Doug Williams to Stand Up for the 2009 Beacon Awards as Ceremony's Host

Washington, DC ––The Association of Cable Communicators (ACC) announced today that Doug Williams, host of the Starz original series "Martin Lawrence Presents 1^st Amendment Stand-up," will be the master of ceremonies for the 2009 Beacon Awards® Gala on Monday, October 26, 2009, held in the Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center.  The Beacon Awards® honor excellence in cable communications and public affairs, and the ceremony will kick off FORUM 2009: Communicating Cable 3.0: People, Products & Value, October 26 - 28 in Denver, Colorado.  Registration for FORUM 2009 is open, with a $100 savings for signing up before September 23.

"The Beacon Committee was extremely pleased to learn that Doug Williams will ‘MC' the Beacon Awards® Gala," Steve Jones, ACC executive director, said. "Williams will bring his unique brand of humor and insight and create an electric atmosphere as we honor communications and public affairs initiatives for their exemplary work that sets a high standard for their colleagues to emulate."

Doug Williams will appear courtesy of Starz Entertainment. Williams is no stranger to cable television. After breaking into the entertainment industry with a role in The Nutty Professor, with Eddie Murphy, he took his off-beat style of stand-up comedy to the small screen with appearances on BET's "Club Comic View." He has since appeared on BET's sketch comedy show "The Way We Do It," Comedy Central's "Premium Blend VIII," and HBO's "The Mind of the Married Man." Other television credits include roles on "Vibe," "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show," "The Bernie Mac Show," and "Close to Home," but Williams fulfilled a life-long dream when he performed on "It's Showtime at the Apollo."

During the Beacon Awards® Gala, ACC will honor the best work by MSOs, cable systems, programming networks, cable associations and technology providers in cable communication and public affairs. FORUM is the cable industry's annual educational event dedicated to the issues facing communication and public affairs professionals. ACC is joining other cable industry associations as part of Cable Connection - Fall, the newly realigned meeting industry schedule grouping multiple cable events together at the same time and location. FORUM 2009 will be held in the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver from October 26 - 28, 2009. The Beacon Awards® Gala, honoring excellence in cable communications and public affairs, will be the opening event of FORUM 2009 on Monday, October 26. 

# # #

Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz® and Encore® brands with approximately 17.5 million and 31.5 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (http://www.starz.com/) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group, a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

The Association of Cable Communicators (ACC) is the only national, professional organization specifically addressing the issues, needs and interests of the cable industry's communications and public affairs professionals. Its mission is to develop and promote cable communications excellence through professional development to help achieve industry and corporate goals. ACC works to enhance each member's status and influence through skill building and professional development. For more information on ACC, go to http://www.cablecommunicators.org/