Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

NAB Cancellation Fallout: AES 2021 Goes Virtual, InfoComm Still a Go, IBC Clears Regulatory Hurdle

16/09/2021

NAB Cancellation Fallout: AES 2021 Goes Virtual, InfoComm Still a Go, IBC Clears Regulatory Hurdle Vendors lament but understand the NAB decision By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor

Thursday, September 16, 2021 - 11:32 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

After several major exhibitors opted to pull out over the past week, the National Association of Broadcasters officially canceled the 2021 NAB Show in Las Vegas yesterday. Marking the second consecutive year the in-person show was canceled because of safety concerns over the pandemic, the show will transition to a virtual format: NAB Amplify.

As a result of the cancellation, the AES Show, which was to be co-located in Las Vegas, also announced that it will forgo an in-person show in favor of a virtual event: AES Fall Online Show 2021. Meanwhile, according to AVIXA CEO Dave Labuskes, InfoComm will go on as planned in Orlando Oct. 23-29.

Exhibitor Exodus Dooms In-Person NAB 2021 The 2021 in-person NAB Show will be virtual instead of in-person.

News broke Wednesday morning that the NAB Show will once again be canceled. NAB EVP/Managing Director, Global Connections and Events, Chris Brown released a statement saying, 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.

With NAB 2021 nixed, the industry will look to the 2022 NAB Show, which is set for April 23-27, 2022, as well as the virtual NAB Amplify event, which will feature virtual options for accessing selected 2021 NAB Show content.

The announcement followed several big exhibitors' decision to pull out of the show: Canon, Panasonic, Ross Video, Sony, Adobe, Avid, Blackmagic Design, and Brainstorm. NAB had been promoting more than 600 exhibitors at this year's show compared with the latest in-person show, in 2019, which listed 1,600.

AES Follows Suit, Cancels Las Vegas Event AES will hold a virtual version of its 2021 show, which was set to take place in Vegas.

Hours after the annual NAB expo in Las Vegas announced its cancellation, the Audio Engineering Society's closely associated AES Show issued the same declaration.

The AES convention was co-located with the NAB Show, and following the NAB announcement, the AES will regrettably cancel the in-person AES Show Las Vegas 2021, planned for October 10- 13, the organization said in a statement. We apologize for the change in plans, but we hope you understand that it was not feasible to continue as planned. The AES Fall Online program will proceed, with events taking place online Oct. 16-31, including a broadly focused technical program Oct. 20-23.

The cancellation of the AES expo was not unexpected, but it did disappoint professional-broadcast-audio exhibitors who had looked forward to showing new products and interacting with customers.

We're sad that we're going to be unable to get together with everyone at AES but glad that we'll be contributing to the community's safety and eliminating the potential for more spread of the virus, says Phil Wagner, SVP, SSL, a broadcast-audio-console manufacturer that is under the Audiotonix umbrella, which also includes Calrec. We'll miss the trade-show environment and the opportunity to interact with customers but look forward to doing so when it's once again safe.

AES further stated that information will be forthcoming for those who have registered for the in-person convention, including converting that registration to cover the online program.

InfoComm Is Still a Go in Orlando AVIXA CEO Dave Labuskes says InfoComm will go on as planned next month.

On the same day as NAB's announcement, AVIXA CEO Dave Labuskes said that InfoComm, which is set to be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Oct. 23-29, will go on as planned.

If there's anything we've learned in the last two years, it's that nobody has the ability to say anything with certainty anymore, he said. What I will tell you is that, short of the local government of Orlando or Orange County or Florida or the federal government of the U.S. telling us that we are violating the law in having an event, we will be having InfoComm.

There is no greater physical manifestation of the marketplace than a trade show, Labuskes continued. Nor is there a greater physical manifestation of community than that trade show. Throughout all of those conversations [at a recent AVIXA board planning meeting, for example], community becomes a part of it. I know that 2021 is not the year for everybody to be either in the show or at the show, and I respect their decision in that regard and anxiously look forward to seeing them in 2022, both personally and professionally.

Listen to the full, one-hour interview HERE.

Focus Turns to IBC Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte at a press conference on Sept. 14 (Photo: RVD/Minister-President at Twitter)

With the NAB Show canceled, all eyes are now on the IBC Show set to be held at the RAI in Amsterdam Dec. 3-6. Good news came in the form of The Netherlands' announcement that it will no longer enforce rules meant to keep people 1.5 meters apart. The country will instead begin much wider use of coronavirus access passes starting Sept. 25: people wanting to gain entry to various venues will be required to demonstrate proof of vaccination against COVID-19, recovery from an infection of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or a negative test for the infection within 24 hours of entry.

Under the new regulations, indoor events, like IBC, where people do not stay in a fixed seat will be allowed at 75% capacity, provided they use coronavirus access passes. Other hospitality businesses, cinemas, music venues, professional sports events, and cultural sites can return to 100% capaci
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/09/16/nab-cancelation-fallout-aes-202...
See more stories from svg

North America Stories

27/03/2026

FCC Opposes Emergency Motion to Stay Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

NAB Pans Netflix's Coverage of MLB Opening Day

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Netgear

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Marshall Electronics Showcases New Feature-Rich CV320 and CV520 IP and 3G-SDI POV Cameras at NAB 2026

Marshall Electronics Showcases New Feature-Rich CV320 and CV520 IP and 3G-SDI PO...

