The NAB Show management team has just announced that the event is canceled due to Coronavirus panic. This is a major decision with a significant impact on the industry. We prepared this article a few days ago (and update it now) since we knew that there is a significant possibility that the event will be canceled. Read on about the course of events.

3/6- The first confirmed case of Coronavirus in Nevada

The NAB Show has continued to note that this year’s event is not canceled or postponed and will proceed as planned. However, recently, when Coronavirus fear has been raised, and more and more events have been canceled, the event management team has released a statement in these words: “In light of today’s news of multiple confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus in Nevada, we are in touch with local public health officials, the convention center, and other partners on the ground to assess the situation and determine their increased protocols for the health and safety of Show guests. As we receive additional details, we will update this website and communicate with all our guests and partners”.

Restrictions and limitations

Furthermore, the NAB Show management team has published the followed statement regarding the show’s changes: “We are moving forward responsibly with NAB Show. We continue to take our direction from global, federal, and local health officials, like the WHO and CDC, which do not have travel notices or restrictions on public gatherings for the continental US. We understand there are exhibitors and participants that may decide not to attend this year’s show and respect everyone’s desire to do what they believe is best. We are hearing that the overwhelming majority of our exhibitors are looking forward to attending the show, and our attendee registrations continue on pace with the normal patterns we see year-over-year. We share in the disappointment of show community members who are affected by travel restrictions due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and cannot join us in person this year. We are in contact with the exhibitors and attendees who are impacted by travel restrictions and working with them on options so they can, where possible, experience some of the benefits of the show and add value to in-person attendees remotely.

We are hearing that the overwhelming majority of our exhibitors are looking forward to attending the show and our attendee registrations continue on pace with the normal patterns we see year-over-year. We share in the disappointment of show community members who are affected by travel restrictions due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and cannot join us in person this year The NAB Show management team

Exhibitors dropped out (AJA, Nikon, Western Digital, AVID, ADOBE and more)

Four exhibitors have announced they will no longer be attending the conference due to the risks of coronavirus: AJA, Nikon, MRMC, and TVU Networks. As stated by Nikon: “MELVILLE, NY – Nikon’s first priority is always the health and safety of our employees, partners, and customers. As we continue to closely monitor and gauge the impact of COVID-19, Nikon Inc. and MRMC, a Nikon Group company, have made the decision not to participate in NAB 2020. We will continue to closely evaluate our travel policies, programs, and activities to mitigate risk”. As for AJA, the statement released was: “It is with a heavy heart that AJA is withdrawing from the NAB 2020 show in Las Vegas due to the risks from the Coronavirus. We have made this decision out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of our employees and partners worldwide”. In recent days more major companies have dropped as well, like ADOBE and AVID.

In the interest of addressing the health and safety concerns of our stakeholders and in consultation with partners throughout the media and entertainment industry, we have decided not to move forward with NAB Show in April. We are currently considering a number of potential alternatives to create the best possible experience for our community NAB’s president and CEO Gordon H. Smith

NAB Show 2020 is canceled

Let’s read the statement of NAB’s president and CEO Gordon H. Smith:

Dear NAB Show community,

As you know, we have been carefully monitoring coronavirus developments both domestically and globally over the past few weeks.

In the interest of addressing the health and safety concerns of our stakeholders and in consultation with partners throughout the media and entertainment industry, we have decided not to move forward with NAB Show in April. We are currently considering a number of potential alternatives to create the best possible experience for our community.

This was not an easy decision. Fortunately, we did not have to make this decision alone and are grateful to our NAB Show community for engaging with us as we grappled with the rapidly-evolving situation. This Show is as much yours as it is ours, and it is important to us that we move forward together.

For nearly 100 years, NAB Show has provided superior value and the best possible experience for exhibitors and attendees. We knew that if we could not deliver on those expectations, we would not move forward. More importantly, keeping the community safe and healthy is NAB’s highest priority; therefore, we are deferring to the developing consensus from public health authorities on the challenges posed by Coronavirus.

We are still weighing the best potential path forward, and we ask you for your patience as we do so. We are committed to exploring all possible alternatives so that we can provide a productive setting where the industry can engage with the latest technology, hear from industry thought leaders and make the game-changing connections that drive our industry forward.

I want to stress that despite our disappointment at how this year’s Show has been impacted by global public health concerns, we are more excited than ever about the future of the NAB Show and our relationship with you.

We are grateful for each and every member of our Show community. It is your passion for the industry that makes NAB Show a success year after year, and it is that same passion that will drive us into the future as we look ahead to new possibilities later this year and beyond.

Final thoughts

This is an article we hoped not to publish. The NAB Show is the largest show for media, entertainment, and technology which covers broadcast TV, radio, production, post-production, newsgathering, streaming, cable TV, satellite TV, film restoration, data storage, data management, weather forecasting, industrial TV, FX, CGI, connected media, cybersecurity and more. NAB had 103,000 attendees from 161 countries and more than 1,806 exhibitors in 2016 and it’s considered one of the biggest events in our industry. Let’s hope that the NAB Show management team will find other alternatives so the industry can be engaged in regarding new technologies and products.