What are consultants thinking about the NAB?

I ran into Holland Cooke behind his computer at the NAB. You'll find consultants and reporters hanging out in conference business center, the press room, and typing frantically in sessions.

“Content Makes Cool Gadgets Hot” says a huge banner atop the Las Vegas Convention Center.

To the National Association of Broadcasters’ credit, their annual convention is no longer about broadcasting, and 100,000+ attendees came to Las Vegas from all over the world to swap ideas about “new delivery, new content, new opportunities.”

The conference agenda presumes something Talk Radio consultant Holland Cooke has been preaching-out to anyone-willing-to-listen:

1. We are following – not leading – listeners to new platforms.
2. It’s all we can do to keep-up.
3. Our considerable, yet perishable, advantage is our engagement with existing cume, and with advertisers.

"Vegas-simply-being-Vegas demonstrates radio’s opportunity," Cooke figures. "My first night there, I ended up guzzling beer with a couple pals from a certain radio network." No names…what happens in Vegas stays there.

"In a loud crowd at Harrah’s packed Dueling Pianos bar, I was struck by the considerable new value (long tail) of’:

*** 1970s content which attained critical mass on AM radio way-back-when (i.e., “Sweet Home Alabama”);

*** When it’s made available on-demand (Las Vegas never closes); and

*** interactive (dueling pianists played the crowd like a Steinway)."

I didn't have time to ask Holland about HD Radio. That will have to wait until we run into each other again.

See you on the Net!

Peggy

Peggy Miles

intervox