The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)^® is North America's largest standards and technology

trade organization A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

representing more than 1,200 technology companies. CTA is led by CEO and Vice Chair Gary J. Shapiro.

Trade shows

CES

CES is a major technology trade show held each January in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The first CES was held in 1967 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was a spin-off from the Chicago Music Show, which until then had served as the main event for exhibiting consumer electronics. The event had 17,500 attendees and over 100 exhibitors. From 1978 to 1994, CES was held twice each year: once in January in Las Vegas, known as '' Winter Consumer Electronics Show'' (WCES), and once in June in Chicago, known as ''Summer Consumer Electronics Show''. In 1998, the show changed to an annual format with Las Vegas as the location. CES is one of the largest and longest-running trade shows held in Las Vegas, taking up to 17 days to set up, run, and break down.

Awards programs

CTA has several awards programs for industry leaders, inventors, products, and technologies. Since 1976, the Innovations Design and Engineering Awards has given consumer technology manufacturers and developers an opportunity to have their newest products judged by a panel of designers, engineers and members of the trade press.

CTAPAC

CTAPAC is CTA's

political action committee In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The l ...

CTA Foundation

In 2009, CTA established a charitable foundation dedicated to providing seniors and the disabled with technology in order to enhance their quality of life
Selfhelp Community Services
an eldercare service organization, in New York City received the first grant issued by what was originally called the CEA Foundation. The grant was dedicated to reducing social isolation and providing better access to community services among homebound seniors using computer and internet technology.

Hall of Fame

The CTA maintains a Hall of Fame, to which notable contributors to the field of consumer electronics are named.

Name changes

CTA originally started as the Radio Manufacturers Association (RMA) in 1924. In 1950, it changed its name to Radio-Television Manufacturers Association (RTMA). In 1953, it changed its name to Radio-Electronics-Television Manufacturers Association (RETMA). It was then the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) from 1957 to 1998, when it became the

Electronic Industries Alliance The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA; until 1997 Electronic Industries Association) was an American standards organization, standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics manufacturers in the ...

. In 1995, EIA's Consumer Electronics Group (CEG) became the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA). In 1999, President Gary Shapiro announced the trade group's name change from CEMA to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and became an independent sector of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). The name of CEA was changed to Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in November 2015.

Notes

External links

CTA Corporate Report
{{Authority control Consumer electronics Technology trade associations Standards organizations in the United States Entertainment companies based in California Companies based in San Francisco 1924 establishments in the United States Companies established in 1924