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
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
14/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 13th January, 2026 ITV, one of the UKs leading broadcasters, has selected Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), to ...
14/01/2026
Steiger Media's adoption of Calrec's compact Argo M console not only makes its innovative new hybrid truck faster, more efficient, and agile, but also e...
14/01/2026
Wednesday 14 January 2026
Sky News announces Cathy Newman to lead flagship new political programme
Sky News today announces that award-winning journalist and ...
14/01/2026
The first stamp of An Post's 2026 Stamp Programme, marking 100 Years of Broadcasting, was unveiled at the GPO by Patrick O'Donovan TD, Minister for Cult...
14/01/2026
It's official! Beverley Callard has landed in Carrigstown. The beloved actor, known for her unforgettable roles and iconic screen presence, is joining the c...
13/01/2026
Independent media in Brazil and Colombia is facing an urgent crisis of traditional business models alongside a deteriorating security environment, according to ...
13/01/2026
Luxembourg, December 17, 2025 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading spa...
13/01/2026
Written and executive produced by Steve Lightfoot and Angela LaManna, produced b...
13/01/2026
New updates to Hitmaker Expansion from Celemony and Softube Edit pitch-perfect vocals with Melodyne Essential and get radio-ready guitar tones from Softube...
13/01/2026
Live broadcasts from RT 2FM Breakfast with Carl, Roz & Aisling, RT Radio 1 Tod...
12/01/2026
Spotify's new co-CEOs, Alex Norstr m and Gustav S derstr m, start off the new year with a message of renewed leadership, creative responsibility, and what&#...
12/01/2026
At Spotify, we listen to a lot of music. And every year, our global editors and artist partnerships teams come together to spotlight the emerging voices we beli...
12/01/2026
Spotify's global editors and Songwriter & Publisher Partnerships team spend their days immersed in new music, tracking the writers behind the songs breaking...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan and increases its support for the J...
12/01/2026
X-Rite and Rhopoint Launch Rhopoint PANTORA Aesthetix to Streamline Creation of...
12/01/2026
12 Jan 2026
VEON's Kyivstar Launches 5G Pilot in Lviv Lviv, January 12, 2026 - VEON, a global digital operator (Nasdaq: VEON), today announces that Kyivsta...
12/01/2026
Monday 12 January 2026
The ultimate betrayal: Harry and Jamie Redknapp, Paul Me...
12/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz opens larger office in Japan to increase its support for the Jap...
12/01/2026
Welcome to the AVECO team: introducing new members of management
At AVECO, we are continuing to implement our #newAVECO strategy, which aims to build an even s...
12/01/2026
For the first time in the nine-year history of Dancing with the Stars, the first...
10/01/2026
This year, podcasts are making their Golden Globes debut with a new category honoring the medium's leading shows and creators. To mark the occasion, Spotify...
09/01/2026
RT Player has 157 million streams, up 10% year-on-year
An increase on 2024, RT...
09/01/2026
RT 2FM has today announced the highly anticipated list of 2FM Rising Artists for 2026, kicking off 2FM Rising week for the eighth year on The Tracy Clifford Sh...
09/01/2026
RT to Host the 2026 RTS Ireland Awards
Thursday, 16 April 2026 | Dublin Royal Convention Centre
The RTS Ireland Television Awards 2026 | Gradaim RTS 2026 | R...
08/01/2026
An evidence-based analysis on disinformation and information manipulation in Sudan's ongoing conflict is published today. (January 8th 2026).
Thomson Found...
08/01/2026
In 2025 we launched the Spotify Partner Program to give creators more ways to tu...
08/01/2026
On Wednesday in Los Angeles, Spotify welcomed creators and press to a brunch cel...
08/01/2026
TSA awards Rohde & Schwarz contract for advanced airport screening ahead of Socc...
08/01/2026
The review looks back at DPA's miniature microphone development over the years. It compares the evolving technologies from the original mics through CORE an...
08/01/2026
Comscore Launches Audio Targeting and Measurement Capabilities with The Trade De...
08/01/2026
Tonight, on RT Prime Time at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Tonight, Prime T...
08/01/2026
The Late Late Show celebrates the very best of traditional Irish music with its first-ever full special dedicated entirely to the tradition
Lisa Canny | Kevin...
08/01/2026
It will be murder on the dancefloor when Dancing with the Stars returns this S...
07/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
07/01/2026
We know people use Spotify not just to listen, but to share the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks they love with their friends and family. When we launched Messag...
07/01/2026
This week, all eyes are on the podcast industry as the Golden Globes recognizes ...
07/01/2026
Podcasts are stepping onto a new stage this week as the Golden Globes recognize the medium for the first time. To mark this milestone moment, we're hosting ...
06/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
06/01/2026
Lorde. A$AP Rocky. JENNIE. Baby Keem. KATSEYE. That's just a taste of who...
06/01/2026
Channel 4 and UKTV are giving viewers even more reasons to stream, with UKTV's U service set to feature thousands of hours of free, unmissable and bingeable...
06/01/2026
Tuesday 6 January 2026
An update on our Sky Mobile prices
Devesh Raj, Chief Operating Officer, Sky
Today, we've announced some changes to the prices of ...
06/01/2026
Comscore Launches Daily Program-Level Reporting with Deduplicated Insights on Sh...
06/01/2026
Comscore Completes Recapitalization Transaction with Preferred Stockholders Foll...
05/01/2026
Bad Bunny's DeB TiRAR M S FOToS defined the sound of 2025 for listeners eve...
05/01/2026
As the clock struck midnight and 2026 was born, so was an exciting range of new ...
TVBEurope hears from key industry figures about the decision to cancel NAB Show 2021
