CES 2009: The Recession Edition

The consumer electronics industry looks to stay upbeat in down market

By Timothy Sprinkle

 

It’s the second-biggest industry event in Las Vegas ...

the scene of billions of dollars in deals and sales ...

and one of the most-talked-about electronics events in the world.

So why should we be worried about the future of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES)?  Because the global economy is in the tank and, like everything else these days, the CE sector is struggling.  Not surprisingly, those struggles have spilled over to the industry’s showcase event.

Case in point:  As of press time, there were still discount rooms available through CEA’s various hotel blocks, offering unheard of deals leading up to the usually pricey January show.  In fact, numbers are so far down this year that CEA and the Las Vegas Visitor’s Bureau are cutting hotel prices and offering all sorts of incentives – including cheap airfare, free registrations and even discounts on shows like Cirque du Soleil – to lure attendees to Sin City.

But even all that might not be enough to salvage this year’s CES, despite CEA’s insistence that everything is on track.  According to reports posted in early December by CNBC, several big companies – including Cisco, Yahoo, Seagate, Logitech and others – have cut back on their booth space this time around or have decided to forgo the exhibition all together.  And that’s to say nothing about all of the companies that have trimmed their representation at the annual who’s who show, sending 10 sales reps instead of 20 or leaving the middle managers and underlings at home.

Still, the show must go on and CEA has remained upbeat in the face of these struggles.
“Certainly the economy is a consideration this year, but the general buzz associated with the show is as strong as ever,” says CEA spokesperson Tara Dunion.  “We have about 2,700 exhibitors coming, which is on par with past year’s, and our preregistrations are looking strong, to the extent that people say they’re actually coming to the show.”

According to Dunion, CEA is expecting about 130,000 people to attend the 2009 show, down slightly from the 141,150 that came out last year.  Taking the 143,695 figure from 2007 into account, attendance at CES has fallen by nearly 14,000 in the last two years.

What should you expect from this recession-era CES?  In this issue of The BRIDGE, we’ll examine the schedule and take a look at some of trends that will be making headlines at the annual industry showcase.

The Latest and Greatest?

 

If there’s one phrase to sum up the 2009 CES product lineup, it is “been there, done that.”

Unlike past years – where breakthrough technologies like HDTV, DVD and even the Microsoft Xbox were announced to much acclaim – there really isn’t anything Earth shattering to see this year.  Sure, green technology is still a big trend, and we can expect to see more home networking applications, but as far as anything truly new is concerned ... not so much.

At the annual CES press preview in New York this past November, our very own Kable Kid (a.k.a Cody Maxwell) found an array of headphones and iPod accessories on display, along with the occasional clock radio.  But said there was little in the way of game-changing technology to note.

“There’s going to be a lot about control,” she said, “basically giving users more control.  Embedded internet will be big, along with wireless access and making things ‘simple.’”

Still, it’s not all bad news.  There will be a few products at this year’s CES worth checking out.

For starters, the WirelessHD Consortium, which introduced its first specification for wireless high-def video transmission at CES last year, is back again to show off some of the first round of products utilizing its technology.  “This important industry initiative will change the way manufacturers develop and market devices,” said John Marshall, WirelessHD chairman, “as well as reshape how consumers interface with these products.”

Along those same lines, high-def VOD service XStreamHD will be back at CES again as well after launching too much hoopla at the 2008 show.  The company, which failed to meet its October kick off date, is expected to show off its new (fully functional) satellite delivery system at this year’s event and (fingers crossed) maybe even hit the market in 2009.

In the nifty new technology space, I have to mention WhereverTV.  Based around a $199 set-top receiver, the service allows users to tap into the wonders of the internet to access an assortment of free television broadcasts from all over the world.  In addition to known favorites like CNN, WhereverTV users can access Sportitalia 24 from Italy, Tele M1 from Switzerland, France’s NRJ Dance, Sony Music TV Japan and all sorts of other international channels you’ve never heard of.  Its usefulness is probably still debatable, but it will be interesting to see how devices like this and the growing availability of internet TV change the broadcast space.

Content Meets Technology, Again

 

As in 2008, NBCU and Sony Television will be on hand at CES to bring the worlds of content and technology together as exhibitors (and with NBC as the event’s official broadcast partner).  As such, getting content into the hands of users (“where they want it, when they want it”) is expected to be a big theme again this year.

In addition to producing 11 episodes of Jeopardy right from the show floor (believe it!), NBC plans to create special programming for CNBC’s Power Lunch and Closing Bell and MSNBC’s Your Business from the show.

“The connection between the technology, content and broadcast industries grows stronger each year as new platforms are introduced,” said CEA President Gary Shapiro, “providing consumers with greater access to information and entertainment.  With major content exhibitors, including NBC Universal’s dynamic exhibition and live broadcasts, and dozens of conference sessions featuring high level industry executives and the latest industry trends.”

