As the media and entertainment industry meets again in Las Vegas, NAB Show kicks off the beginning of its second century. Organizers describe an agenda suited to the individual needs of tens of thousands of broadcasters, filmmakers, content creators and others from around the world who are looking for answers in a marketplace transformed by the internet and cloud technology. 

“At the 2024 NAB Show we, as an industry, have the opportunity to set the tone for the next 100 years,” said Chris Brown, executive vice president and managing director of NAB Global Connections and Events. “It’s an exciting time to see technology reach a point where truly extraordinary advances are possible — in how content is produced, distributed and consumed.”

Attendees at the show are being greeted by a Las Vegas Convention Center in the middle of a $600 million renovation. For this year’s show, the North Hall is closed for its facelift.

“NAB Show is dedicated to providing a seamless and exciting experience for all attendees during the North Hall renovation,” said Brown. “When South Hall was closed in 2023, we adapted and even grew the show. This year we are approaching our plans with the same mentality.”

The Vegas Loop can be used for fast and convenient transportation between halls. “The system offers quick and efficient movement underground across the LVCC campus with stops that connect the West Hall to the front of the Central Hall, and from there, it is a quick walk to South,” he said. Golf cart transportation is also being offered to make trips between Central and South Halls more convenient. 

The Zones are back on the show floor as a place for interactive discovery, learning and networking. They are curated around each of the three major pillars Create, Connect and Capitalize. Brown said the Community Zones provide insight into the major tech and content workflow trends within each pillar to help attendees connect with relevant exhibitors and products.

“These are must-see stops for every attendee to engage in a planned activity or just drop in to see what’s happening,” said Brown. The Connect and Capitalize Zones are located in West Hall; the Create Zone is in South Hall. 

The latest trends, technology and techniques for the M&E industry are front and center at NAB Show. “Our agenda is shaped to ensure there are answers, or at least very good clues, to help everyone sort out the challenges and opportunities they face daily,” said Brown.

Of course, it is impossible to talk about trends without focusing on artificial intelligence and, in particular, generative AI. There are more than 120 sessions and 130 exhibitors at the show featuring AI. Industry heavyweights will be on the Main Stage discussing “AI in Media and Entertainment,” as well as speaking at dozens of exciting sessions including “AI in the Newsroom: The Good, the Bad, and What’s Ahead for the Industry,” “Convergence of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Broadcasting” and “AI Strategies for Sales, Marketing and Operations.”

One new activation featuring AI is a demonstration developed in partnership with Microsoft. In the Capitalize Zone, through a partnership that leverages Microsoft’s technologies, show attendees can immerse themselves in new details, trivia, interactive quizzes and personalized insights from beloved, television shows, transforming the viewing process into a competitive interactive space. 

Brown said, “Leveraging AI and machine-learning algorithms, the platform can analyze users’ past behavior to predict what content and challenges might interest them, creating a truly personalized viewing experience.”

Consumer consumption habits are driving everything from production to business models. As FAST channels have proliferated, so has the move to ad-supported tiers and new bundles. The economics have driven up subscription fees. 

“As all of this takes shape, it is hard not to see how it is all coming back to a relatively familiar monthly price point for the average viewer or family,” Brown said. “The good news is it is driving more choice, and, while there has been some dampening — due to the strikes, and those same economics — there is more content. Across the entire television, film and video landscape there is evermore video-centric content being created.” 

The internet and related advances in production tools have made high-quality content creation something much more attainable for all. Nowhere has this trend manifested itself with more impact than in the Content Creator space, Brown said. 

Copyright NAB 2024.

With the curtain set to rise on the 2023 NAB Show and the event having reached centenarian status, it’s interesting to examine how it came to be and follow some of its twists and turns in going from infancy to becoming the “biggest and best” gathering of broadcasters and content creators on the planet.

Its origin is closely intertwined with the launch by Westinghouse of KDKA radio in late 1920. This experiment in wireless delivery of news and entertainment on a regularly scheduled basis was a game changer, arousing public attention as never before. Soon new stations were taking to the air on almost a daily basis, with hundreds in operation in just a relatively short time. 

With no established precedents or business models to follow, some of these first-generation broadcasters recognized the value in banding together to share knowledge and protect common interests, leading to the chartering of the National Association of Broadcasters in April 1923 and the first-ever “NAB Show” held later that year.

