Midwest Cable Academy Set for May

Say goodbye to the Great Lakes Cable Expo and hello to the Midwest Cable Academy.

The Great Lakes Cable Television Association said Wednesday that it altered the format of its 22-year-old trade show after a collaborative decision by the Illinois, Ohio and Indiana state cable associations, along with the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing’s Ohio and Midwest chapters and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers.

The association added that the Midwest Cable Academy “will focus on educating attendees about new technologies, strategic thinking and sharing best practices on industry developments.”

"Our business has changed,” Midwest Cable Academy president Steve Fry said in a prepared statement. “We have to make regional shows make good business sense not only for programmers and vendors, but also for operators. The traditional trade-show structure wasn't working for us. We had to change to a format where participants learn about new strategies and tactics to actually grow the business."

The Midwest Cable Academy is set for May 17-19, 2005, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Indianapolis.