Attendance down for major LV convention

Friday, April 5, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

Attendance at the National Association of Broadcasters convention next week in Las Vegas is expected to be down by more than 20 percent from last year's 115,000 turnout as weak advertising sales continue to hurt the industry.

Organizers of the six-day event, which opens at three locations with panel discussions Saturday and a trade show Monday, say despite the downturn, the 2002 NAB will still be one of the five largest conventions conducted in the United States this year.

Dennis Wharton, senior vice president of corporate communications for the NAB, said while the slow economy and post-Sept. 11 financial woes have slowed the industry, the convention has benefitted from a last-minute surge in preregistrations.

"We're emerging from a very difficult advertising economy," Wharton said. "Some say it's the worst that it's been since World War II and the Great Depression. But we've shown great resiliency considering the events of last year and the nice rebound has shown in a bump we've had in advance registrations in the past few weeks."

The expected decline follows the pattern of most technology-driven shows that have been staged in Las Vegas over the past nine months. Attendance at Comdex and the International Consumer Electronics Show -- the two largest Las Vegas tech shows -- were down in November and January, respectively.

The NAB show's turnout will get a slight boost from a related convention that will meet in conjunction with broadcast executives for the first time. The Radio-Television News Directors Association is meeting with NAB this year and that organization's show is expected to draw 4,000 people.

The RTNDA was scheduled to meet in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 12. When terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon the day before the event, organizers voted to cancel it. NAB officials contacted the Washington-based association and invited it to meet in Las Vegas and the RTNDA has since signed a five-year contract to collaborate.

Wharton said while the shows are being treated as separate conventions and each organization will monitor attendance separately, their respective trade shows will be open to each other's membership.

NAB, which is selling exhibit space for both shows, will have 1,400 exhibitors on 850,000 square feet for its 90,000 attendees at the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Expo Center. The smaller show will be set up at the Las Vegas Hilton. Next year both shows will be under one roof at the Convention Center.

"It's going to be different for us, but we all thought it was a good idea to have news managers meeting in the same place with general managers and engineers," said Noreen Welle, communications director of the RTNDA.

Welle said the opportunity to see the technological advancements that will be a part of the NAB show is appealing to her group.

Wharton calls NAB "the greatest technology show on Planet Earth" -- and he's attended CES. He said the television industry's gradual transition from analog to digital signals will enable exhibitors the opportunity to show equipment to executives with a broad range of station budgets.

Digital television, the next generation of transmission, is important because of the diverse options it will provide to TV viewers. A digital signal provides increased quality in sound and picture clarity, multiple streams of programming for additional content and the potential for data delivery and interactive television.

Viewers would have to buy a new television to receive the signal or a special converter that can project digital signals onto analog sets. During the conversion, stations are offering digital and analog signals.

About 80 percent of the nation's TV watchers are capable of receiving at least one digital signal today.

Wharton said 271 television stations currently broadcast a digital signal. Stations are in various stages of transition, Wharton said, so part of the trade show emphasis will be guiding stations that are in the midst of transition or are about to start, to the 115 exhibitors displaying digital products.

Microsoft and Sony will be among the big exhibitors at the NAB trade show. A 30,000-square-foot Sony booth will be the largest the company has ever had at NAB.

In addition to providing a forum about technological advancements, the NAB convention will play host to government regulators and policy-setting lawmakers.

Federal Commmunications Commission Chairman Michael Powell will be interviewed by ABC commentator Sam Donaldson at one session while FCC commissioners Michael Copps and Kevin Martin will appear at panel discussions. Two senators and eight members of the U.S. House also will attend the show.

Television station ownership rules are a hot topic in the industry and Powell, driven by a series of recent federal court decisions, is scaling back media ownership regulations imposed by his predecessors.

Other industry leaders are scheduled as keynote speakers, including Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape and chairman of Loudcloud Inc., and Richard Parsons, co-chief operating officer of AOL Time Warner.

The NAB also takes time to recognize entertainers who have contributed to radio and television, inducting them into the association's hall of fame. This year, the association is recognizing the cast of the 1970s variety show "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" and co-host Dick Martin and cast members will appear to accept the award. The radio honoree will be Dick Orkin, president of "The Famous Radio Ranch," Los Angeles.

The RTNDA's congratulatory event will recognize "NBC Nightly News" anchor and managing editor Tom Brokaw. The association's closing luncheon will feature Steve Kroft, co-editor of "60 Minutes."

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