TVBEurope hears from key industry figures about the decision to cancel NAB Show 2021
By Jenny Priestley
Published: September 17, 2021 Updated: September 21, 2021
TVBEurope hears from key industry figures about the decision to cancel NAB Show 2021
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Following the news earlier this week that the 2021 NAB Show would no longer be taking place next month, TVBEurope asked key members of the industry to give us their reactions on the cancellation.
Avid president and CEO Jeff Rosica said it must have been an incredibly difficult decision but was the right one to take. Avid supports NAB as well as other industry organisations but it's certainly in the best interest of everyone to keep clear of large gatherings right now, he told TVBEurope.
For us at Avid, this means we are standing by our decision earlier this year to follow this course until we know we can be safe. The good news is that we've been able to adapt and remain fully engaged with our customer community throughout the pandemic. Trade shows will eventually return to our go-to-market mix, but not this year and not until we can be thoroughly confident that the situation is under control.
Rob Malcolm, chief product officer at Imagine Communications expressed the company's disappointment at the news, but added they appreciated the tireless work of the NAB team to try to make this year's event happen.
The pandemic has been an unprecedented event in all of our lifetimes, added Malcolm. That the disease continues to evolve, creating new challenges like the Delta variant, means that planning travel and associations at any distance into the future becomes difficult. For this reason, we hope IBC will make a decision sooner rather than later about whether the planned December event may suffer from a similar cascade of cancellations.
Exhibitions remain vital to Imagine, as a way of meeting our customers and debating the best technological route forward for them. We sincerely hope that we will be able to meet in April 2022 for a very successful NAB Show.
NAB Show 2021 has been cancelled
The Awards are still on! Best in Market nominations open
Other reactions include:
Jon Finegold, chief marketing officer at Signiant: Of course, safety is the top priority and so we understand the decision but are certainly disappointed we won't have the opportunity to connect with the industry in person as we have so many exciting things to share. We look forward to connecting with the market in other ways and look forward to getting back to in-person events when safe to do so.
Ciaran Doran, director of marketing, Rohde & Schwarz Broadcast and Media: It is deeply disappointing that the US international travel embargo created a major barrier to our participation but demonstrates the real ongoing fear with Covid around the world. Broadcasters are rightly cautious they have programming obligations and we respect customer's decisions not to travel to Las Vegas. So we will bring the show to them over the coming months in the run up to April 2022 when, God willing, we can all meet again in person
Mike Grieve, commercial director of Mo-Sys Engineering: The cancellation of NAB 2021 is a disappointment, of course, but it is also the right choice. Our products - and indeed much of the industry - sell on a global basis, and if the continuing pandemic means it is difficult for the world to get together right now, then we will continue with the online marketing strategy we've been following for the last 21 months. We look forward to NAB 2022.
Miguel Churruca, marketing and communications director Brainstorm Multimedia: We were looking forward to re-engage in person with customers, partners and the market in general, as we have been doing for the past 25 years. However, the health situation is far from controlled, and if we add the current travel restrictions this effectively prevented most of our team from attending the show. We also believe the NAB took the necessary steps to ensure everybody's safety, which we applaud and acknowledge, and we certainly hope to be back to normal by NAB 2022, which should represent the return of the shows as we know them.
The broadcast business requires to take close looks at the products in person - one-to-one demos, face-to-face meetings, long discussions with customers and visually engaging presentations -, and while these can be done remotely, the personal contact certainly improves the experience. An international show is the perfect scenario to measure the pulse of the industry and the manufacturers, which, combined with attractive venues, is what traditionally brought visitors. In the meantime, we will use our own resources to continue engaging with the market, even if remotely, with another edition of the Brainstorm Virtual Week which will be announced soon.
Dominic Harland, CEO, GB Labs: We would like to thank NAB for making every effort to deliver a live show this year, and for making the difficult decision to cancel the event in order to put safety first. While we are disappointed not to have the opportunity to meet with our customers and partners at this year's event, we look forward to reconnecting with our industry colleagues and friends in Las Vegas in April 2022.
Alison Pavitt, director of sales and marketing at Pebble: It was the right decision given the amount of companies both inside and outside of the US who had cancelled their presence at the show. We'll miss the opportunity to reconnect in person with our peers and customers across the pond in Vegas, but Team Pebble is very much looking forward to NAB in April 2022. In the meantime we'll be attending smaller, more regional events and carrying out customer visits where we can, and of course carrying on connecting digitally an
Europe Stories
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
17/09/2025
It was the ultimate convergence of pop culture and literary prestige: Last night, Dua Lipa brought her Service95 Book Club podcast to the stage for a special li...
17/09/2025
Transatlantic collaboration combines experience and agility to drive innovation in network design and delivery
Luxembourg, September 16, 2025 - SES, a leading ...
17/09/2025
Wednesday 17 September 2025
UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...
