CES to Move Away From AEE in 2010

The Consumer Electronics Association, which organizes CES, confirmed late last month that it would abandon the Sands’ exhibit floor and consolidate at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Las Vegas Hilton, along with a limited number of suites for exhibitors and press events at The Venetian.

Both shows, as in the past, coincide on the same days. In 2010, the dates are slated for Jan. 7-10.

The decision to pull out of the Sands could impact attendance to AEE, which has been connected at the hip with CES as far back as in the early 1990s when there was only a rope separating the two shows. In fact, AEE originally was a component of the CES show.

The possibility of the disappearance of CES attendees who historically have ventured over to AEE has definitely hit the radar of AVN, the Sands and Home Entertainment Events (HEE), which puts on the event.

So far, the show’s promoters and the Sands haven’t figured if CES’ announcement means a meaningful drop in fan attendance.

“Truth be told, I don’t know the answer to that,” Las Vegas Sands Corp. spokesman Ron Reese told XBIZ. “Our salespeople have had dialogue over the issue, but nothing has been made out of it.”

According to Sean Devlin, a spokesman for HEE, less than one-half of the AEE’s consumer attendance segment also attends CES.

“Historically, CES has never been our core customer,” Devlin told XBIZ. “There’s this perception out there that most of the fans that come out to the show are trick-or-treaters from CES.”

Sarah Szabo, a spokeswoman for CES, told XBIZ that the decision to move out of the Sands was made because of an opportunity that presented them to consolidate much of the facilities into one.

“CES is moving the show because construction that was to take place at the convention center was canceled, and this way we could keep the registration and show floors in one central area,” she said. “And, in the past, the show’s venues were too spread out.”