CDSA

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced Sept. 9 that the 2021 edition of the NAB Show will be held in Las Vegas, but pushed back from its normal April slot, to Oct. 9-13.

The announcement, which came via a letter to the NAB Show community from NAB president and CEO Gordon Smith, has the show banking that the coronavirus pandemic — which forced NAB and most all trade shows to go virtual since March — will no longer be a barrier to large in-person gatherings.

“We have worked diligently over the last few weeks and months monitoring a range of variables, including health and safety concerns, economic indicators, industry developments and travel restrictions, to gain an understanding of overall trends and future conditions for holding a major event in 2021,” Smith’s letter reads. “We have also reached out extensively to the show community to collect feedback.

“Through all of this we have witnessed growing concern and uncertainty over what the next six months will bring; enough that there appears to be a good deal of reluctance around participating in large events in the first half of next year. The pandemic remains a significant threat and the evidence suggests it will be well into next year before it could be under control in the U.S. We also have our own concerns around being able to deliver the type of event in April that will not only drive results, but one that can be produced safely for all involved and without significant limitations on the experience.”

The move to October 2021 may mean an alternative date for NAB Show New York, also held in October each year, and sees the NAB Show being held just weeks after the International Broadcast Conference (IBC) event scheduled in Amsterdam (Sept. 10-14, 2021). One positive trade-off: the 2021 Radio Show and NAB’s Sales and Management Television Exchange will both co-locate with NAB Show in Las Vegas. Both of those events are being held virtually this October.

“Beyond this, we have done our best to avoid direct conflicts with other domestic and international events, and have reached out to allied organizations and partners to both share our thinking in advance and to offer to work collaboratively toward turning this into an opportunity for all,” Smith wrote.