Don’t think the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas will be a key conference and expo for the Radio industry? April Carty-Sipp, the NAB’s EVP of Industry Affairs, wants you to erase that notion now and solidify your plans to be at this year’s event today.
In a communiqué distributed on Monday (3/13), the NAB shared that it is turning its radio programming “up a notch,” and will offer attendees “an engaging lineup” of educational sessions, networking opportunities and exhibits for the radio broadcast community.
As previously announced, Radio industry sessions and networking opportunities will be shifting to the all-new Broadcast District in the snazzy West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, which opened with the 2022 NAB Show. The NAB promises that radio exhibitors “will be also be easily accessible.”
That’s a big deal, as 2022 saw much Tesla looping and thousands of steps put in each day as Radio panel discussions were far from the exhibitors’ space in other halls of the sprawling convention center.
And, with NAB Show New York adding more Radio-oriented content in fall 2022 after behind-the-scenes industry chatter suggesting the spring conference lacked a strong Radio presence, Carty-Sipp made it clear the NAB under Curtis LeGeyt won’t short-shrift AM and FM operators.
“Since its founding, NAB Show has been the go-to destination for radio broadcasters to learn about our industry’s future, find cutting-edge tools and technology and connect with colleagues in the radio community and the broader media and entertainment business,” said Carty-Sipp. “As we celebrate our centennial, we are excited to debut an official new home for broadcasters to make it easy for them to navigate NAB Show and access a customized lineup of radio-focused programming, products and new technologies that will help them better serve their listeners in today’s ultracompetitive media landscape.”
For early birds, Radio programming will commence on Saturday, April 15 with the NAB Small and Medium Market Radio Forum, sponsored by Marketron and hosted by NAB’s Small and Medium Market Radio Committee. The forum will consist of business insights, topic briefings, presentations, roundtables and a closing reception.
From Sunday, April 16, the official start of the convention and expo, educational sessions for radio will take place through the duration of NAB Show and will be available in multiple formats.
Then, there are the roundtable discussions to be held in the NAB Discussion Den, with “more in-depth conversations and solutions to day-to-day challenges” and presentations scheduled to take place in the NAB Sip-and-Speak Corner that are designed to offer “direct solutions to specific needs radio stations have.”
The Discussion Den and NAB Sip-and-Speak Corner are both located in the TV and Radio HQ, pitched by the NAB as “the premier networking destination for television and radio broadcasters.” It is sponsored by Comscore.
The NAB also engaged in some A-list name dropping, as it noted that Bob Pittman, iHeartMedia’s Chairman/CEO; Hubbard Broadcasting CEO Ginny Morris; Cumulus Media and Westwood One Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard; BIN: Black Information Network President Tony Coles; and others will be in attendance.
Additionally, the NAB Show will feature exhibitors “showcasing products and services relevant to radio broadcasting” — something it always does. That said, the NAB singled out such companies as Broadcast Depot, Dielectric, DJB Radio Software, Enco, Gates, Inovonics, Nautel, RCS, Telos, Veritone, Wheatstone, Wideorbit and Xperi — all of whom will be located in the West Hall “for convenient access.”
Lastly, QUU has stepped up by sponsoring a TV and Radio Broadcasters’ Guide to the NAB Show. It is downloadable in PDF form and offers a streamlined look at show events of particular interest to linear media professionals.
https://www.nab.org/documents/events/2023broadcasterGuide_031323.pdf
