Virtual CES 2021 Will Cost Most Attendees $149 Registration

CTA plans to charge a $149 fee to most who register to attend virtual CES 2021. The fee will apply to most attendees, including retailers, and journalists will be exempt, we were told Tuesday. The fee was described as an effort to defray expenses. Exhibitors will be offered a series of paid participation tiers, beginning with a basic package that starts at $1,200, up to a five-figure premium offer. The different tiers give exhibitors access to varying apportionments of Microsoft technologies to leverage for news conferences, virtual meetings and other CES activities under the “cloud platform” contract announced Monday (see 2010190043). "As with the live show, there will be a charge to participate and alumni groups will be granted a window to register for free," emailed a CTA spokesperson. "We will be sharing more details closer to registration," which opens Dec. 1, she said. "We will be offering three different exhibitor packages that meet the varying needs of our exhibitors for their CES digital activation." A stickler for auditing show attendance at physical CES events, CTA hasn't determined how the virtual event will be audited for accuracy in attendance, she said. "For live shows, CES has always been independently audited. We are still assessing options for an independent audit including recommended standards."