NAB moves its 2021 edition to October, just a month after IBC

The traditional Las Vegas event, which in its 2021 edition would have taken place from April 11 to 14, will be held from October 9 to 13, just a month after it takes place in Amsterdam, IBC.

The president and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Gordon Smith, has announced the intention to move the sector's annual event in Las Vegas to October 2021 due to the impact it could have on the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming months. In this way, instead of April 11 to 14 as scheduled, NAB 2021 will take place from October 9 to 13.

Smith ha destacado en una carta enviada a la comunidad broadcast internacional que “hemos trabajado diligentemente durante las últimas semanas y meses monitoreando una serie de variables, incluyendo preocupaciones de salud y seguridad, indicadores económicos, desarrollos de la industria y restricciones de viaje, para comprender las tendencias generales y las condiciones futuras para la celebración de un gran evento en 2021”.

“Teniendo en cuenta todo esto, hemos sido testigos de una creciente preocupación e incertidumbre sobre lo que traerá los próximos seis meses. Lo suficiente como para que parezca haber una buena dosis de reticencia en torno a la participación en grandes eventos en la primera mitad del próximo año. La pandemia sigue siendo una amenaza significativa y la evidencia sugiere que estará bien avanzada el próximo año antes de que pueda estar bajo control en los Estados Unidos”.

Mover NAB Show a octubre significará recolocar otros eventos organizados por la asociación such as the NAB Show in New York, held annually in October. On the plus side, Radio Show 2021 will co-locate with the NAB Show in Las Vegas, as will the Sales and Management Television Exchange.

Regarding the temporary coincidence of NAB 2021 with other international and national events of the sector, such as IBC 2021 which will take place September 10 to 14 In Amsterdam, Smith stressed that “we have done everything possible to avoid direct conflicts with other national and international events, and we have approached partner companies to share our thinking in advance and offer to work collaboratively to turn this into an opportunity for everyone.”

It is striking that the two major international events in the sector will be held just one month apart on both sides of the Atlantic. At the same time, a dynamic rooted in the sector that took advantage of the presence in Las Vegas to anticipate launches and show the first prototypes that months later would become a reality in Amsterdam is broken.

The NAB date change will also have a great impact on numerous industry events which takes place in October such as MIPCOM, AES Convention, CEBIT, Broadcast India or BIT Media (Madrid).

“We have not made this decision lightly and have relied on a wealth of feedback from the NAB Show community,” concluded Gordon Smith.

We will have to wait to see how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves because today all these dates are nothing more than a dead letter in the midst of the uncertainty that the coronavirus is causing in all sectors transversally and on a global scale.