Sony Pulls out of IBC 2009

Juan Enriquez (2008) Pop!Tech Pop!Cast from PopTech on Vimeo.

Sony pulled out of IBC 2009, deciding to concentrate on a more direct approach to its customers - even starting a broadcast TV channel to dealers...In short they are going to see their customers instead of paying millions of euro to appear at exhibitions in the hope that people will see them. Panasonic went a while back. I wonder who will be next? Gone are the days when people waited a year to announce something new. And those who have got into the spiral of "doing conferences" have started the search for a different approach.

This reminds me of the Comdex situation a few years back which went from boom to bust in the last downturn. With major belt-tightening right across the broadcast industry, I would be surprised if IBC did not suffer very badly this time round.


If you want to get a perspective on why a lot of what's being discussed in London at the crisis summitt is probably less than what's needed, just watch this excellent video from last year's Poptech.