PBS Expects Its NAB Show Presence to Be 'Significantly Smaller' Than in Years Past

In light of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nevada, "we have reached out to local public health officials, the convention center, and other partners on the ground to assess the situation and determine their increased protocols for the health and safety of Show guests," said organizers. "As we receive additional details, we will update this website and communicate with all our guests and partners." Four days earlier, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection advised older adults at higher risk of more serious COVID-19 infections to “avoid large crowds.”

PBS, which said Friday it imposed coronavirus-induced limits on nonessential business travel (see 2003060047), is handling its NAB Show participation “on a case by case basis,” emailed a spokesperson Monday. “However our over all presence will be significantly smaller than in years past.” PBS member stations “are making these decisions on a local station level,” she said.

Samsung and Sony pulled their show floor exhibits from the ProSource retail buying group summit that opened Sunday at the Venetian in Las Vegas. They told ProSource organizers that company travel restrictions were to blame for their withdrawals.

It's unclear what that means for their participation at the NAB Show, where both companies have booked space in the LVCC's Central Hall. Sony told us Thursday it's "dealing with this fluid situation by assessing all the relevant data as it becomes available," but that it hadn't "issued any statement on our withdrawal from NAB" (see 2003050069). Samsung didn't respond to queries about the NAB Show.

Friday’s cancellation of SXSW in Austin a week out from the event suggested that down-to-the-wire decisions were the new norm for trade shows. Reed Exhibitions, producer of the ISC West security show at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas, met a similar fate Friday when it postponed the event to July with only 11 days to spare.

Putting the show off until summer was the prudent decision, said Reed, “based on our close monitoring of ongoing developments with the virus” and “recent reports from public health officials.” Reed had been insisting only hours earlier that ISC West wouldn't be canceled or postponed.

The LVCC lost its first event to COVID-19 Monday when the International Wireless Communications Expo announced the postponement of the March 30-April 3 show to a future date not yet known. "With the rapidly developing circumstances and in light of corporate travel considerations continuing to escalate, we’ve worked as quickly as possible to explore our options," said promoters. "We're genuinely disappointed not to be able to host you in three weeks, but the experience and safety of our community and everyone involved in the event continues to be our top priority."

A second “presumptive positive” case of the coronavirus in the Las Vegas area was confirmed Sunday, reported the Southern Nevada Health District. The state’s other two confirmed cases were in the Reno area. Confirmed cases of the coronavirus exceeded 423 in 35 states through Sunday afternoon, reported the CDC. The 19 COVID-19 deaths were mainly in Washington state and California, it said.

Whether to cancel a show or let it go on “can be a polarizing topic” for exhibitors and attendees, Freeman CEO Bob Priest-Heck told clients in a coronavirus webinar Thursday. Freeman services about 5,000 show clients around the world, including CES, the NAB Show and most events at the LVCC. It’s only a week away from accepting the first “advance shipments” of NAB Show exhibitor crates for storage at warehouses southwest of the Las Vegas Strip.

“Proprietary corporate” events have been canceled the most since the outbreak, while shows in the “communications, technology and media sectors have seen the second largest impact,” said Priest-Heck. “It’s really an important thing that we make the right decision.” Organizers need to assess their “social responsibility” and “economic impact” before deciding what to do, he said. “It might mean canceling an event. It might mean continuing with an event. What’s right for one company may not be right for another.”

With COVID-19 show disruptions on the rise, the trade show industry is launching an “image” campaign to beat back public perceptions that events and exhibitions are breeding grounds for the coronavirus. Two industry trade associations, UFI and the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO), are behind the campaign, called “This Show is Open For Business.”

UFI and SISO were careful to walk the line between urging members to proceed with their shows while reminding them not to shun the guidance of public health authorities on large public gatherings. More than 400 shows around the world “have already been affected,” they said. “These shows are in the news -- and they are creating the image that our industry, our market places and meeting places, are dangerous. We want to counter this narrative.”

It’s “vital” industry informs the public that many shows throughout the world “are open and running successfully,” said the trade groups. “It matters a great deal that we discuss how to keep them going, and how to strike the right balance between keeping people safe from a health threat today AND keeping people safe mid to long term by stabilising and supporting trade and economies.”

CTA (but not NAB) belongs to UFI, while SISO represents for-profit show organizers, including Emerald Holding, which runs the CEDIA Expo. Reed Expositions, the organizer that postponed the ISC West security conference Friday, also is an SISO member.