27/03/2026

Sony Electronics Inc. Elevates Professional Video Workflows with Powerful Updates to Monitor & Control and Catalyst Tools

Sony Electronics Inc. Elevates Professional Video Workflows with Powerful Update...

27/03/2026

GatesAir Extends AirWatch365 Managed Service with Edge Gateway Site Appliance

GatesAir Extends AirWatch365 Managed Service with Edge Gateway Site Appliance Brie Clayton March 27, 2026 0 Comments NAB marks global launch of servic...

27/03/2026

GatesAir Expands AirWatch365 Managed Service

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Dejero, Eutelsat, Others to Offer 'Field to Air' Demo at NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Global NextGen TV Takes Center Stage at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

USSI Global Opens Media Transport Solutions Lab

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Net Insight Elevates Nimbra Edge to Govern Live Media Sys...

At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight will showcase the next evolution of Nimbra Edge, its orchestration and control layer designed to manage live media services across...

27/03/2026

Harmonic Delivers Winning Live Sports Streaming Innovatio...

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced powerful new innovations that further elevate the company's sports streaming solution. The advanced capabilities enh...

27/03/2026

Bitmovin s Player Web X Expands with Performance First Ad...

Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced significant new capabilities for Player Web X, its next-generation web video player...

27/03/2026

CS live Builds Future Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet...

Riedel Communications today announced that Czech-based production company CS live has equipped its newest outside broadcast (OB) van with an integrated Riedel i...

27/03/2026

MPTS 2026 Unveils First Wave of Speakers Featuring BBC Sk...

130 Industry Experts Confirmed as Show Celebrates its 10th Anniversary MPTS, the UK's largest and most influential event for the media, production and tech...

27/03/2026

Grass Valley and NVP Elevate LALIGA Broadcast Production...

Grass Valley today announced the successful completion of a major live production deployment with NVP, a leading European media company specializing in live spo...

27/03/2026

Appear Business Momentum Drives Leadership in Live Produc...

Showcases resilient solutions for satellite-to-IP migration, REMI and hybrid live production Appear ASA (Appear, OSE:APR), a global leader in live production t...

27/03/2026

Lightware MX2 delivers rock-solid 4K60 HDMI 10-bit signal...

San Francisco, California, March 2026 - Microsoft Ignite, a major annual conference hosted by Microsoft for developers, IT professionals, partners and business ...

27/03/2026

Clear-Coms EQUIP Wireless System Keeps Youth With A Missi...

Clear-Com is proud to highlight its support for worship teams through professional communication solutions, with the deployment of its EQUIP wireless system a...

27/03/2026

Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo

Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments Sage Alerting Systems (SAS), in cooperation wit...

27/03/2026

Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway

Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway Brian and Dayna Lee BM '13 met and fell in love at Berklee, and now their production companys first Broadway debut i...

26/03/2026

Audio-Technica and Extron Announce Microsoft Teams-Certified Enterprise Solutions

Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...

26/03/2026

SPORTEL Asia Returns to Singapore with 370 Participants from 35 Countries

SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: LTN to Showcase Satellite-to-IP Migration Solutions

LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100). The C-Ban...

26/03/2026

Seattle Mariners Upgrade Center Field Video Display at T-Mobile Park with Daktronics

The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...

26/03/2026

Esports Nations Cup 2026 Names National Team Partners Across 100+ Countries

The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Expands Vantage Integration with Adobe Premiere, Media Encoder, and Frame.io

Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: FOR-A Brings Nippon TV's viztrick AiDi AI Production Tool to Market with NVIDIA

FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Reaches New Long-Term Multiplatform Rights Agreement with the WNBA

CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...

26/03/2026

Zac Brown Band to Perform Sunday Night Baseball Open on NBC and Peacock

Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...

26/03/2026

2026 MLB Season Opens With Full Slate of National Games

Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...

26/03/2026

DIRECTV Adds Nine MLB Team Channels for 2026 Season

DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...

26/03/2026

Nationals.TV Now Available on Charter, Comcast, Cox, DIRECTV, Verizon Fios and More

Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...

26/03/2026

MLB.TV Launches on the ESPN App Starting Opening Day

Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...

26/03/2026

Why YEP Changed My Career (And Why It Might Change Yours)

By Matt Klein Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Inks New WNBA Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Apogee Insight Acquires PMA Research

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

NBC Announces Exclusive Coverage of Sail4th 250 Tall Ships in NYC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

UK Group of media tech companies take the spotlight at NA...

28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...

26/03/2026

Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026

Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments New graphical configuration tool and...

26/03/2026

Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026

Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026 Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...

26/03/2026

Allen Media Group To Deploy Anoki ContextIQ

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

LG Announces New Premium FAST Channels

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

IABM to Host Breakfast Event at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Nexstar Defends Tegna Deal in Calif. Court Filing

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast control capability

Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...

26/03/2026

2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design

2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton March 25, 2026 0 Comments DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...

26/03/2026

Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Show 2026

Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...

26/03/2026

Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbreaking Opera Time to Act

Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...

26/03/2026

Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Horror Series If Wishes Could Kill' Premieres April 24

Back to All News Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...