It’s off to Boston at the end of this week ... the good news: lobsters and clam bakes.  The ‘bad’ news?  Well ... we’ve got a week to think about that.

About that headline ... I had a big surprise caused, I suppose, by some glitches as Continental has been absorbing United but keeping that name ... a long time ago, I had booked an 8:40 am flight on Saturday from Denver to Boston.  The Kable Kid, aka Cody Maxwell, asked me what flight I was on so she could book the same flight ... and couldn’t find it online.

So, I logged on to United, typed in my confirmation number and discovered that I had been re-booked onto a 6:00 (6!) am flight to Houston ... with a couple hour layover and then a flight to Boston.

United had failed to inform me of that!  The Kable Kid quickly re-booked me on a 10-something flight nonstop to Boston ... and engineered a significant refund!  And I’m a couple million-mile flyer with 1K status (down from Global Services) ... think they could’ve notified me or asked me!

So, better re-check your flights if you’re on United.

It’ll be a busy week ... a Pioneers dinner; a pre-Pioneers dinner with Atlantic Broadband; the Hall of Fame; RBC Daniels party; Outdoor Channel party; NBCU party and 186 more.  Plus the booths.  Plus the general sessions.  Plus all the “important” meetings.

While you’re at it, take the survey at the Amdocs booth ... The Morning BRIDGE will do a special report on the answers post-show.  Should be some interesting answers to a few provocative questions.

See ya’ll there ...

Meanwhile ... lest you've forgotten:  Our next major, quarterly trend report via The BRIDGE is due out in June.  (You can get a year-long subscription now for $667 ... it goes up to $1000 in June.)•

Quarterly Report Season Coming to an End

Here we are mid-way through May and almost ready to put these quarterly reports to an end. As the industry moves into its historically difficult Q2, here's a few more results from key media players.

Liberty Global: In the eyes of Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King, Liberty Global posted a "very strong" first quarter with "no signs of weakness" from its Euro biz and record voice and data net adds. For starters, the company posted a 34% y/y increase in broadband adds (254K), and a 79% increase in voice adds (277K) - "propelled by bundled growth." The company posted a loss of 86K video subscribers, a loss the company called "stable" due to its 2% larger RGU base. (Total net adds on the period reached 445K, an increase of 71% y/y.) Liberty revenue increased 12% y/y to $2.53B, with OCF up 13% from the year-ago period to $1.2B. "LBTYA is in a solid position to take advantage of any of its competitor's weaknesses as a result of any further instability in the Eurozone," King said. The analyst maintained a 'buy' rating on the stock with a price target of $58.

Suddenlink: Suddenlink CEO Jerry Kent said the company's Q1 results were "among the very best in the industry," with a 6.2% y/y increase in revenue to $505M, and adjusted EBITDA of $181.8M (up 6.6% from Q111). FCF skyrocketed 165% y/y from  $-17M in Q111 to $28.1M this period. Suddenlink added 31.2K broadband customers during its Q1, a 7% y/y increase, despite its widely-reported data caps. Revenue from the company's data biz increased 11.5% y/y to $135.6M. Like other video providers, Suddenlink posted a loss of basic cable customers (-2K) during the period, but ARPU for basic subs increased 10.2% to $134.80 per month. The company says it now has 1.25M basic video, 796K digital video, 983K cable modem, and 453K voice subscribers.

Mediacom: Mediacom posted a loss of basic video subscribers of 5K during its Q1, from 654K to 591K, but added 20K high-speed internet customers bringing its total to 489K. The company also added 14K voice subscribers totaling 189K. Revenues were $221.2M, a 2.6% y/y increase, with operating income of $83.4M. Mediacom's cash flow increased to $17.7M, compared with $10.7M in the prior year period.•

YouTube Launching Subscription Service? - Aereo Battle Underway - Apple TV Sighting

Strategy: YouTube is said to be working on a subscription-based, premium video service. With 800M users around the world... this could be something to watch closely. Get details in the NYP. --- Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin has renounced his American citizenship just before the company goes public. Interesting timing... but, economists say it's a "very smart idea" from a taxpayer point of view. TechCrunch has details. --- While DISH is trying to allow subs to skip ads, Comcast is working on ways to ensure they will be seen. According to the patent sleuths at FierceCable, the nation's largest MSO is developing technology that will recognize when a customer skips an ad only to have it replaced by another. (Of course, the company will charge marketers an ultra-premium for that service.)

In Court: As expected, the major battle over Aereo has begun in the U.S. Southern District Court of New York as broadcasters are seeking an injunction against the webTV start-up. At stake? Only the entire TV-viewing (especially sports) ecosystem, say the plaintiffs. Details and court filings at THR. --- How long until something similar comes from broadcasters upset about DISH's new ad-skipping DVR? Bernstein Research's Craig Moffett says the satcaster's new feature could be the "final straw that provokes legal action" from the Big Four. Variety has the story.

Rules & Regs: Testifying before the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services last week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the FCC's 2013 budgetary needs represent an "essentially flat" 2% y/y increase from $339.8M to $346.8M. --- As of late last week, still no word on exactly when Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel will be sworn in as the newest members of the FCC. --- Republican lawmakers Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) want to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting next year, saying public broadcasting is obsolete. Ugh.