17/09/2025
For the Moon Safari anniversary tour, AIR opened the doors to their backstage. Just a few hours before the Paris concert, DPA met with two key figures of the te...
17/09/2025
Auditions will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway
The County Parade returns f...
16/09/2025
Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...
16/09/2025
A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...
16/09/2025
Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...
16/09/2025
Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...
16/09/2025
Leading space solutions company will use optical ground stations to deliver faster, more secure data from space
Luxembourg, September 15, 2025 - SES, a leading...
16/09/2025
Comscore Unveils The Scoreboard: An Interactive Destination Surfacing Consumer B...
15/09/2025
Global K-Pop sensation aespa is redefining what it means to be rich with the r...
15/09/2025
Every day, millions of people around the world turn to Spotify to enjoy the audi...
15/09/2025
After months of intensive planning and implementation, Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic...
15/09/2025
Unique sports content orchestration platform builds momentum among SES's cus...
15/09/2025
-- Opens door to growth in renewable energy New Delhi, India - 15th September -- Global business and industry leaders from around the world are joining technol...
13/09/2025
Harmonic's Software-Based XOS Advanced Media Processor Provides Unparalleled Efficiency and Unlocks New Business Models SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 13, 2025 -...
12/09/2025
For fans, we know how important it is to stay plugged into music culture and dis...
12/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden and Shipley, United Kingdom, September 12, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability and analytics for service quality and customer expe...
12/09/2025
Feature-length retrospective from Studio Crook to air in 2026
Sir David Jason returns to the nation's favourite comedy channel, U&GOLD, for Open All Hours:...
12/09/2025
Friday 12 September 2025
The Boomtown Rats, Nyah Grace, Soweto Kinch, Royal Ballet and Madness also announced to perform at the ceremony on Tuesday
Sky today ...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Unveils Ultra-Light Bolero Mini Wireless Intercom BeltpackAt IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero M...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Communications Acquires hi human interfaceRiedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface fro...
12/09/2025
CORE+ virtually removes distortion, setting a new standard for church sound and giving worship teams the clarity and confidence they need.
Read the full artic...
12/09/2025
The Late Late Show is back with a bang after the summer break, and Patrick Kielt...
12/09/2025
The World Athletics Championships, Ireland v France in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final, the Irish Champions Festival, and two Sports Direct Men...
12/09/2025
The Records Show starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player.
Katie Hanno...
11/09/2025
RADAR, Spotify's program for emerging talent, recently hit a major milestone...
11/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden, September 11, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability & analytics for service quality and customer experience, announced today the la...
11/09/2025
Under the USD 89.6 Million award, SES Space & Defense will provide global commer...
11/09/2025
Leading Balkan DTH provider adds capacity to consolidate its m:Sat TV platform at 23.5 degrees East and serve more customers across the region
Luxembourg, 11 S...
11/09/2025
UKTV's free streaming service U launches on Sky Q
Free streaming service U has launched on Sky Q in the UK, UKTV and Sky confirm today, expanding the footp...
11/09/2025
From the discreet 2061 lavaliers to 4099 and 4011 mics, the setup delivered clean, natural sound in one of the most challenging broadcast environments.
Read th...
11/09/2025
From rugged build quality to natural, detailed sound, the verdict is clear: big performance can come in a very small package.
Read the full review here!...
11/09/2025
Tonight on Prime Time
RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
Tonight RT Prime Time...
11/09/2025
RT Statement: 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
At the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns ...
10/09/2025
Lossless on Spotify Premium is here.
Lossless audio has been one of the most a...
10/09/2025
The Television Will Be Revolutionised Sep 10, 2025
Written by Sunit Kotecha, Director of Delivery and Operations, YouView
2025 marks a century since the f...
10/09/2025
First of Spains F110 frigates get future-ready with Rohde & Schwarz communicatio...
10/09/2025
Harmonic's cOS Platform Supports DOCSIS and Fiber, Enabling Midco to Deliver Reliable Multi-Gigabit Connectivity to Subscribers SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 10,...
10/09/2025
RT brings three days of live radio, live entertainment, live news, live weather, personal appearances, and more
Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, The Oliver ...
09/09/2025
Since 2020, Spotify's RADAR program has been a launchpad for emerging talent...
09/09/2025
In 2020, Spotify launched RADAR with a clear mission: to identify, nurture, and ...
09/09/2025
If you're on BookTok, you know the drill. You scroll, you tap, and suddenly your To Be Read list is overflowing with trending must-reads. Not unlike Spoti...
09/09/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
09/09/2025
Harmonic's VOS360 Ad SaaS Enables Personalized Ad Delivery and Seamless Integration with the Ad Tech Ecosystem SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 9, 2025 - Harmonic ...
09/09/2025
St. Luke's Episcopal Church in New Jersey needed audio that truly connects and they found the answer.
Read the full case study here!...
TVBEurope hears from key industry figures about the decision to cancel NAB Show 2021
