Ziff Davis indefinitely postpones DigitalLife, blames the economy

The yearly technology expo that had become a centerpiece of New York City's Digital Technology Week, and a viable alternative to CES has been postponed for 2008.

This morning, prospective attendees and exhibitors to the annual event, found this notice in small print, on the lower right corner of the event's Web site: "The DigitalLife event planned for September 25-28, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City has been postponed. Please check back for details on DigitalLife 2009."

In a statement today which, curiously, appears to have only been received by competitor CNET, Ziff Davis Media -- which has seen its share of struggles in the media industry -- blamed the deteriorating economy for having to cancel the show.

"We weren't confident that we could present a show experience that was consistent with the successes of prior years," Digital Life vice president Paul O'Reilly said in an e-mailed statement.

In a long anticipated move last March, Ziff Davis Media -- which had already split from Ziff Davis Enterprise, and which long ago had turned over ZDNet to CNET -- filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The following month, its ad hoc board of directors approved a reorganization plan, which later involved the appointment of former senior Circuit City executive Peter Weedfald as President.

Officially, the company emerged from bankruptcy in early July. But today's news is an indication that it may not have returned to health.

Exhibitors today may be puzzling over this morning's notice, particularly ZD's choice of words. "Postponed" is a curious word, especially in the context of a show with the year "2008" in its name, and a statement that implies 2009 is the only time we may see it again. Although multiple sources reported this afternoon that the show was officially canceled, officials with the show declined to return BetaNews' inquiries today over whether this is a cancellation or a postponement.

The distinction is critically important, particularly to exhibitors. In the text of the Exhibitor's Agreement (PDF available here) is a cancellation clause, which reads as follows: "Ziff Davis may cancel all or any part of the Event or reduce the amount of space allocated to the Event for any reason in its sole discretion and for acts beyond its reasonable control...If the Event is canceled in its entirety, this Agreement shall automatically terminate and Ziff Davis shall refund to the Exhibitor all Exhibit Fees."

In other words, if that word "postponed" wasn't the one appearing on DigitalLife's Web page today, Ziff Davis Media might have found itself with a bit more reorganizing to do.

DigitalLife's abrupt "postponement," with promises to return, may remind some of another show that followed a similar path during the last economic downturn. COMDEX was once a staple of the IT industry's calendar, but was first similarly postponed in 2004, indefinitely.

That show suffered from a lack of interest on the part of exhibitors, and it could be argued that DigitalLife followed a similar path. After a blockbuster show in 2006 where it saw product announcements rivaling that of CES, last year's show to many lacked the punch of the year before.

"We will make additional announcements about the future of the show when details are available," O'Reilly's statement continued.

At least one event found itself scrambling to relocate itself as a result of the show's postponement. The NY Games Conference, which was set to become a part of the show starting this year, will now meet at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on September 25 and 26.

Gaming had become more of a focus of DigitalLife's organizers, something that several bloggers had criticized, noting that the show had once been billed more as a general tech trade show than one focusing solely on games.