2020 NAB Show

Virtual NAB events this week include two webinars from Gates Air, two from Blackbird and one from Interra. For more live and on-demand virtual NAB events, visit TVNewsCheck’s Virtual NAB Events Listing. For continuously updated new product news, visit TVNewsCheck’s virtual NAB news feed. 

Las Vegas and Portland, Ore. will light up their NextGen TV markets in June from their initially-slated late April launch, but the broadcasters and coalition driving the new industry standard forward say major launches will still move ahead this year. The launches will coincide with the arrival in retail stores of the first 3.0-capable sets. Above, six LG sets will bear the NextGen TV logo, including the 55-, 65- and 77-inch class GX Gallery Series 4K Ultra HD models.

Rather than rescheduling NAB Show for later this year, NAB will create a new digital offering called NAB Show Express, and will enhance its NAB Show New York later this year.

News of the NAB Show’s cancellation Wednesday left the show’s organizers, vendors and broadcasters scrambling to calculate their losses and frame out alternatives to conduct crucial business usually handled there.

TVNewsCheck introduces Virtual NAB, a web page aggregating news, analysis and opinion related to the now-postponed trade show. In addition, TVN also rolls out Working Lunch, a home for webinars sponsored by thought leaders driving the conversation electronically or announcing new solutions that would have been unveiled in Las Vegas.

CEO Gordon Smith says the association is reviewing options for the event later this year. The annual gathering generated $46.7 million in revenue for NAB in 2018.

Despite canceling its physical attendance, EVS is currently working on a plan to introduce its new products and solutions and to remain engaged with the NAB community.

“With travel restrictions and other safety measures already in place, we now have to get creative and explore alternative ways of connecting with current and potential customers around the globe.”

New product announcements and featured customer presentations will debut online in April.

While reports of exhibitors backing out of the upcoming NAB Show are occurring on an almost daily basis, one major exhibitor says it stays committed to being in Las Vegas next month. Acknowledging the seriousness of the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, Steve Wind-Mozley, CMO of Vizrt Group, said “We will not opt out of the global community we serve, so whilst we respect the difficult decisions some of our industry colleagues have made with regards to show attendance, we choose a different path. We remain focused on supporting our customers to the best of our ability and if that means greeting them on our booth at NAB and it’s safe to do so, we’ll have the coffee on.”

Instead, the German company will introduce new flash-based storage technologies, on-premise AI, remote collaboration and smart workflow automation through a series of events in the Los Angeles area and webinars that will be announced via its website and social media channels.

Avid’s new product introductions will take place online in April. Avid and ACA will host regional Connect events after public safety is assured.

CEO Fred Fourcher, said: “As difficult as it was to make this decision, we believe in upholding our corporate promise of providing peace of mind to our community of employees, customers and colleagues. We are taking the stance of being overly sensitive and responsible to their health and well-being.”

Marketing Director Michelle Maddox said today: “We will truly miss the opportunity to share our new products and meet new customers and close friends. However, we can not in good faith attend the NAB Show this year. We look forward to sharing many exciting announcements in the next few weeks.”

CEO David Ross says the company is “developing contingency plans and will be virtualizing many elements of the show to ensure that our customers still learn about everything new from Ross.”

The audio tech firm based in Pompton Plains, N.J., called the move a “difficult decision … made as a precaution to keep everyone involved as safe and healthy as possible.”

Fox Corp.’s broadcast network Fox Entertainment will no longer be hosting program development presentations at the NAB Show (April 18-22) in a precautionary effort to keep employees, client and agency partners safe from the coronavirus. Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva says the company also canceled an affiliate board dinner that was to take place during the show.

Nikon is the first big-brand camera company to announce that it is not participating at NAB 2020 in Las Vegas.

As of Tuesday (March 3), the NAB Show in Las Vegas April 18-22 is still on, according to a webpage the National Association of Broadcasters set up to keep interested parties up to date on its status relative to the coronavirus, with NAB saying its response to the virus threat would be based on facts, not fear.