CES: 2012 Show Draws Record 153,000-Plus Attendees
CEA Touts Biggest Annual Show in 44-Year History
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 1/14/2012 7:16:09 AM
After being hammered by the recession in the late 2000s, the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show hit a high-water mark with more than 153,000 attendees -- the biggest turnout in the event's 44-year history, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
This year's CES in Las Vegas also registered a record 3,100-plus exhibitors across the largest show floor in CES history with 1.861 million net square feet of exhibit space.
Media coverage was up more than 33% for 2012, according to CEA, with more than 2,000 news articles about the show published this past week. Companies debuted more than 20,000 new products at the show.
CEA touted this year's event as a raging success despite Microsoft's announcement that the 2012 CES would be the last one it participates in and a last-minute cancellation by Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam.
"The 2012 CES was the most phenomenal show in our history, generating more energy and excitement across every major industry touching technology than ever before," CEA president and CEO Gary Shapiro said in a statement Friday.
CEA said next year's show, slated to run Jan. 8-11, 2013, in Las Vegas, already is "generating significant interest." It has booked 95,000 square feet of exhibit space in the 2013 CES iLounge Pavilion and signed two new exhibitors in the automotive category -- Mazda and BMW, who have committed to 2013 CES exhibit space along with Ford, Kia, Audi and Hyundai.
The 2012 CES featured keynotes from industry executives from companies including Qualcomm, Wal-Mart, Intel, Verizon, eBay, Google and Facebook, as well as policymakers including FCC chairman Julius Genachowski.
CEA also called out celebrity appearances by Eliza Dushku -- the Buffy the Vampire Slayer actress who was the celebrity host for Spike TV's inaugural All Access CES coverage -- as well as Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Ludacris, 50 Cent, Wil.i.am, Wayne Brady, LL Cool J, Jillian Michaels (of NBC's The Biggest Loser), Ryan Seacrest, Will Smith and Kelly Clarkson.
CEA conducts an independent audit of CES attendance, which it expects to be available in the spring.
Bouncing Back
After contracting in the late 2000s, CES attendance hit a record 153,000 this year:
2012: 153,000
2011: 149,529
2010: 126,641
2009: 113,085
2008: 141,150
2007: 143,695
2006: 152,203
Source: Consumer Electronics Association
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
