Coronavirus & NAB Show: What We Know

The coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread across the globe and the broadcast industry is not excluded from its impact, including at one of the industry's marquee events, the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR NAB SHOWUPDATE (3/6/20): The first confirmed case of coronavirus has appeared in Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas resides in Clark County. The NAB has said that it has reached out to local public health officials, the convention center and other partners on the ground to assess the situation and determine their increased protocols for the health and safety of Show guests. NAB said it will provide updates as it receives additional information.

While the coronavirus has become widespread around the globe with nearly 100,000 reported cases as of March 5 and a number of conferences and events abroad and in the U.S. cancelling, the NAB says that the 2020 NAB show is scheduled to go on as planned from April 18-22 in Las Vegas.

PBS TechCon, which was scheduled to go concurrently with the NAB Show, announced that it was cancelling its event due to coronavirus concerns.

NAB is taking COVID-19 very seriously and is fully invested and prepared to host a successful NAB Show in Las Vegas, the organization said. The city of Las Vegas is maintaining rigorous cleanliness and safety standards throughout public spaces, resorts and meeting facilities, and hosts successful trade events daily.

NAB has also created a resource page providing details on the coronavirus and prevention methods for attendees. Similarly, the Las Vegas Convention Center, which hosts the NAB Show, has made the steps it is taking and helpful guidelines available.

EXHIBITORS DROPPING OUTThe NAB Show hosts exhibitors from around the world who come to demonstrate their latest technologies to industry professionals. The NAB says that it is working with exhibitors in regards to the coronavirus, but to date, four exhibitors have announced they will no longer be attending the conference due to the risks of coronavirus: AJA, Nikon, MRMC and TVU Networks.

Vizrt Group is trying something different, announcing that it will still attend the NAB Show in Las Vegas but also offering a pair of digital communication platforms, VizrTV and NewTekTV, to help share announcements regarding new technology for those not able to attend.

We are in contact with the exhibitors and attendees who are impacted by travel restrictions and working with them on options in the absence of being able to attend in 2020, the NAB said. With the exception of these extraordinary cases, we are not seeing any unusual cancellations from exhibitors. Likewise, our attendee registration continues to pace with the normal patterns we see year-over-year.

This article will be updated as new information becomes available.

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