For those inured to NCTA-type extravaganzas, the Cable Congress 2012 in Brussels is much quieter; much, much smaller; and (to me) much more interesting. More new ideas and some very, very different ways of looking at the world.

Of political note: The European crisis is front and center everywhere as business leaders fret over how, when and if the European Union can unite sufficiently to face up to juggernauts from Asia and the U.S. How serious is it? Said former European Parliament president Pat Cox, keeping the Union afloat these days is "like building a lifeboat while still in the water."

Of interest in technology: Yes! Horizon, that new Liberty Global platform for the home (and it's "NOT just a set top box," says Mike Fries), should launch in the second quarter, despite much rumor about technical woes. 

Of ways to work with your customers: In Portugal, ZON CEO Rodrigo Costa has created "5,000 hot spots" by using modems in customer homes and sharing back some of the revenue. 

Of sartorial note: If you want to occupy a corner office in Europe, polish up those cufflinks! On the "View from the Top" panel, four out of the four panelists (Fries, Costa, Sky Deutschland's Brian Sullivan and BBC Worldwide Channels' Ian McDonough) all sported links.

And finally, on intercontinental differences: While US cable CEOs talk about broadband as their primary business focus, European cable cos are harking back to good old (well, sort of) television: Cable is coming back to TV, noted ComHem CEO Tomas Franzen, albeit as "a multiscreen experience. We're not just broadband," he said.•

Re: Netflix Partnering with DIRECTV?!?

(Editor's Note: We don't normally run comments this prominently, but we thought this piece is worth sharing in its entirety.)

The nugget about Netflix partnering with DIRECTV to offer satellite-based OTT gave me quite a chuckle… one of those "inspired rumors" intended to generate cool buzz. I categorize this with the chatter earlier this week about Netflix joining the galaxy of premium pay television channels. "As if…" as they say.

1) Using satellites to deliver an on-demand/unicast service? DIRECTV doesn’t have the Ku-Band satellite capacity to support this sort of service. Maybe DIRECTV would use WildBlue capacity? Ka-Band satellites have much more capacity (but) WildBlue has limited bandwidth. (Just last week you ran a story about DIRECTV telling resellers not to push WildBlue and that DTV isn't fulfilling anymore sales/installs.) That's because using satellites for a unicast service simply doesn't scale; more subscribers = degraded service; mass market success = death.
 
2) As for Netflix's "superior" content? The Nextflix library is a mere shadow of what it was with Starz. Many of the really great A and B titles are now replaced by many C and D titles… assets that studio execs jokingly say "weren't released, they escaped." Sure new content is on the horizon…but I want to watch something good tonight!

3) DIRECTV can certainly license "superior" titles - just like Comcast, TWC, or DISH - but remember the U.S. Netflix offering today is all SVOD ("all you can eat"), not TVOD (single view). Offering TVOD works for satellite delivery because the take-rates are low (maybe 3-5% of subscribers) and the number of TVOD titles is only a fraction of an SVOD library. Also keep in mind that the "all you can eat" for a flat fee biz model is anemic compared with that of a "full service" video service operator like DIRECTV.

If DIRECTV truly wanted to get into the OTT biz – like BSkyB (which is reportedly poised to launch OTT this year) I think it already has the necessary ingredients to do so all by itself. -Steve Symonds, Symonds Associates •

Etc.: Gov't/Private Broadband Push - Comedy Central Going Global? - 'Critical Outage' at ViaSat

Rules & Regs: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced a new public-private initiative to drive collaboration among the gov't, private sector and non-profit organizations on broadband-related national priorities. The initiative will advance the agency's broadband goals, including the National Broadband Plan, to promote broadband adoption, digital literacy, technology and education, cybersecurity, public safety, and job creation. The few details available can be found here.

Sports: iN Demand and Major League Soccer are teaming up to expand the MLS Direct Kick package to 233 regular season games plus select playoff matches for $79. A free preview is available this weekend. --- Bell said it will make complete coverage of the NCAA Men's National Basketball Championship available on tablets and smartphones via Bell MobileTV --- SiriusXM also announced complete coverage of the hoops tournament across a handful of its channels.

Strategy: Viacom wants to take Comedy Central global. Bloomberg says along with Nickelodeon and MTV, Viacom is seeking ways to increase its worldwide viewership.  --- More news from the world of OTT original content as Netflix says it might be interested in picking up the recently-canceled series "Terra Nova" from Fox. THR has more.

Tech: Two good pieces related to Apple's new iPad. 1) Tecca says the new iPad can 'max out your data plan in 10 minutes.' 2) TNW says Apple 'caved to AT&T.'

TVE: White-label video management firm thePlatform announced a suite of new features to its TV Everywhere service aimed at extending the value of pay-TV operators' current subscription packages. Details here. --- Phoenix-based Cable One inked a deal with Synacor to launch a new TV Everywhere customizable web-portal.

Advertising: Time Warner Cable Media, the advertising sales arm of TWC, is launching a new iTV suite dubbed Enhanced iTV in NYC, Charlotte and Cincinnati.

QRs: Nexstar Broadcasting posted a 35% increase in retrans revenue to $10.3M during its Q4 and a 25% increase for FY11 to $29.9M.

SkyREPORT: ViaSat is experiencing "a critical nationwide outage" affecting the company's "provisioning system." According to internal communications obtained by the Morning BRIDGE, ViaSat notified its retailers that they cannot complete any installations, upgrades or service calls until the problem is solved. MB was unable to get comment. --- Euroconsult says the number of satellite terminals in the global maritime market will nearly double over the next decade, with a CAGR of 7% over the 10-year period.

People: Cablevision said this week that marketing EVP Jonathan Hargis has resigned leaving Kristin Dolan to takeover as SVP of marketing and product development.

--- Catch today's media market news in The Evening BRIDGE. •