While little information survives, we do know that it was a single-day affair attended by only a few, and by later standards would seem rather anemic, with activities mostly centered on business matters such as performance royalties, the need for additional spectrum (a concern even then), and regulatory issues. As there were few equipment manufacturers, the technology displays were not a part of that show. (Exhibits at early NAB Shows came chiefly from the NAB and member stations. Technical displays did not appear until the show’s second decade.)

A Show For All Seasons
While the NAB Show is a rite of spring for many—seemingly always occurring in April and always in Las Vegas—this April/LV pairing is relatively recent. (Also, for many years the event was referred to as a “broadcasters’ convention.”)

New York City served as the backdrop for that 1923 show, with the event taking more than half a century to reach Las Vegas for the first time, and not becoming a yearly event there until 1991. After spending its first five years in the Big Apple, the show was moved to Washington D.C. in 1928. 

Seven years later, it began to move around, convening in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Detroit, Colorado Springs, San Francisco, St. Louis, Atlantic City, and even trying out resort hotels in White Sulfur Springs, W. Va., and West Baden, Ind. 

Since its inception, the NAB Show has been hosted by no less than 17 cities and in almost every month, skipping only December and January, and taking 20 years to convene in April for the first time.

A heavy snow slowed down proceedings at the November 1932 conference, triggering a schedule reevaluation that pushed the event—with one exception—into warmer months from then on. (However, even that didn’t guarantee good weather at the late-March 1987 Dallas show, where snow showers and bitterly cold temperatures greeted attendees.)

After a Century, Who’s Counting?
Even though the show has been scheduled every year from 1923 on, the recent pandemic forced two cancellations, and the 1945 wartime event was kyboshed by a government order directed at freeing up transportation and lodging for military and defense industry personnel. (The directive banned meetings of more than 50 persons from outside the community hosting the event). 

And technically speaking, there was no “NAB Show” from 1951–1957, as the organization temporarily rebranded itself as the NARTB (National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters) to recognize TV’s rise to prominence. The yearly gatherings continued, however, under the NARTB banner.

Broadcast technology was initially only a small part of early NAB Shows, but as the annual event entered its second decade, tech began to command an increasingly greater  share of attention, with the 1935 program including a report on the status of television in Europe, and the first mention of an NBC Show “engineering committee” meeting found in a report on the 1936 convocation. It was small by later standards—eight persons, with WSM’s legendary Jack DeWitt serving as chairman.

Several technical displays were featured at the 1937 event, with exhibitor Western Electric unveiling one of the first commercial audio processors, its model 110A “program amplifier.”

State-of-the-art tech made its presence known in a really big way at the 1939 Atlantic City, N.J. show, with RCA and NBC engineers setting up “high-definition” 441-line cameras and encouraging attendees to be “televised.” Photographic screen shots made it possible for those conventioneers posing before the iconoscope cameras to prove it to folks back home. As summed up by a trade publication: “…the photos will undoubtedly be cherished in later years as relics of the pioneer days of television.”

That 1939 show also included an eerily prophetic comment from New York Times radio editor, Orrin E. Dunlap Jr. “Today it may seem that television is creeping at the pace of a glacier. But by 1950 broadcasters will be deep into… television. The ice age will not last forever.”

(Dunlap’s address was read by an NAB staffer as he was unable to attend the show.)

‘First Looks’
In addition to providing many attendees with their first look at television, the NAB Show has also served as the launchpad for many more broadcasting technological innovations. New breakthroughs introduced included color, 3D and HDTV; UHF transmission; ENG; communications satellite linkage; timecode editing; the dawning of digital technology; server-based video playout; solid-state transmitters; chip sensor cameras—the list goes on and on.

Perhaps the most memorable tech rollout occurred at the 1956 Chicago NARTB, with Ampex ushering in not only a new technology, but a sociological game-changer with their introduction of the videotape recorder. The unveiling had been kept secret, and when wraps were taken off, the machine instantly became—and remained—the focus of attention at the show with the electronics firm receiving orders for some 80 of the $50k VTRs (more than $44 million in today’s money).

The number of attendees and exhibitors has risen steadily since the inaugural 1923 event. Over the next decade, hundreds attended, eventually surpassing 1,000 as the 1940s began, and has continued to climb almost every year. (In addition to the “VTR unveiling” the 1956 show is remembered for a (then) all-time high attendance that exceeded 4,500.)

