Welcome to Nerdstock, Hollywood-style.
Entertainment and media executives are heading to Las Vegas next week in droves to inspect gadgets, gizmos and other devices at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show. About 12,000 of them -- roughly triple the number of two years ago -- are expected to be among the show's 140,000 attendees, according to organizers.
"If you look at the list of people who attend CES, it's the who's who of our business," said Steve Mosko, president of Sony Pictures Television, which is exhibiting at CES for the first time and plans to announce digital partnerships there with help from Jerry Seinfeld. "Every big media company is going to be there."
Hollywood has long fought technological change, worrying that advancements such as the VCR -- launched at CES in 1970 -- would encourage piracy and kill lucrative businesses.
But TV and movie studios are now embracing technology with newfound fervor to find alternative ways to deliver their products.
The expected profits from these digital deals have become a primary point of contention in the labor dispute with Hollywood writers, who are seeking higher pay when their work is distributed over the Internet. The studios contend that the economics of new media are too uncertain to justify such increases, yet their executives are flocking to CES to seek distribution deals with electronics companies.
While there, many expect to scope out trends, show off their growing technical savvy and ensure that devices being produced are secure against piracy.
"We want to talk to them, and they want to talk to us," said Greg Clayman, head of digital distribution at Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks. "So, hey, why not do it in Vegas?"
Nowhere will Hollywood's desire to see and be seen be more in evidence than at the planned NBC Universal booth, where the broadcast network will strut like its iconic peacock. Even on an exhibit floor with enough wattage to rival the neon of the Las Vegas Strip, it'll be easy to spot: It's the only one with a peacock feather mobile that's 100 feet tall and suspended 50 feet in the air.
"You can't talk about great tech without great content," said Beth Comstock, NBC Universal's president of integrated media. "That's what led us to this year saying we need to have a presence. We want to be in the middle of all these conversations."
