Into Tomorrow radio broadcaster Dave Graveline spared few words in blasting CTA and CEO Gary Shapiro, as well as the viability of CES, for the fact that his company won’t have a broadcast booth on the show floor for the first time in 23 years. CTA wanted Into Tomorrow to pay $17,600 this year to build its broadcast “pavilion” in a secluded “alcove” of the Las Vegas Convention Center, but the company refused, blogged Graveline Friday. CTA at previous shows gave Graveline the space for next to nothing, he said, suggesting Shapiro was taking retribution for not having been interviewed often enough on Into Tomorrow: “It’s not all about you Gary Shapiro, it’s about your Exhibitors!” The association respects and appreciates "how Dave and his Into Tomorrow team have covered CES and other CTA events over the years," said spokesman Jeff Joseph in a statement Monday. "As a general rule, we do not pay our CES Media Partners or other broadcast outlets to cover our events, and as we communicated to Dave several months ago, following our 2018 show we can no longer justify continuing the financial subsidy we uniquely provided for several years to his company. Respecting our long relationship, we did, however, offer him space in one of our broadcast towers for CES 2018."

Women in Consumer Technology, which promotes advancement of women in the consumer technology industry, announced 2018 Legacy Award honorees to be recognized at a CES reception on Jan. 9. Award recipients are Stephanie Dismore, HP general manager-Americas; Eden Goldberg, InMotion vice president-marketing and business development; Bonnie Perella, Milestone AV eastern regional sales manager; and Heather Sidorowicz, Southtown Audio Video president.

Representatives of the ATIS Wireless Technologies and Systems Committee said they briefed staff from the FCC Public Safety Bureau on technical questions on wireless emergency alerts. Among topics was geo-targeting, said a filing in docket 15-91. “Device-based geo-targeting would require fundamental changes to existing cell broadcast technology," the filing said. “The determination of whether and how device-based geo-targeting could be accommodated in existing handsets will be examined by the industry, although ATIS noted that it is likely that some legacy devices will not be able to support the changes via a software upgrade.” Microsoft also reported on a meeting with bureau staff. The bureau "sought input on the impact that different means of transmitting geo‐coordinates in conjunction with emergency alert text to mobile devices would be likely to have on mobile device performance," the company said. "Microsoft offered to explore those questions and will provide a substantive response at a later date."

The Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) research firm issued a call for speakers for the “business track” it’s organizing at the Display Week 2018 show. Four conferences make up the business track -- one for business trends in the display industry, another for investors, a third on automotive displays and a fourth on displays for “immersive experiences,” including virtual and augmented reality, said DSCC. Display Week 2018, produced by the Society for Information Display, opens May 20 at the Los Angeles Convention Center for a six-day run.

The CE Week conference will move to New York’s Javits Convention Center from the Metropolitan Pavilion when it opens June 20 for a two-day run, said Messe Berlin in a Thursday announcement. Messe Berlin, which owns the IFA show, announced a partnership with CE Week owner NAPCO Media in September (see 1709050036). Moving the event to Javits “signals a pivot in emphasis that is consistent with IFA’s longstanding mission as a world-renowned producer of buyers’ events,” said Messe Berlin. CE Week 2018, “in line” with that strategy, will “transition from a predominantly media-oriented show with a retailer presence” to an emphasis as a retail “buying event with a media presence,” it said. “CE Week powered by IFA will remain, as ever, geared towards leaders in the consumer electronics industry, but will now provide a midyear forum for the global retailing and distributor buying communities to conduct actual business” with vendors, it said. It’s also “the ideal event to generate excitement around upcoming products for the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons,” it said. CTA, which owns CES against which IFA competes and was a CE Week sponsor until about three years ago, welcomes "IFA to the US market and [urges] them to follow the IAEE guidelines on tradeshow reporting and audits," said a spokesman of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events. "CES has consistently followed these guidelines and also has international recognition as part of UFI guidelines," he said of the global association of the exhibition industry. "Following these standards -- instead of inflating attendance and exhibit space figures by counting consumer attendees, counting trade visitors as a new person each day they attend, and counting aisles and additional booth levels as additional exhibit space – is the only plausible way IFA can state as they do that they are the “world’s largest consumer electronics show.”.

