I posted some things that I expect to be in and out at the 2009 NAB Show. I’m in Las Vegas now, and after walking around the convention before the exhibits open, I found some items to add.

In
* Interest in technology
I stopped in the SBE Ennes Educational Workshop and saw an interested crowd. The room was not as full as I have seen it in previous years, but there was a decent crowd. And they were all focused on the presentation.

Out
* Broadcast attendees
I said earlier that while the overall attendance will be down (something the NAB admits), the raw number won’t look as bad as it really is. I expect attendees to stay only a few days instead of the entire week.

However, even these numbers may be deceiving. I saw a quote from Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of media relations at the NAB, who echoed the reduced attendance expectation, but he also noted that only 20 percent of the attendees are actually broadcasters. He attributed this to the diversity of the convention now. This leads me to the next out:

* The broadcast focus of the convention
If only 20 percent of the attendees are broadcasters, why is it still called the NAB?