It’s news to no one that the broadcast industry is rapidly changing. So naturally, the annual NAB Show in April changes as well, yet always remains familiar. This year’s show is April 18–22, and at the home away from home, the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The good news is that the radio exhibitors are back together in a hall that looks familiar to many, Central Hall. See our Exhibitor List below.
As was the case with last year’s show, there’ll be some real estate out of action. This year, the South Halls are under renovation, sending their traditional denizens in all directions, many into the newly renovated North Hall. But at least this year’s show is a contiguous run. Maybe the exhaustion factor will be lower.
The goodies
Down to the details. The conferences most likely to interest radio-oriented attendees are the technical Broadcast Engineering and IT Conference, the Broadcast Management and Monetization Conference, and the Small and Medium Market Radio Forum.
For the BEIT, April 19 (Sunday) is the best day with “Successfully Launching Compelling Visual Radio Automation,” “Visual Radio at Scale: Automation, Connected Car Platforms and Smarter Channel Regionalization” and “How NPR Distribution Used Open-Source Protocols, Virtualization and Off-the-Shelf Hardware to Build the New Public Radio Distribution System.”
Monday, April 20, radio vets may want to check out “RCA: War Stories from the Front Lines of Broadcasting — Practical Experience from the Battlefield.” Also on Monday are “The Usefulness of Guy Wire Top-Loading on Vertical Antennas at MF, LF and VLF,” “Dude, Where’s My Signal? Utilizing UAVs to Find and Validate missing AM Radio, FM Radio and TV Signals through Full Antenna Pattern Verification” and “Finding and Engaging New Talent for Broadcast/Media Engineering.”
This brief list barely scratches the surface of the sessions available across a mind-bending array of topics, which is only getting broader as new technologies infiltrate the broadcast plant.
Highlights for the Broadcast Management and Monetization Conference include Monday’s “Improving the Listener Experience” and Tuesday’s “The Local Advertising Buying Landscape: Find Out What’s Driving Digital Sales, Revenue and Growth Opportunities.”
The Small and Medium Market Radio Forum is on Sunday, running from 2–6 p.m.
Pick a theater
In addition to the conference groups mentioned, there are many others, and several Theaters are scattered throughout the halls. One of the theaters is called the TV and Radio HQ. Others of prospective interest include the Sports Summit and the Tech Chat Theater.
And if that isn’t enough to keep attendees busy, there are several technically-oriented workshops, including the annual Society of Broadcast Engineers Ennes Workshop.
Also not to be forgotten, Nautel’s Radio Technology Forum, Sunday, starting at 8:30 a.m., has now moved to the Hilton… er… Westgate, making it adjacent to the show premises.
For those who have never attended the show, it is hard to explain the breadth and multiple venues that make up the show. It is possible for a dozen people to have exactly the same interests yet spend days wandering around and never see each other.
You can view or download a handy list of 2026 NAB Exhibitors below.
This story originally appeared in the March/April 2026 edition of RedTech Magazine. You can read or download it for free here.
You can access all past RedTech publications, for free, here.
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