CES is just too damn full.
That’s the word from the show’s organizers, the Consumer Electronics Association, who announced today that they will be capping registrations at 176,000 people and implementing a new credential screening system.
At CES 2015, 176,676 people attended the conference. That’s a massive uptick from the 113,085 that attended in 2010 at the height of the US recession.
“With the growth of the consumer technology industry and the parallel growth of the International CES comes an increase in the qualified registrant base for our show. While these individuals are qualified industry professionals, we are reaching space capacity and simply can’t accommodate every qualified individual to our show,” CEA senior vice president Karen Chupka said in a statement. “These efforts also will allow us to improve some of the logistical and operational challenges that come with producing and attending such a large event.”
CEA says that anyone who has attended the show in 2014-2015 will not be subject to the new credential screening process.
This comes at a time when CES is struggling to remain a relevant institution to the press. Many vendors choose to make their big announcements at smaller, more focused shows as they won’t have to compete with others for the attention of the press.
CEA’s first show in China is scheduled to kick off later this month. It will be interesting to see if the show is a success, considering that it’s only a week away from Computex in Taipei.
