March 11: The National Association of Broadcasters announced it will not hold the NAB Show in April, due to public health concerns about coronavirus.
The NAB says the 2020 NAB Show is still on, as of Tuesday, March 10.
A spokesperson told Radio World’s sister publication TV Technology that “the show is moving forward as planned.” The association updated its coronavirus update page on Tuesday, announcing that it is “continuing to evaluate the national and international situation carefully.”
The NAB says it is taking its direction from global, federal and local health officials, like the WHO and CDC, which at this time have put no travel notices or restrictions on public gatherings for the U.S.
[Read: 2020 NAB Show: Schedule, Exhibitor Info, Updates]
Concerns over the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on large gatherings has prompted a number of cancellations, including SXSW, which was expected to attract several hundred thousand to Austin, Texas, this month. PBS TechCon, which holds its annual gathering in Las Vegas just prior to the NAB Show, also cancelled its event last Friday.
Several high profile exhibitors backed out of the show on Monday, including Ross and Adobe. NAB says that 96% of its exhibitors are still planning to attend, and of the 4% no longer attending, the association claims more than 80% would be coming from China, which has implemented travel restrictions.
“Ross has been at every NAB since 1974 and this has not been an easy decision to take, but we have a clear duty to our employees, our customers and families,” the company announced, adding that is was looking for alternative “virtual” ways to get its NAB Show news out to its customers and attendees.
Adobe said in a blog post: “Over the past few weeks, we have been closely monitoring and evaluating the situation around COVID-19 and have made the difficult but important decision to cancel our presence at the show this year.” Adobe had previously cancelled its summit that was also scheduled to be held in Las Vegas.
NAB is working on ways to both minimize the risk of transmission on the show floor — including implementing a “no handshake” policy — and to add value to in-person attendees remotely.
For the latest updates on how the coronavirus is impacting the NAB Show, please visit the NAB Show’s dedicated page, as well as Radio World’s latest NAB Show updates.
