No Comdex Gathering Again This Year

Granddaddy of tech trade shows still on hold, organizers say.

Joris Evers, IDG News Service

MediaLive International is canceling the Las Vegas Comdex trade show for another year because it has not yet been able to rebuild the event, the company said.

"Considerable work remains to build an industry event to serve the industry as it matures with the same success that Comdex did in its infancy. As such, Comdex 2005 will not be held this November in Las Vegas," MediaLive spokesperson Ben Stricker said in a statement sent via e-mail today.

Comdex in Las Vegas was once a staple of the technology industry. However, attendance at the show dropped sharply after the Internet bubble burst--from about 200,000 in 2000 to 125,000 in 2003. Many attendees said that the show had grown too big and unfocused, and a rival Las Vegas event, January's Consumer Electronics Show, became the place to be.

Little IT Support

MediaLive canceled Comdex last year due to lack of support from the biggest IT vendors. That problem persists, Stricker said in an interview. "We're still working with the IT community," he said.

Despite having to go two years without Comdex, MediaLive sees a future for the event. "We hope to bring back Comdex in 2006," Stricker said. He would not, however, offer a probability that the event will return next year. "Right now it is too early to say," he said.

Other Comdex events around the world, including shows in France and Greece, will go forward as planned, MediaLive said.