By the time of the 1977 Washington show, registration had swelled to nearly 13,000, totally overwhelming the city’s limited convention resources. (There was no convention center then, requiring the conference to be spread over three hotels connected by shuttle buses.) Hotel rooms were also in short supply, leaving upwards of 100 registrants with no place to stay. 

Feathers were ruffled so much that the NAB vowed not to return the show to Washington until at least 1984, (it never did). Broadcasting magazine summed things up: “The NAB passes but D.C. flunks.” (A similar lodging issue at the 1947 Atlantic City show also earned that city a spot on the NAB’s “no more shows there” list.)  

The number of attendees has continued to grow, hitting more than 100,000 by the 1990s. The number of exhibitors and exhibit space has increased correspondingly, with more than 1,800 spread across more than a million square feet of floor space in 2016. 

Although attendance at the first post-pandemic show was substantially down from the show’s all-time high, the 2023 NAB Show will likely see an even higher number than the 52,468 who registered for the 2022 event. We hope you will be one of those who help swell that number as this “show of shows” moves into its second century! 

Sidebar:

Moments of Drama
NAB Show veterans know that they can sometimes expect the unexpected—sometimes above and beyond the unveiling of a revolutionary product, especially as high-level government officials, members of congress and even heads of state occasionally make appearances. At least two of the shows are especially memorable in this regard. 

An appearance at the 1941 NAB Show in St. Louis by then FCC Chairman James L. Fly sparked political fireworks that made headlines across the country. Just days before the show, Fly released a draft of new rules that would greatly impact business relationships between networks and their affiliates. The Commission’s “Report On Chain Broadcasting” quickly met with condemnation from major networks and NAB alike. 

Verbal blows came to a head at the show with past-NAB President Mark Ethridge lambasting Fly and the report, and Fly countering by repeatedly referring to the NAB as a “so-called” organization and likening the way the broadcasting industry operated to a “dead mackerel in the moonlight…that both shines and stinks.”

Following Fly’s remarks, then-current NAB president, Neville Miller, called for a congressional investigation of the FCC, and questioned whether “the state of mind exhibited by Mr. Fly qualifies him to be chairman of a government agency calling for judicial impartiality.”

Broadcasting magazine’s Sol Taishoff described the politics unleashed at the show as “the most tumultuous of its 19 years,” adding “For acrimony and invective, the convention had no parallel in NAB annals, and it will probably be recalled in radio history as the “'Battle of St. Louis.'"

(Fly was a no-show at the 1942 event.)

A half-century later, an anti-nuclear activist managed to slip past security and onto the dais at the 1992 Television Luncheon where former President Ronald Reagan was receiving the NAB’s Distinguished Service Award. Before the intruder was subdued, he managed to smash a large crystal statue that had been presented to Reagan, startling the former chief executive and showering him with glass shards. 

Fortunately, Reagan was not injured, the protester was wrestled to the stage and  removed, and the former president continued with his speech. 

However, there were plenty of frazzled nerves among those who recalled John Hinckley Jr.’s 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan (which occurred rather ironically at one of the three hotels hosting the final NAB Show to be held in Washington).

LAS VEGAS—As the spread of the coronavirus continues around the world and has begun to spread more in the U.S., the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which runs the Las Vegas Convention Center that will host the 2020 NAB Show, has revealed a number of efforts it is taking to help prevent the transmission of coronavirus.

To date, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19, the particular strand of coronavirus, in Clark County or the state of Nevada and there have been no domestic travel notices, precautions or guidance specific to travel. In addition, the LVCVA said that southern Nevada and resort properties have not been identified as being at higher risk for transmission.

Even so, LVCVA has announced that it is following CDC and Health District protocols for preventing spreading the disease, and has taken a number of steps at the Las Vegas Convention Center in that regard.

This includes:

•  Increased cleaning protocols, including more frequent wiping and disinfecting of touch points (door handles, elevator buttons, handrails, restroom stall doors and sinks) during occupied show hours; 
•  Added additional hand sanitizer stations; 
•  Increased the outside air intake/air change rate during occupied show hours; 
•  Reinforced its standard employee health practices, including sending employees home and/or encouraging them to stay home if sick or demonstrating symptoms; 
•  Reinforce its standard food safety awareness programs, including making alcohol-based hand gel/rub available at every food station and every table at food outlets; and 
•  Continuing to participate in webinars and conference calls with the International Association of Venue Managers to stay up on new practices, protocols and guidance 

LVCVA also shared efforts being made by authorities in southern Nevada and CDC recommended best practices for individuals.

