This year’s NAB Show, the trade show run by the National Assn. of Broadcasters, has been canceled over safety concerns with the recent uptick in COVID cases related to the delta variant of the virus.
The annual trade show had been scheduled to run Oct. 9-13, 2021, in Las Vegas.
“For more than a year we have worked tirelessly to bring our industry together safely in Las Vegas at NAB Show,” Chris Brown, NAB’s EVP and managing director of global connections and events, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the pandemic and surge of the Delta variant has presented unexpected and insurmountable challenges for our global community.”
Brown added, “As we have always kept the best interest and safety of the industry as our priority, it has become apparent in the face of these challenges that we can no longer effectively host NAB Show or our co-located events, the Radio Show and Sales and Management Television Exchange, in person.”
The NAB plans to host the 2022 NAB Show next spring, scheduled for April 23-27, 2022. The trade group said it will provide details regarding virtual options for accessing select 2021 NAB Show content through NAB Amplify.
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Last month, NAB had announced that it would require all NAB Show attendees and participants to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Just a few weeks ago, the trade org had said that “multiple indicators show a strong eagerness among the NAB Show community to return in person, including steady attendee registration.”
Companies that had been on board to exhibit on the NAB Show floor this year included Amazon Web Services, AJA, B&H, Canon, Grass Valley, MediaKind, Panasonic, Ross, Sony and Verizon.
