A Look Ahead: What’s on the agenda for Los Angeles business in the coming week

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Las Vegas is going Hollywood this weekend.

The National Association of Broadcasters will host more than 100,000 broadcast, media, and entertainment professionals, many of them from Los Angeles, at its giant annual trade show there.

The NAB Show, April 16-21, is designed to support new revenue-generating opportunities and partnerships for its members.

“A tremendous amount of business gets done here,” said Ann Marie Cumming, the association’s senior vice president of communications. “Deals are negotiated, new products are launched and significant equipment purchases are made. We estimate there to be $19.8 billion in purchasing power represented at NAB Show.”

It will likely be behind the scenes where the real business gets done – including the potential for a deal for CBS’ portfolio of radio stations.

CBS Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves announced last month that the media giant would be looking to sell off its radio holdings, including KCBS-FM (93.1) in Los Angeles. Analysts speculated at the time that deals for some of the stations could be made behind closed doors at the trade show.

While a deal for the radio stations would be a headline grabber, the bulk of the dealmaking will be a bit more prosaic.

Hive Lighting Inc., a downtown L.A. manufacturer of energy-efficient plasma lights for use in photography, film production, broadcast, and live events, will be attending the show for the fifth year as an exhibitor.

“NAB is really huge for us because it’s where we debut new products,” said Jamie Patterson, director of marketing and social media for Hive. “We also get to see what’s happening in the industry, and connect with dealers and end-users, which for us are gaffers, cinematographers, and high-speed filmmakers.”

Of the 1,700 companies exhibiting this year, nearly 700 of them are based outside of the United States. Among the exhibitors will be several L.A. tech companies showcasing new technologies, including El Segundo’s Zoo Digital, which provides digital distribution services to content creators and distributors. The firm will be launching a cloud storage product at the event.

The marquee attraction at this year’s event is TV producer and writer Chuck Lorre, 63, who will be inducted into the NAB Hall of Fame for his work creating and running a string of hit Warner Bros. Television sitcoms for CBS, including “The Big Bang Theory” and “Two and a Half Men.”

“If you’re a CBS affiliate, Chuck Lorre has run the cash register for you,” said Dennis Wharton, the NAB’s executive vice president of communication: “Les Moonves probably thanks his lucky stars for Chuck Lorre every day because of the amount of revenue he’s brought in for the network.”

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