In perhaps the best illustration of what an à la carte future might look like, the floor plan at the National Show put the Gospel Music Channel’s booth cheek to, er, cheek with Hustler TV’s.
It’s hard to tell which booth operators were more uncomfortable with their location. When GMC sent a gospel choir marching around the floor, the angelic singers sang a lyric about sin and salvation just as they came upon the adult network’s scantily clad booth bunnies.
One Hustler TV salesman jokingly claimed the singers for Hustler honcho Larry Flynt: "It’s the Hustler Gospel Choir."
When Flash! bumped into NCTA chief McSlarrow again, we asked him which booths he liked best.
"The ones with the best chum," said the fishing
enthusiast.
McSlarrow took the bait at the MTV Networks table, snagging both seasons of Chappelle’s Show on DVD. An avid soccer player, he also picked up a ball from GolTV.
But exhibitors clearly save the best tchotchkes for the actual cable-system executives. Fox News handed out some high-quality bright-red gym bags.
Sales reps for Ditch Witch’s trench-digging gear, meanwhile, had to settle for cookies and brownies from Scripps Networks’ Food Network.