The 2020 NAB Show is scheduled to take place April 18-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and as of now the show is set to continue as planned.

However, some individual companies are taking their own actions that could impact travel to the NAB Show. Amazon has said that it is restricting all nonessential employee travel in the U.S. until the end of April.

The virus is also having an industry impact beyond the NAB Show. Sony has reportedly warned investors that production of both image sensors and electronics “could be affected enormously” if the virus continues to spread.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) held its annual kickoff to CES on Thursday, with CES Unveiled New York once again held at the Metropolitan Pavilion.

But invoking the CTA’s infamous mantra of “Innovate or Die,” the organization mixed things up a bit this year, and the event was far from a carbon copy of the past. The introductory press conference was set up in a more casual setting across tables and couches, and the subsequent tabletop portion of the event was transformed into a more “experiential” environment, with attendees given the opportunity to get hands-on with new technology.

Find Out How To Receive Editorial Coverage In The Official CES Daily

Gary Shapiro, CTA president/CEO, kicked things off by highlighting the global environment of CES, describing it both as “the coolest, funnest, greatest tech event in the world” and the “only venue in the entire world where the entire ecosystem comes together.”

On that note, he addressed the CTA’s well-known critical stance on the Trump-imposed tariffs, warning of the “serious ramifications for companies in our industries and many industries” if the tariffs on imports from China rise from the current 10 percent to 25 percent on Jan. 1 as presently scheduled.

Shapiro also highlighted some of the upcoming new areas at CES, taking place Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas, including the expanded Smart Cities Marketplace and the new Resilience conference, focusing on technologies enabling countries, cities and people to respond to and rebound from calamities, both natural and otherwise.

He furthermore announced that the CTA’s next book, “Ninja Future,” will officially launch at CES and unveiled the organization’s inaugural Tech Media Trailblazers Class of 2019. This group is made up of new journalists who will have the opportunity to cover CES for the first time. (Among the participants: David Lumb of TechRadar, a TWICE sister publication.)

Karen Chupka, executive VP of CES, provided further details on the upcoming show, which will feature an expected 4,500 exhibitors from 155 countries, regions and territories. New exhibitors include John Deere, JD.com, Procter & Gamble, and Raytheon.

Eureka Park, the dedicated area for start-ups, will host a record 1,200 exhibitors from 40 different countries, Chupka said, while 150 auto exhibitors will be spread across a space larger than four football fields.

Artificial intelligence and robotics will also play prominent roles at this year’s show, as will digital health. As previously announced, CES 2019 will, for the first time, offer attendees the ability to earn Continuing Medical Education (CME) Credits.

ARLINGTON, VA.—The Nevada Senate has approved plans for a renovation and expansion of the Las Vegas Convention Center. CTA, which runs the CES conference that takes place in Las Vegas annually, applauded the Senate’s decision.

The following statement from Karen Chupka, senior vice president of CES and corporate business strategy for CTA, was sent out via a press release:

“We thank the Nevada Senate for approving the proposal to fund the expansion and modernization of the Las Vegas Convention Center, with an estimated completion date of 2023. This critical investment will help us grow CES, the world’s largest annual business event which is held in Las Vegas every January, and will allow us to continue to bring hundreds of millions of dollars each year into the Las Vegas economy even in the interim while the expansion takes place.”

“The measure now moves on to the General Assembly for consideration,” Chupka continued. “We urge members of the Assembly to act quickly to approve this important project to help support Nevada’s economy and maintain Las Vegas’ global reputation as a world class destination for meetings and conferences.”

The General Assembly is expected to vote on the proposal on Thursday, Oct. 13.

Update: The General Assembly passed the bill on Friday, Oct. 14. 

LAS VEGAS - By the time the 2016 NAB Show rolls around, the landscape around the Las Vegas Convention Center and along the Strip will have changed quite a bit.

A conceptual drawing of the Las Vegas Global Business District features an expanded convention center. Courtesy of Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

As part of its plans for the new Las Vegas Global Business District, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority purchased the historic Riviera Hotel and Casino’s 26-acre site as the cornerstone for an expansion. The cost was $182.5 million.

The Riviera closed May 4. A liquidation sale began May 14 and continued into June, according to the National Content Liquidators Website.

The dates for a demolition, likely by implosion, and start of new construction had yet to be made public in June.

The Riviera site will provide an entry point to a new business district on the strip, according to the LVCVA. The project will be completed in two phases. The first, at the Riviera site, will include 750,000 square feet of new exhibit space along with 187,500 square feet of supporting meeting space as part of the new 1.8-million square-foot expansion.

