Last year’s National Association of Broadcasters conference and exhibition was a tough one for organizers. The industry was in an economic and morale hangover from Sept. 11, and attendance numbers fell by 10%. This year, consensus among the Canadian broadcasting, cable, satellite, production, post, equipment and new media communities has been one of renewed interest in returning to what is touted as ‘the world’s largest electronic media show.’

Of course, this attitude could now be compromised by the war in Iraq. For those who fear reprisals by homeland terrorists, flying to Las Vegas, the setting for NAB2003, might lose its luster. Border slowdowns are on the rise, and if anxieties during wartime are akin to those in the wake of Sept. 11, many might avoid the desert oasis, monument that it is to capitalism and all things red, white and blue.

On the other hand, NAB2003 promises to be particularly interesting in terms of sessions and conferences. U.S. media coverage of the war will no doubt take centre stage, just as the nets’ handling of 9/11 was addressed during NAB president and CEO Eddie Fritts’ annual State of the Industry address last year.

NAB has assembled an impressive group of speakers who can address this, including ABC’s John Cochran, correspondent; Sam Donaldson, co-anchor of This Week; and Cokie Roberts, political analyst, along with CBS’ Bob Schieffer, chief Washington correspondent. Don Hewitt, creator and executive producer of 60 Minutes, will be feted on April 7 with the Spirit of Broadcasting Award for his lasting contribution to the industry, just as he, at age 80, is soon to be leaving his venerable program.

(If NBC reps seem conspicuously absent from that list, it’s because the network has boycotted NAB since the 2001 show over a dispute involving the organization’s stance against lifting the nets’ 35% ownership cap of TV stations.)

Attendance at last year’s show is reported at 92,356, down a fraction from the days when it would attract six-digit numbers. 2.2%, or more than 2,000 of those, were from Canada. NAB reports that numbers for NAB2003 are on par with those, although the war could alter who actually shows up.

Stacy Perrus, NAB media relations manager, acknowledges that the war might keep some away, but the conferences and trade show must go on.

‘A large number of people utilize the convention as their one-and-only buying trip for the year, and exhibitors rely on it to generate so much money throughout the year in sales,’ she says. ‘The convention can stand on its own as the place for people to catch up on new technology.’

NAB is also the key event in terms of gauging how far the digital television revolution has come. Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S., has become increasingly insistent in the past couple of years that domestic broadcasters meet the proposed 2006 deadline for the DTV switchover, and he will be interviewed at NAB2003’s FCC Chairman’s Breakfast by ABC’s Donaldson.

The progress of DTV in the U.S., and where the American industry plans to go, could have a significant influence on the CRTC’s position on the matter as well as determine how quickly Canadian broadcasters go digital to stay on track with U.S. counterparts whose signals travel across the border.

The DTV focus promises to be felt everywhere from the conference’s Super Sessions – which include a look at the new broadcast business model in the interactive TV landscape and a talk on the future of digital desktop video – right into the trade show halls.

‘A lot of stations have made that transition, and now they are figuring out ‘What are we going to do with this great technology?” Perrus says. ‘And that’s where a lot of the extra services and the bells and whistles on display at the show will come in.’

Canadian speakers at this year’s event include David Strachan of Burlington, ON’s Evertz Microsystems, Michael Steel of Toronto’s Leitch Technology, John Wahba of Toronto’s Radian Communication Services and Yiyuan Wu of Communications Research Centre Canada, each of whom will participate in the Broadcast Engineering Conference. Russell Foy of Montreal’s Invidex will speak in the Satellite Media Forum.

This year will, like last year, feature more than 1,200 exhibitors on the massive technology trade show floor, including 57 from Canada. Among those will be Canada’s stars of the 3D animation/F/X software world: Toronto’s Alias|Wavefront and Montreal’s Discreet and Softimage (see story, p. 16).

All exhibitors this year will be housed in the newly expanded Las Vegas Convention Center. Past attendees had voiced their complaints about having to shuttle back and forth between the LVCC and Sands Expo Center to make their booth appointments, but it’s now all under one roof. This should also be a relief to some of the more cutting-edge multimedia companies that had sometimes been overlooked at the Sands, since crowds tended to hover around traditional players at the LVCC.

The overall size of the show floor will be somewhat smaller this year, going from 901,000 square feet to an estimated 840,000 square feet, which is nonetheless still massive.

One of this year’s new features is the Interactive Living Pavilion, which will demonstrate non-traditional content delivery methods for broadcasters, including set-top boxes, video on demand, wireless systems, interactive programming, home theatre and gaming.

Another new initiative is the Award for Innovation in Media, which allows show attendees to vote for the best product in the digital media areas of content creation, management and delivery.

The popular Canadian Suite will once again be up and running. Held in the Silver State Ballroom at the Flamingo Las Vegas (April 7-9, 6-8 p.m.) the Suite has traditionally been a popular destination for Canuck NABers to network over beers and trade notes after a grueling day on the show floor.

-www.nab/org/conventions/nab2003