As the organizers of the forthcoming annual Texas Association of Broadcasters’ “TAB Show” see it, this year’s affair is “the most radio-forward in recent memory.” Over two days, more than 25 sessions, upward of 100 exhibit-floor vendors and close to 1,200 broadcasters, engineers, sellers and leaders will gather — and those located in states bordering Texas are able to attend with Lone Star State pricing.
This year’s affair is scheduled for August 5-6 at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Round Rock, Tex., a suburb of Austin. And, broadcasters in New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana can take advantage of TAB member rates.
“With all local stations facing the same challenges, we’re putting out the welcome mat for broadcasters in the surrounding states so we can all grow and succeed together, though any U.S. broadcaster is welcome,” said TAB President Oscar Rodriguez. “We’ve built a learn real stuff and put it to work kind of conference that’s affordable and time-efficient, with content relevant to independent operators and station groups serving markets of all sizes.”
The two-day affair begins August 5 with a golf tournament ahead of panel sessions and presentations that will begin at 2pm Central with Gordon Borrell of Borrell Associates. His hour-long session will share how “broadcast-available” revenue is not only growing, it’s also Texas-sized — and, in his view, twice as large as most broadcasters realize.
Subsequent sessions on the first day of the TAB Show include discussions on “the next era of audio measurement” and “proactive broadcast tower maintenance. For television broadcasters, “Local Without Limits: Precision, Reach & the Power of Local TV” is poised to be a key session. The same can be said for a 3:30pm Central session devoted to NEXTGEN TV featuring Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle, Pillsbury Law attorney Jessica Nyman, and Sinclair Sr. VP/Engineering Harvey Arnold. Arnold is playing a lead role in the development and adoption of the Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) championed by the NAB.
The second day of the TAB Show opens with exhibit time and insights from University of Texas-Austin Athletic Director Chris Del Conte on building a winning program that requires managing talent across multiple teams, serving fragmented audiences and growing revenue streams in a rapidly shifting marketplace.
The day’s sessions kick off with Nyman offering a FCC regulatory update; and the return of Borrell for a session titled “Product Mix, Margin & Competing with 1,000 Agencies.”
At 10am Central, former Alpha Media programming chief Phil Becker will lead a session with the name “Improving Radio’s Perception Problem In an AI/Digital On-Demand World.”
A 1pm session sees Borrell return to the podium for a third time, to discuss “subcategories” that are swiftly growing. A concurrent breakout session featuring longtime programming executive Jimmy Steal, today with Collective Heads Media, offers attendees a discussion about talent: “Radio’s Only Competitive Advantage.”
Ahead of a chairman’s reception and evening awards gala to conclude the two-day affair, a conversation that explores frameworks for expanding reach and value, integrating cross-platform strategies, leveraging data and audience insights, and collaboration among media partners, brands, and agencies will see the participation of Lisa Gagnon, CMO of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo; Bill Urciuoli, Chief Technology Officer at McGarrah Jessee; colleagues Ally Hugg, Executive Director for Media, and Media Director Cindy Shekoski; and Monte Clair, GM of Superior Subaru.
To learn more and to register, please visit https://tabshow.org/schedule/
