Brad on Broadcast

I’ve discovered several ways a tired, perhaps somewhat hung-over IBC-er may be reminded he’s in Amsterdam at the IBC:

1. Your hotel room smaller than your home bedroom, but costs as much per night as your monthly mortgage.

2. Your hotel room doesn’t have a clothes iron, but does have an umbrella.

3. Every street is a something “straat” or “gracht”.

4. By the end of the convention day, your briefcase weights as much as you do.

5. The last thing you hear as you’re being run over is, “brrring, brrring.”

For more posts from IBC, visit the BE@IBC blog.

After a brief walk from my hotel (located in the bowels of Amsterdam) to DAM square, where I could get the tram, my shoes look like I took a shower in them. Now, two hours later, they are still wet and probably will be for the next week!

For those familiar with Amsterdam, weather is always a topic of discussion. Usually the comment goes something like, “It’s raining, snowing, windy or cold.” I recall one reason for moving the show from the UK was to find better weather. Oops, looks to me like the IBC organizers bought into the local weather forecaster’s predictions. And, we all know about the accuracy of weather forecasts.

For more posts from IBC, visit the BE@IBC blog.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is undergoing (another) renovation, which will impact next year’s NAB convention. Stand by for construction signs, dust, noise and logistical problems.

What’s interesting from this editor’s viewpoint is that the company in charge of the electrical, mechanical, plumbing for the upcoming LVCC renovation is based in Broadcast Engineering’s home base, Kansas City.

The firm of Henderson Engineers will serve as the Engineer of Record for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing portion for the project. The $890 million LVCC renovation and expansion project is part of a five year plan.

The renovation of LVCC’s three million square foot facility will take two years, ending in 2010. The project includes: building a grand lobby along the length of the South Hall, a grand concourse to tie together the center’s three major halls, a signature façade along the front of the building and an enclosed monorail connector. Did I mention the project will add another one-half million square feet of exhibition space and a new 100,000sq-ft ballroom?

And I thought it was a long way from the North Hall to the South Hall.

For more posts from NAB, visit the BE@NAB blog.

There’s always one question asked in any conversation an editor has with an NAB exhibitor, “So, what have you seen that’s new?”

This year, my answer was “Not much.”

That’s not to say companies haven’t introduced new, even innovative, products at this year’s show. It’s just that in some years, there are one or two things where everybody says, “You have to go see this.” Last year and this year, I did not hear that phrase. more

You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone not pleased that today is the last day of this year’s NAB show. Not that the show was bad or anything. It’s just that the intensity needed to bring off such a monumental event wears on participants.

This year’s show attendance fell by 6,000 to just over 105,000. That’s down from last year’s 111,000—if you believe the numbers. Me, I just ask the cabbies. They always seem to know the real attendance figures.

Attendees may not be as tired as exhibitors. But remember that vendors haven’t just been here since Monday, or for four days. Most arrived much earlier to set up booths, attend meetings and coordinate a list of activities. Then there’s the issue of booth set up and tear down. Most attendees have never seen anything but a finished show floor. more

Rumors were that attendance would be down at this year’s NAB. From early unofficial views, might be true.

I checked both the South Hall and North Hall main entrances just before 9am this Monday morning. No huge crowds.

This is quite unlike last year’s opening crush at the 9am starting gun last year.

Are folks just sleeping in?

Are fewer people coming to the NAB show?

Official attendance figures won’t be released until Thursday, but this morning’s view says attendance is lower than last year. One vendor estimate (okay, consider the source) was that we’d see 20,000 fewer than last year.

For more posts from NAB, visit the BE@NAB blog.

Arrived late Friday afternoon because I wanted to attend sessions on Saturday morning. That is the only time I have for sessions because of press conferences and other vendor conflicts, which begin on Saturday afternoon.

Shortly after arriving I decided to go running (okay less running and more jogging these days). Anyway about 6pm and about half way into my run, I was just stepping off the curb, with the crosswalk sign saying it was okay to proceed, when out of the corner of my eye I caught glimpse of a police car racing towards me. It immediately crossed the intersection against the light and traffic with no siren. Nor did it slow down. more

Convention time is when many companies vie for headline space by announcing partnerships, outright company buys, acquisitions, key trade deals, personnel changes and other business arrangements. Given the number deals that seem to occur around NAB, one might consider the convention as “Let‘s Make a Deal” time.

Think about some of the recent deals in our industry. Thomson buys Grass Valley and everyone begins speaking French. Press releases are now issued with values in euros, not dollars. more