Virtual ‘NAB Show Express’ Event in April to Replace Canceled Las Vegas Show

NAB won’t try resurrecting its COVID-19-canceled Las Vegas show in 2020 but will stage a virtual event called “NAB Show Express,” said CEO Gordon Smith Friday. Nine days earlier, NAB Show organizers said they were "weighing the best potential path forward," including possibly rescheduling the April 18-22 event later in the year (see 2003110036).

The new plan also calls for “enhancing” NAB Show New York “with new programs, partners, and experiences,” said Smith. “We have already had numerous conversations with show partners about expanding their participation, and have heard from numerous exhibitors interested in enhancing their presence at this fall’s show.”

NAB didn’t respond to queries about plans to expand floor space or the number of exhibitors for the Oct. 21-22 event at the Javits Convention Center. NAB Show New York “represents the best opportunity for companies to announce and showcase their latest innovations and comes at a perfect time for the industry to gather face-to-face to restart, refocus, and reengage as we move forward together,” said Smith.

Little is known about NAB Show Express including when it will happen and over how many days, except that it will be in April. “This digital experience will provide a conduit for our exhibitors to share product information, announcements and demos, as well as deliver educational content from the original selection of programming slated for the live show in Las Vegas,” said Smith.

NAB Show Express will “create opportunities for the community to interact virtually” and “bring the industry together online, both in the short and long term,” said Smith.

ATSC President Madeleine Noland told us Thursday (see 2003190043) that one factor in scheduling a virtual event is that many NAB Show technical papers remain “embargoed” until the dates they were to be presented at the broadcast engineering conference in Las Vegas. The three-day conference was to have opened April 18.

NAB’s virtual replacement plan for the canceled show was a “very quick, proactive reaction,” Jerald Fritz, One Media executive vice president-strategic and legal affairs, told us Friday. One Media had planned a big exhibit in Las Vegas, he said. He's “disappointed” the industry won't be able to showcase ATSC 3.0 applications at a physical event, he said. But that won't slow the momentum of 3.0 adoption because broadcasters are already on board with it and working out the details of the transition, he said: “We’re way past that.”