Exhibitors evolve as NAB Show kicks off in Las Vegas
Taxi drivers and radio personalities are facing the same disruptive technology.
Autonomous driving.
When cars eventually become compact home entertainment centers on wheels, commuters’ audio and video consumption patterns probably will change. Today, about 90 percent of car commuters listen to traditional AM/FM radio.
In its first-ever Connected Car Experience, the National Association of Broadcasters Show, which kicked off Saturday in Las Vegas, looks at how the next generation of autos will affect the radio industry.
A topic you would expect to see at the Detroit Auto Show, the Connected Car Experience underscores how much the NAB Show has evolved over the years amid breakneck technology changes to expand beyond its original core focus.
With companies such as Ford Motor Co., Amazon, Microsoft and Google among the 1,700 plus exhibitors, some joke that NAB now stands for ‘Nothing About Broadcasting.’
It is this rapid merging of media, entertainment and technology and its impact on the consumer experience — be it at home or on the road — that will be one of the main themes of this year’s NAB Show, according to Dennis Wharton, NAB executive vice president of communications.
Google, the owner of Youtube, and its video-sharing competitor Vimeo will be among 215 first-time participants. Google will host a series of talks on content and video.
Fourth-largest Vegas show
The NAB Show, which runs through Thursday, will bring more than 100,000 professionals to Las Vegas, making it the fourth-largest show this year after CES, CONEXPO-CON/AGG and SEMA, an automotive specialty products expo. SEMA will be held in the autumn.
The NAB Show has more than doubled in attendance numbers since 1990, according to Wharton, who has attended nearly every one since then.
And it has increased its international presence, with a quarter of all attendees from overseas. About 750 of the 1,700 exhibiting companies are foreign.
The show occupies 1 million square feet at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
It will generate about $96 million in economic activity for the city, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Caesars Palace, Harrah’s and MGM Grand are among the 14 hotels cooperating with the show.
Hakkasan Group will host six NAB-related events at its Las Vegas properties, according to Stephanie Capellas, director of public relations for the hospitality company.
The networking parties kicked off Saturday with an unofficial gathering at Gordon Biersch, a brewery and restaurant. Official networking events are scheduled at Encore, Stratosphere and Monte Carlo hotels during the week.
FCC, Next-Gen TV
The show attracts attendees from the broadcast, digital media, film, entertainment, telecom, post-production and IT industries coming to network, browse the latest products and attend some of the hundreds of seminars.
Historically, regulatory and broadcast spectrum issues have been big topics at the NAB Show, and this year will be no different with new leadership in Washington.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, who was selected by President Donald Trump in January, will be one of the closely followed speakers during the week.
Like many of Trump’s choices, Pai has indicated he wants to ease regulation on the industry, a message that has been well-received by broadcasters and media companies.
Pai is expected to update the audience on the move toward the voluntary rollout of Next Gen TV, which will provide viewers a crisper picture, better reception and interactive features.
The chairman said in February that he hopes the FCC can approve voluntary use of the new TV standard before the end of 2017.
The NAB Show is hosting a new pavilion dedicated to Next Gen TV at this year’s show.
Amazon, Facebook, cybersecurity
Another new pavilion is dedicated to the growing popularity of the live streaming app launched by the world’s largest social media company.
The Facebook Live Video Solutions pavilion features 11 vendors demonstrating tools and platforms to help companies and individuals improve their broadcasts. Those vendors include Easy Live, which enables live streamers to drag and drop graphics into their broadcast, and BumeBox, a tool for Hollywood and media stars to communicate with fans.
Other top Silicon Valley companies have a big presence at the show. With Facebook and Google, Amazon is holding a boot camp to educate attendees on how to use voice-over technology to engage with content such as receiving news.
As the NAB Show comes amid the loudest cyberhacking scandal in U.S. history, it is no surprise it features a new pavilion dedicated to security. The pavilion will host 27 presentations, including two dedicated to the topic of hacking Hollywood.
Vegas in record books
The NAB Show will literally reach new heights this year and put Las Vegas once again into the record books.
On Wednesday, astronaut Dr. Peggy Whitson, who is circling the Earth aboard the International Space Station, will speak via live stream with Amazon Web Service Elemental Chief Executive Officer Sam Blackman, and Las Vegas will become the first city to host a 4K live transmission beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
Contact Todd Prince at 702-383-0386 or tprince@reviewjournal.com. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.