Service: Cablevision said last week it is expanding the window for VOD rentals from 24 hours to 48 hours. --- Internet TV startup Skitter has been told by the ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox broadcast affiliates in Portland that it must stop distributing their signals in order for the companies to review their retransmission agreements.

Rumor Mill: The latest from the Apple TV rumor comes via Foxconn CEO Tony Gou who reportedly told China Daily that his company is indeed prepping for the so-called "iTV."

Research: AllThingsD says Microsoft has quietly(?) leveraged its Xbox console into the "most popular (non-PC) video player" in the country. With all the content deals under its belt, the Xbox is now responsible for 28.2% of internet video viewing; more than the iPad (27%), iPhone (19.4%) and Android devices (15.2%). Full story, here.

Online: The battle for search supremacy is on... and it's about to get interesting. Microsoft announced last week that it is retooling its Bing search engine to mine social sharing trends via Facebook into search results. NYT has the story. --- TBS announced a deal with DumbDumb, the production company owned by actors Will Arnett and Jason Bateman, to create branded video clips for the network's website, Facebook, and YouTube. --- Total Film is launching an interactive iPad version of its movie news service.

SkyREPORT: Arianespace said Hughes Network Systems' EchoStar XVII satellite arrived at the company's spaceport in French Guiana. The satellite is scheduled for launch on June 19.

Deals: Rentrak expanded its media measurement contract with LocalTV for its NBC-affiliate WHO-HD in Des Moines and Fox-affiliate WJW in Cleveland.

Over, Up, & Under: MTG acquired the TV rights to the English Premiere League in Sweden and Denmark starting in 2013/14 through 2015/16. Sweden's coverage will carried on Viasat's premium sports channels; Denmark coverage will air on FTA TV3. Financial terms were unknown. --- Spanish pay-TV operator Ono said 16K subscribers now receive TiVo service in just under five months of availability --- Orange will shutter its sports network at the end of June, with the nets' 400K subs moving to Al Jazeera sports channels. --- Internet TV platform Verismo Networks is launching its MelaTV app for connected devices throughout India.

People: Yahoo will get another new CEO as embattled Scott Thompson departs. --- Entirely speculative, but TheStreet says if Liberty gets its way with SiriusXM, current CEO Mel Karmazin will be looking for a new gig. --- Two days after its first quarter financial report, CenturyLink says two top executives have voluntarily departed from the company. Network services EVP Dennis Huber, and corporate strategy EVP Stephanie Comfort are both leaving the company this summer.

Events: The NCTA announced the full line-up of participants at The Cable Show 2012. Monday (May 21) speakers include: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, TBS CEO Philip Kent, Comcast CEO Neil Smit, NCTA President & CEO Michael Powell, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong, TWC CEO Glenn Britt, and Discovery CEO David Zaslav. Tuesday (May 22) speakers include: Actor/director/writer Ed Burns, VEVO CEO Reo Caraeff, Verizon Wireless CEO Dan Mead, CNN host John King, MSNBC host Chris Matthews, and Univision anchor Maria Elena Salinas. Wednesday (May 23) speakers include: Fox Sports Media CEO David Hill, TBS president of sales David Levy, ESPN president John Skipper, NBA commish David Stern, TWX CEO Jeffrey Bewkes, News Corp. COO Chase Carey, Cox president Patrick Esser, and Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos. Live streaming for all general sessions will be available at live.thecableshow.com.

Wow!: Disney's Marvel Studios' mega-blockbuster superhero film "The Avengers" has already raked in nearly $800M in box office coin. But how much would it cost to repair all the carnage done to NYC if the movie was real? Hint: A LOT. A cool story from THR attempts to assess the actual damages.

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

ADVERTORIAL: Time Is Running Out! Register Today for Cable Hall of Fame Celebration

Only one week until the 15th annual Cable Hall of Fame Celebration – May 21 at the Marriott at Copley Place in Boston!  

Join The Cable Center as we welcome the Cable Hall of Fame Class of 2012:  

•    Ann Rallis Carlsen, Founder and CEO, Carlsen Resources, Inc.
•    Leo Hindery, Jr., Managing Partner, InterMedia Partners  
•    Larry King
•    Debra L. Lee, Chairman and CEO, BET Networks
•    H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest, President and CEO, The Lenfest Group
•    Phil Lind, Vice Chairman, Rogers Communications Inc.

The Cable Hall of Fame Celebration will begin with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and the induction ceremony.  The event program will also include the presentation of the Bresnan Ethics in Business Award, honoring the late William J. Bresnan, to Alan Gerry. A festive After Party in the Atrium at the Boston Marriott Copley Place, concludes the evening’s activities.  (Admission to just the after party is also available by separate ticket.)

The Cable Hall of Fame is sponsored by Rogers Communications, Viacom, BET Networks, Bright House Networks, A+E Networks, Scripps Networks Interactive, HBO, AMC Networks, and BBC World News.  

Don’t miss the “must-attend” event of The Cable Show!  Register today at www.cablehalloffame.com.