PCCM Director Dave Bohmer '69 Looks at Future of Cable TV Industry

August 8, 2001

August 8, 2001, Greencastle, Ind. - Expect the cable television landscape to become even less crowded through consolidation. That was the message in a story in New Jersey's Newark Star-Ledger that quoted several experts, including David A. Bohmer, director of DePauw's Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media. The July 29, 2001 article, entitled “Cable Connections,” suggested the addition of new features such as local phone service and high-speed internet access, services that are expensive to start up and maintain, may lead to further consolidation in the cable TV industry.

“It's possible you could go from five or six major (providers) to two or three,” Bohmer tells the newspaper.

Dr. Bohmer, who graduated from DePauw in 1969, is extremely well-acquainted with the cable industry. Before returning to DePauw, he spent 17 years with Centel Corporation, a telecommunications company, serving as president from 1986 to 1989. He's also been a member of the U.S. Telephone Association Government Relations Committee and served on the board of the National Cable Television Association.

Of cable consolidation, Star-Ledger reporter Jeff May wrote, “Bohmer said the timing is right for more combinations, because the Bush Administration is far less likely to impose limits than its predecessor.”

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