Wednesday At The NAB Show: Attendance Down, Byron Allen, Gordon Smith, And The Freakonomics Guys

Smith, Allen, LeGeyt

The lightly-attended final day of the NAB SHOW at the LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER WEDNESDAY (4/27) was short on content relevant to radio, with appearances by television mogul BYRON ALLEN and the creators of "FREAKONOMICS" on the main stage, while a large portion of the audience headed out of town as the NFL DRAFT rolled into town.

The preliminary registered attendance figure for the NAB SHOW has been announced as 52,468. The show drew an announced 91,460 for its last in-person event in 2019, which was down from 2018's 92,912.

"We are thrilled that our exhibitors, attendees and partners from all corners of the world turned out in force this week in LAS VEGAS," said NAB Pres./CEO CURTIS LEGEYT. "The enthusiasm and engagement on the show floor, in sessions and throughout the entire event have been invigorating. We thank the NAB SHOW community for making this year's convention an incredible experience as we get back to doing business in person."

Byron Allen And Gordon Smith On Life And Business

ALLEN's chat with former NAB Pres./CEO GORDON SMITH and LEGEYT opened with LEGEYT looking out at the empty seats in the hall and joking, "Wow, we sold out again!" The discussion went directly to the rumors that ALLEN may buy the DENVER BRONCOS ("my favorite team," ALLEN said with a laugh), then went to more personal topics, like SMITH recounting how he got interested in politics as a paperboy in WASHINGTON reading the headlines, ALLEN's defense of local news (remarking that dictatorships start with attempts to silence the press and that anyone who looks to control speech is "the devil ... that's just the devil in a human body"), the first amendment ("we have the best export in the world," SMITH said, "the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the UNITED STATES"), ALLEN's WEATHER CHANNEL addressing the issues of climate change and global warning, dealing with political and philosophical differences (boiled down to "love thy neighbor," which ALLEN said is the key to making life on Earth heaven or hell), and SMITH's work addressing mental health issues in legislation (the GARRET LEE SMITH Memorial Act) in the wake of his son's suicide ("If you don't have mental health," SMITH noted, "you don't have health").

'Freakonomics' Explains It All

A similarly sparse crowd heard "FREAKONOMICS" creators STEPHEN J. DUBNER and Dr. STEVEN LEVITT offer advice to media creators and networks based on their experience building their franchise. DUBNER joked that the duo had been assigned the "hangover slot" of the convention, and related the story of how the pair's books became the successful "FREAKONOMICS RADIO" podcast, with LEVITT initially calling the proposed podcast "the stupidest idea I've ever heard," but giving DUBNER his blessing. DUBNER said he "always loved radio" growing up in a rural part of NEW YORK state, and described how podcasting eliminated publishers' leverage over creators through an alternative global distribution system. LEVITT recounted his economics career, from his fumbling efforts in higher education to becoming a respected professor at the UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO and converting his father's advice to concentrate on economic topics that are "too embarrassing" for most economists into what became the best-selling "FREAKONOMICS" books.

DUBNER pointed to the sudden changes in attitudes by financial institutions towards the blockchain and cryptocurrency ("they definitely got religion") and compared them to the changes in the audio industry as consolidation of the business continues. He said that those on the business side should have optimism about how building scale will help their industry, while creators can feel positive about how the public loves what they are creating. "What every human seems to love is storytelling," DUBNER noted, asserting that, "We're narcissists, all of us ... The first thing we do (when listening to a story) is to put ourselves in it."

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