NOVATO, Calif.—JB&A, a leading value-added distributor of broadcast, AV and IP workflow solutions, has announced its highly anticipated Pre-NAB Technology Event, April 17-18, at the Flamingo Las Vegas.
“Pre-NAB has become the ultimate curtain-raiser, offering attendees and exhibiting partners the chance to get ahead of the curve before the pace of NAB kicks in,” said Greg Burgess, executive vice president, JB&A. “With this event, we’re creating a hub for previewing the technologies, trends and product launches set to define this year’s main show. Now at a fresh new venue, we look forward to welcoming visitors in a few weeks’ time.”
JB&A has already confirmed a strong first wave of exhibitors, including: Ashly Audio, Backblaze, Barco, Bitfocus, Bolin Technology, CAD Audio, Christie, Elgato, ENCO Systems, INFiLED, LiveU, Lumens, Matrox Video, Mark Roberts Motion Control, NETGEAR, On-Stage, PTZOptics, Quantum, VITEC and Vizrt.
Designed to maximize time and value in a busy show week, the company says Pre-NAB provides a focused, exhibition space where attendees can expect to get hands-on with technologies spanning the full broadcast and AV ecosystem, including video walls and projection, PTZ cameras, live production and graphics, AV over IP networking, contribution and encoding, captioning and accessibility workflows, storage, robotics and more.
Nicholas Smith, vice president of marketing and technology, says this year marks the company’s 20th annual pre-NAB Show event.
“It's one of the most pivotal events we do every year—this sets up probably the next six months of business in understanding what the channels are asking for, what are their needs,” Smith said. “It's also where we debut new products to market, because we can get so many eyeballs on it in a short amount of time.”
Launched out of Burgess’s garage 25 years ago, JB&A grew quickly to where it now works with nearly 75 professional media production technology brands, encompassing about 6,000 dealers in North America, according to Smith.
“We focus heavily in the areas of broadcast, Pro AV, storage and asset management for the post production market,” he said, adding that “the majority of our technology is broadcast centric, or post production centric.”
Smith added that with more demand for broadcast-quality technology from corporations, the customer base is shifting.
“We're seeing a massive pivot towards Infocomm and ISE and the more ad-centric shows, just because all that technology is moving towards corporate America,” he said. “I would say 80% of our sales go to the non-traditional broadcast markets,” he said, adding that corporate America is “probably the largest user of [our] broadcast tech.”
Smith says they want the two day event—which usually draws 800-1,000 attendees—to provide a more informal and less hectic atmosphere usually found in the halls of the LVCC during the main event.
“We've got food and beer flowing throughout the day, so no matter what time of the day you come, you'll be able to put your feet up and get a drink to soften the blow and relax and spend quality time with the vendors,” he said. “When you hit this show there's never more than a few hundred people in the room, because they're flowing through the whole day.
“So you get quality time with vendors that you wouldn't necessarily get on the show floor, and if it helps them then prepare meetings for the rest of the week, that's our goal,” Smith added.
It’s not just exhibits that have attendees returning every year either, according to Smith.
“We always do something fun so this year we have race car simulators—we built a couple of F1 race cars that people can come in and take turns driving,” he said. “We'll be doing time trials throughout the day and every hour or so, we'll be giving away prizes to those who hold the top time trials.”
On Saturday, there will be several informational keynotes, covering hot topics like AI as well as a presentation from Dr. NDI, Smith added.
"We want to add a level of intelligence and thought provocation into the mix,” Smith added. “So there's a little bit of something for everybody.”
Megan Zeller, Senior Director of Business Development, Peerless-AV, said the event “is an incredibly valuable opportunity for us to get in front of our customers and their customers in a more focused setting. As AV and broadcast continue to converge and evolve at pace, having dedicated time with integrators and consultants ahead of the scale and noise of NAB is essential. This preview event offers a more personal, boutique experience that really sets the tone for the week ahead.”
Mike Cavanagh, President, Key Code Media, commented, “This is an amazing event! JB&A represents leading manufacturers across post-production, AV and broadcast. The Pre-NAB event brings integrators and clients together for direct access to top vendors, meaningful conversations, and hands-on technology. It’s the perfect mix of innovation, networking, and insight - all before the NAB Show.”
Registration is now open, with additional exhibitors to be announced in the coming weeks. Register for free here.
For further information and opening hours, visit the JB&A Pre-NAB event website. Keep up to date with the latest news on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook and via the JB&A YouTube channel.
Register for the NAB Show here.
