All strictly hypothetical on my part but say, for instance . . .
A company might present an idea for a product that wasn't quite ready for production or even use but was an intriguing concept. The producers, salesmen and media influencers that typically are allowed to attend ATA might not judge the fact that its a "bluetooth" prototype too harshly. Heck they might even give it best in show even though it won't be available for a couple of more years. Regular folks with no skin in the game might actually judge it a bit more harshly online.
EDIT: I guess there's an alternative reason a supplier might balk at turning ATA into more typical public show. I've never been to ATA but I get the impression its more of a show and tell, "Look what we're bringing to the table this year", event as opposed to a "We'll sell you something now" show which is typically how most public Outdoor Product Shows are set up.
That is to say in a traditional outdoor product the show organizer makes money off the entry ticket sales and the producers make money off of product sales at the show. Its possible that some producers may not have inventory and/or manpower to support a "sales" type show this early in the year. In that case they'd pull out immediately after "show and tell" since there's really nothing in it for them to hang around for, other than risk of peeving someone off because the can't buy their latest toy yet.