Phase two entails renovating the existing convention center and includes a 100,000-square foot general session space and another 100,000 square feet of meeting space. Including public and service areas, the expansion and renovation will increase the size of the facility from its current 3.2 million square feet to nearly 5.7 million square feet, according to the LVCVA. Once construction begins, the entire project is expected to take five to eight years.

The Riviera celebrated the many stars who appeared on its stages over the years.

1.2 MILLION ATTENDEES

The announced expansion is likely to be welcomed by the larger conventions held at LVCC.

“The NAB Show has experienced considerable growth over the last few years, and we look forward to conference and exhibit space that this expansion will provide — particularly for marquee events and other conferences that have had to locate off-site due to space and venue quality,” an association spokesman said.

The Consumer Electronics Association, which produces the International Consumer Electronics Show each year, recently said it was capping attendance for next year’s event due to overcapacity concerns, Radio World has reported.

The LVCC hosts approximately 1.2 million convention delegates each year. Those visitors and the conventions they attend support 14,000 local jobs, sustain $530 million in wages, and generate an annual revenue stream of $1.7 billion.

These changes could mark the beginning of even bigger movement in this part of Las Vegas. In addition to the $2.3 billion convention center expansion and renovation, the new business district project includes the creation of economic development in the neighborhoods surrounding the center. That includes a planned business center that uses the facility’s World Trade Center designation to attract corporations wanting to interact with tens of thousands of businesses that visit the convention center each year.

RAT PACK ERA

The closing of the Riviera coincided with its 60th anniversary; the building opened in April of 1955. It was the first high-rise hotel-casino in Vegas. Until then, Strip resorts looked like roadside motor courts. The nine-story, 300-room tower signified the beginning of a vertical expansion of hotels into the Vegas skyline.

At the time, it looked like something from Miami Beach. Not coincidentally, the architects, Roy France and Son, were based in Miami, as were the original developers.

Creative Commons 2.0, by rojer, www.flickr.com/photos/rojer/750716415/

When it opened, the Riviera boasted the Hickory Room Restaurant, Cafe Noir, Le Bistro and the Clover Room showroom, as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The casino contained 18 table games and 116 slot machines, small by today’s standards but considered lavish at the time.

Over the years, the Riviera continued to expand, adding towers and more gaming space. The last renovation in 1990 enlarged the casino to 70,000 square feet for a total of nearly 125,000 square feet, bringing the building right to the sidewalk, and making it one of the largest casinos in the world. Unfortunately, the renovation ran over budget, leading to the first of several bankruptcy filings, according to local news accounts. In 2010, Riviera Holdings filed for bankruptcy in order to reorganize debt.

TO THE BONEYARD

Shortly after its opening, the Riviera became a go-to destination for music and comedy acts. Liberace was the featured performer for the casino’s grand opening, and appeared there for many years afterward.

When “An Evening at La Cage” closed at the Riviera in 2009, it held the unofficial record for the longest continuous performance run at a single casino in Las Vegas, over 20 years. The show featured numerous female impersonators, including Frank Marino with his impersonation of Joan Rivers.

One of the focal points on the site was a large plaque titled “The History of Entertainment Through the Years at the Riviera.” The plaque listed artists who performed at the historic hotel and casino; it was a virtual Who’s Who of music and comedy acts from the 1950s through the ’90s. Organized alphabetically, it began with the 1960s musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” and ended with ’80s actress and singer Pia Zadora. Beside the names were the dates when the acts first performed at the Riv. The plaque had long been a photo op for tourists and hotel guests. The list is long, but the comedy acts include Dean Martin, Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, Bob Newhart and Jerry Seinfeld. Musicians ranged from The Beach Boys, Elvis, Dolly Parton, The Village People and, of course, Frank Sinatra.

While the Riviera will soon be gone, a few pieces of it are being preserved for posterity. “We’ve had some conversations with the Riviera management about preserving the signs, and we’ve visited the site. Right now though, it isn’t clear which signs or how many will be saved,” said Neon Museum Public Relations and Marketing Director Dawn Merritt.

The Riviera’s signs will most likely be added to the museum’s collection in the Neon Boneyard at 770 Las Vegas Boulevard North.

Once the Riviera is demolished, only two of the original casinos along the Vegas Strip will remain: the Flamingo and Circus Circus.