Actions/linktosite.cfm?message_id=15066&user_id=CTPPA&recipient_id=5484063&site=http://www.CartoonNetwork.com. Additionally, the six children each will receive a small stipend toward professional lessons in their activity of choice.

From August 9, 2003, through September 9, 2004, Cartoon Network will run a 60-second spot inviting children to create videotapes that showcase them participating in their favorite sport, game or active hobby. Details of the promotion and where to send completed videotapes also will be featured at http://www.magnetmail.net/Actions/linktosite.cfm?message_id=15066&user_id=CTPPA&recipient_id=5484063&site=http://www.CartoonNetwork.com.

CDC's integrated "VERB. It's what you do." campaign uses advertising, marketing, events and partnership activities to ensure that campaign messages reach children whenever they are looking for something positive to do. Through multicultural media partnerships, the campaign is designed to reach children in all socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds. The "tween" VERB Web site, offers many interactive features that help children get active. It also incorporates fun games, interesting facts and easy to follow tips to get started. For more information about the campaign, see http://www.magnetmail.net/Actions/linktosite.cfm?message_id=15066&user_id=CTPPA&recipient_id=5484063&site=http://www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign or visit the parent Web site at http://www.magnetmail.net/Actions/linktosite.cfm?message_id=15066&user_id=CTPPA&recipient_id=5484063&site=http://www.verbparents.com/.

One of the CDC's objectives of the VERB campaign is to reach children with activity-inspiring messages wherever they congregate en masse, and Cartoon Network will help to advance VERB's message through the mass media. Cartoon Network's "What's Your VERB? Challenge" is part of an overall AOL Time Warner corporate initiative to support the CDC's "VERB. It's what you do." national, multicultural campaign through its multiple, kids-targeted divisions.

 Congratulations Kathy Brabson, Diane Dietz, Midge Pierce, and Kim Roden!
CTPAA members Kathy Brabson, vice president and general manager, Time Warner Cable; Diane Dietz, vice president of corporate affairs, Comcast Cable Communications, Inc.; Midge Pierce, vice president WAM! Programming, Starz Encore Group; and Kim Roden, vice president of public affairs and customer care, Time Warner Cable are members of Class X of The Betsy Magness Leadership Institute, Women in Cable & Telecommunications' (WICT) flagship executive development program. The 2003 Betsy Magness Leadership Institute marks the tenth anniversary of the award-winning leadership program for women.

Brabson, Dietz, Pierce, and Roden will join 22 other female cable professionals in an intensive, year-long educational program designed to prepare women to assume significant executive-level leadership responsibilities within the cable and telecommunications industry. The 2003-2004 fellowship year begins this October with a weeklong workshop at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina, and concludes in May 2004 with three additional seminars on topics ranging from business ethics to risk taking.

WICT established the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute in 1993 with a generous grant from TCI's Bob Magness and J.C. Sparkman. The Institute is named in honor Betsy Magness, a cable pioneer and leader who was influential in transforming TCI, then AT&T Broadband and Internet Services, and now Comcast, into one of the nation's leading cable and telecommunication companies.

 Collaborative Marketing Case Study Competition Deadline August 8^th
A case study competition will be an integral component of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing's (CTAM) upcoming Collaborative Marketing Seminar:  "Partnering for Profit: Join Forces. Gain Resources." on September 18, 2003, in New York City.

The case studies incorporated into the one-day seminar are designed to provide tangible examples of the most effective collaborative initiatives among Communications/Public Affairs, Marketing, and Local Ad Sales and the resulting efficiencies and ROI benefits. Entries for the CTAM, Cable World and Turner Network Sales Collaborative Marketing Case Study Competition must be submitted to CTAM by 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, August 8, 2003.

CTAM is addressing needs articulated by cable network and MSO executives, who believe that a unified effort across all three disciplines is a high priority and one that is not widely implemented today. In addition, executives are focused on ensuring that dollars spent in creating promotional opportunities for the cable industry are converted to profits for all partners. The goal of the seminar is to showcase the assets of Communications/Public Affairs, Marketing, and Local Ad Sales with companies and explore the incremental benefits of aggregating these assets in collaborative initiatives.

The seminar also offers attendees the opportunity to both share and learn "best practices" of this collaborative marketing approach as a way to most efficiently and effectively leverage opportunities at the community level.

Past CTPAA President Ellen East, VP Communications and Investor Relations, Cox Communications, and CTPAA member Lori A. McFarling, SVP Distribution and Marketing Strategy, Discovery Networks, are co-chairs of the seminar.

 NCTA Launches New HDTV Section on Web site
The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) has added a new HDTV section to its Web site. It is a clearinghouse for information about the cable industry's efforts to create and deploy High-Definition Television content and services. The new HDTV section can be found by clicking on the "Leading the Digital Revolution" icon on NCTA's home page or under the "Broadband Services" menu.

The new HDTV section includes information about:

• Cable Programming Networks - a list of the growing number of cable program networks that are producing HDTV content and a brief synopsis of the networks' high-definition strategy,
• HDTV Deployment - national information about the deployment of HDTV service by cable operators and a summary of where the top Multiple System Operators have launched HDTV,
• Cable/Consumer Electronics Industry Agreement - an overview of the December 2002 "plug and play" agreement designed to enable consumers to buy digital TVs that connect to digital cable without a set-top box and still provides easy access to HDTV services, and
• Virtual Press Kit - this NCTA designed kit provides a comprehensive summary of the cable industry's HDTV activity including technical information, programming growth and current developments.

In addition to the HDTV section, the NCTA Web site also features a new Interactive Services section that highlights other new broadband services cable operators are providing to consumers. Services highlighted include Digital Video Recorders (DVR), Video on Demand (VOD), Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD), Interactive Program Guides (IPG) and Enhanced TV Services (ETV).

For information on how your organization can join CTPAA as a corporate member in 2004, please contact Steve Jones at sjones@ctpaa.org or at 202/775-1083. For membership details, go to http://www.magnetmail.net/Actions/linktosite.cfm?message_id=15066&user_id=CTPPA&recipient_id=5484063&site=http://www.ctpaa.org/mcorp.shtml.

2003 Golden Benefactors

A&E Networks
Advance/Newhouse Communications
Cablevision Systems Corporation
Charter Communications
Comcast Cable Communications
Cox Communications
NBC Cable Networks
Rainbow Media Holdings
Time Warner Cable
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc

2003 Benefactors

ABC Cable Networks Group
ESPN
Lifetime Television
MTV Networks
TechTV
The Weather Channel

2003 Friends & Associates

Adelphia
CableLabs
Cable Telecommunications Association of New York
Comedy Central
Court TV
C-SPAN Networks
Discovery Networks
Florida Cable Telecommunications Association
Game Show Network
Hallmark Channel
HBO
Indiana Cable Telecommunications Association
Insight Communications
International Channel
Midcontinent Communications
Motorola, Broadband Communications Sector
Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association
Oxygen Media
Scientific-Atlanta
Scripps Networks
Showtime Networks
Texas Cable & Telecommunications Association
Terayon Communication Systems