The Association of Public Radio Engineers is preparing for the 26th Public Radio Engineering Conference, returning to Las Vegas in April with a focus on navigating the uncertain future of the broadcast industry.
The event will take place Thursday, April 16, and Friday, April 17, at the Tuscany Suites and Casino, preceding the 2026 NAB Show.
This year’s speakers include engineers, representatives from product manufacturers and other recognizable industry names. PREC is public radio’s yearly gathering for broadcast engineers of all experience levels, featuring an emphasis on topics related to public broadcasting.
This year’s guiding theme is “what’s next” — which the organization said represents looking at where public radio and public media are heading from both a technical and public service standpoint.
According to APRE President Scott Hanley, the association’s board designed the 2026 event with the shifting public media landscape in mind. He believes it is the one time of year such a large and diverse group of technology experts can gather.
“We decided that our conference had become even more important than years past, as we face a future where effective, sustainable operation is at risk and important to our communities,” Hanley said.
The two-day schedule includes several industry-focused sessions. On Thursday, the conference begins with “Audio Processing – How To Tune It and Why It Matters,” hosted by Leif Claesson of Claesson Edwards.
Other sample Thursday sessions include:
- David Layer of NAB presenting “AM Radio in the 21st Century”.
- “Transmission System Troubleshooting Techniques” by Steve Wilde of American Amplifier.
- “The Magic of LTSC and Other Ways to Make Legacy Tech Work” presented by Scott Hanley, Darrell McCalla and William Harrison.
- “The Data-Driven Dashboard: Leveraging AutoStage Analytics for Public Media” by Juan Galdamez of Xperi.
Friday’s schedule includes this sampler:
- “Advances in FM Antenna Technology” by Cory Edwards of Dielectric.
- “NCE Translator Window and Other Legal Updates” by Derek Teslik of Gray Miller Persh.
- An update on NPR Distribution by NPR’s Badri Munipalla, Jon Cyphers and Mike Pilone.
- “Studios (Or No Studios At All) – Some New Ways of Thinking” by Scott Fybush of Myriad broadcast software.
On Friday afternoon, the newly formed Public Media Infrastructure will also be presenting, with speakers to be announced.
Attendees can take advantage of early-bird pricing until March 1. Hanley said that APRE’s board extended this deadline because “December 31 was too soon for anyone to know what to expect and make a decision for spring.”
Organizers have held in-person conference prices flat since 2024. APRE has also kept a virtual attendance option for engineers unable to travel. Hanley said that early registrations are tracking similarly to past years.
He also said APRE is expanding its financial aid footprint.
The funds are designated both to assist attendees with financial needs and “to encourage the next generation of technical talent to get firmly engaged in the public media engineering community sooner rather than later,” according to Hanley.
The conference concludes on Friday evening with the annual APRE Awards Dinner at Lawry’s The Prime Rib.
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