Apple has announced that it will not have a booth at The NAB Show this year.

Rumor had been spreading on the Internet in recent weeks about Apple's presence at the show. Speculation increased after Avid Technology, the company's main competitor at the NAB Show, dropped out late last year. An Apple spokesman said the company is cutting down on its trade show participation overall.

"Apple is participating in fewer trade shows this year," said Anuj Nayar, senior manager of PR at Apple. "Often there are better ways to reach our customers. The increasing popularity of our retail stores and Apple.com Web site allows us to directly reach more than 100 million customers around the world in innovative new ways."

Apple declined comment on the remaining extent of its participation at the show, or whether it plans to return.

Dennis Wharton, spokesman for NAB, said that the organization is discussing partnerships with the company at the show.

"We're talking about some on-site business opportunities with Apple," he said.