CES attendees should expect to see a “more highly visible law enforcement presence throughout the show and at all venues,” said CTA in a Thursday “security update.” Police officers and K-9 units will be on duty at the entrances to all show venues and on the exhibit floor, it said. New for CES will be a LiveSafe mobile app that show attendees can download from Google Play or the App Store to get safety information, report tips and contact security, CTA said: “Be sure to turn on your locations services for full functionality.” In light of recent vehicular attacks in Berlin, London and New York, “as an enhanced security measure, we are implementing a vehicle deterrence plan in and around key venues,” said CTA. “Please use the areas allocated as pedestrian walkways as you enter show venues.” It also advised attendees to be “sure that your family and friends know how to reach you in the case of emergency.”

CEDIA had 2016 revenue of $14.9 million, up 10.5 percent from 2015, said Treasurer Giles Sutton on the trade group’s state of the industry webcast Tuesday. It’s the first year CEDIA has shared global consolidated revenue data, said Sutton of the audited 2016 financial report. Revenue for the CEDIA trade show in September grew 43.7 percent, and ISE and other international events had a 35 percent revenue jump, said Sutton. The September trade show will go back to being called CEDIA Expo to provide differentiation between the show and the organization, after the show’s sale to Emerald Expositions in January (see 1701260044) for $36 million. The organization will remain deeply involved CEDIA Expo, said CEDIA acting President Tabatha O’Connor, with next year’s show returning to San Diego Sept. 4-8. CEDIA will move into its new $13.7 million headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, in November, occupying 30,000 square feet of a three-story 40,000-square-foot building, said Chairman Dennis Erskine. The group will rent out the remaining 10,000 square feet, he said. The headquarters facility will be available for member use, he said.

Cisco and Chairman Emeritus John Chambers have been trying to get tax overhaul “pushed through” Congress for 15 years, “and so we are we are quite pleased that we are at the point we are at now,” CEO Chuck Robbins told the company’s annual shareholder meeting Monday. “There are lots of dynamics between the House version and the Senate version that we are obviously providing input on,” said Robbins, who assumed the executive chairman post from Chambers, who stepped down from the board effective with the annual meeting. “The biggest thing that we believe is important not only is a competitive tax rate for U.S. companies,” but also “the repatriation of foreign earnings would be very positive for us,” he said. “So, we are optimistic, or maybe I should say hopeful, that we get something done here in the next few weeks.”

The 2018 outlook for the cable industry is "positive," but "stable" for broadcasting, Moody's reported (password-protected). It predicts cable cash flow growth next year of almost 6 percent, "fueled by consolidation synergies and the rise in high-margin broadband." Cable takeovers are cutting costs, said Senior Credit Officer Jason Cuomo. "While the cord-cutting trend is growing, the rise in broadband demand is more than offsetting declines in video." Risks are "competitors aggressively attacking video with skinny bundles and readying wireless broadband technology," the firm said. Broadcaster 2018 cash flow should grow 3 to 3.5 percent amid takeover cost savings, rising "high-margin retransmission fees, and the expectation of strong congressional political cycle and Winter Olympics in 2018," Cuomo said Monday. Retrans will near 30-40 percent of revenue over the next 12-18 months for many broadcasters, the credit ratings firm said.

Cisco (83.7 percent), Best Buy (76.3 percent) and Apple (71.5 percent) ranked first, sixth and eighth on Newsweek’s 2017 Green Rankings list, released Monday, of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies. Best Buy noted it moved up 21 spots from last year, and it cited its recently set goal, announced in October, to reduce carbon emissions by 60 percent over a 2009 baseline. Last week, Best Buy was named to the CDP Climate A List -- comprising companies recognized by the international nonprofit, formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project -- for its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and safeguard natural resources, said the retailer. Newsweek’s rankings are measured in a “rules-based way that meets the test of being replicable by a third party,” with principles including transparency, objectivity, public availability of data, comparability, engagement with eligible companies and stakeholder inclusion, it said.