Panasonic withdraws from IBC 2020 Tradeshow

The company says it is prioritising the well-being of its staff, partners and attendees.

Whether IBC 2020 will go ahead or not has been an important question that will have been going through the minds of many a company exec recently.  With pretty much all major events already cancelled or postponed this year, the question of IBC has been a difficult one due to the fact it takes place in September.

Surely everything will be okay by then, right?

With a number of countries tentatively easing their lockdown measures, in some quarters that might be seen to be a positive indication that normality may return later this year. Unfortunately a situation like this doesn’t work in quite such a simple way.  It is likely that social distancing, and non essential travel, will need to be maintained for some time yet.  Germany is already seeing a rise in Covid-19 cases after the country recently started to relax its lockdown measures, which demonstrates just what a tightrope we are all walking.

It’s quite clear that any show of this size would be almost impossible to maintain social distancing within, it is perhaps not the most pertinent thing to be considering doing right now.

Panasonic Exit:

Panasonic Booth (Shutterstock)

Panasonic has decided to take action early and make alternative arrangements, such as through its Technology Experience Zone.  This includes live streaming, webinars, video podcasts, and training, with more expansion coming.

IBC 2020 Show

With other companies also considering their position with regards to IBC, it remains to be seen what the organisers of the show do now. 

It is highly likely that they will eventually take the same tactic as NAB and provide an alternative online experience, with streamed conferences. We shall see, but the fact remains that 2020 will be a year that many in the industry will want to forget.