According to Dunion, the content-hardware link is worth noting because, unlike in past years, the technology is finally ready for its close-up.

“We’ve covered some of these topics before, but content meets portability is finally coming into its own,” she says.  “It’s bursting.  So we’ve increased the Hollywood and TV studio attendance, bringing together the entertainment industry representatives with the technology providers that can make it happen.”

Tradeshow Takeaways

 

So will it succeed?  Recession or no recession, the consumer electronics industry isn’t grinding to a halt anytime soon, and CES is the centerpiece event for the industry, so I predict a good but not great event.  And, given the state of the economy, getting months’ worth of work done in one trip just makes good business sense.

“The average attendee has 12 meetings while they’re at CES,” CEA’s Dunion says.  “So that’s a great way to cut costs – one trip, one show and 12 meetings across of range of different categories.”

For the industry’s sake, hopefully consumers won’t continue cutting their own costs for very much longer.•

CES 2009: An Insider's Guide

No filler, no fluff. Just everything you need to make the most of your CES experience.

 

Speakers, Panels and Events

 

Despite the notable lack of “latest and greatest” gadgets at this year’s CES, the event schedule is taking on the big themes head on.

As mentioned, not only are programmers going to be a more obvious presence on the show floor this year, industry execs will be participating in the Digital Hollywood CES program again, covering a range of topics including Television without Boundaries, Hollywood and the Digital Consumer, Bridging TV and Broadband and Television as an Interactive Content Experience.

Beyond that, Sony Pictures Television SVP of Digital Networks Eric Berger is slated to participate in a panel discussion with reps from Deloitte and Bedrock Media about how digitization and shifting consumer behaviors are changing the entertainment industry’s business model (Friday, Jan. 9, 10:30 a.m.), and Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney will speak about her company’s programming approach at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 9.

In the multiplatform space, most of the interesting events will take place within the CES Cable Conference, which stretches from Jan. 7 through 9.  Barry Frey, SVP of advanced platform sales with Cablevision, John Honeycutt, EVP of media technology and operations with Discovery Communications and Ed Huguez, EVP of affiliate sales and marketing with Starz Entertainment, among others, are set to participate in a panel discussion on Thursday entitled The Cable and the CE Industries, addressing how both sides can work together on HD, broadband, advertising and other issues.  Other panels of note include Understanding Next Generation Interactivity, Video Across Platforms, Bridging TV and Broadband and The Television, the PC, Online Video and the Digital Consumer Experience.  Reps from companies including Sony Pictures Television, NDS, Sling Media, Fox Digital Media and others will present, though they are far too numerous to mention by name here.

In terms of keynotes, there’s one notable change this year:  Microsoft head Bill Gates will not be speaking.

Still, given the fact that Gates was for years the unofficial king of CES (what other speaker would journalists camp out to see?), it should come as no surprise that his replacement at Microsoft, CEO Steve Ballmer, is set to take the Venetian stage for a pre-show keynote on Wednesday, Jan. 7.  And, given Microsoft’s wranglings with Yahoo this year over a potential takeover bid, Steve’s remarks might end up being just as interesting as some of Bill’s more memorable CES moments (like in 2005 when a Windows Media Center glitch shut down his presentation with the blue screen of death).

From there, Sony Chairman Howard Stringer will take the stage for a morning keynote following CEA head Gary Shapiro’s official show opening address on Thursday.

And then there’s the curveball:  Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally, speaking Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.  Building on the popularity of GM Chairman Rick Wagoner’s CES keynote last year (making him the first automotive executive to speak at the event in its 41-year history), Mulally will speak to the growing market for both in-car electronics and CE-based automotive systems (think electronic starters and vehicle stability systems, not just thumpin’ subwoofers and in-dash navigation).

The heads of both Intel and Cisco will speak on the role of technology in emerging countries on day two.  Intel Chairman Craig Barrett will take the stage at 1 p.m., followed by a panel discussion on universal technology access moderated by Eric Nonacs, managing director for global affairs with Endeavour Financial.  Then, despite the fact that his company is “cutting back on its CES presence this year,” Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers will close out this year’s keynotes with a similarly themed presentation on emerging markets at 3 p.m.

A full list of speakers, programs and other events is available at www.cesweb.org and look for The BRIDGE’s annual list of not-to-be-missed multiplatform events on page 4.•

MultiMAX

Happy New Year?

By Paul S. Maxwell

 

Why not?

Yeah, I know, the list is long.

But let’s not go there …

Let’s hunker down and serve customers …

That’s what it’ll take to make 2009 a Happy New Year.

Meanwhile, check out The BRIDGE for a CES Guide … skipping Las Vegas – like a lot of folks this year? – if so, just take a look at this week’s issue.

Meanwhile, the Jan. 13 edition will make some thoughtful, some wild and some obvious prognostications and trend points in the next issue of the only truly thoughtful business publication about the multiplatform world of tomorrow …

Meanwhile, hang in there until Fall … that’s when the turnaround will take place.