It was the first big live industry gathering in over two years. NAB Las Vegas is in the books. What did some radio executives who attended the show think of the event? Here’s a sampling…
“Literally everyone I talked to said how fantastic it was. Exhibitors were thrilled with the traffic and the quality of the prospects they talked to. Attendees glowed as they talked about how wonderful it was to be back with their colleagues. It’s like 2 years worth of “yuck” got erased in an instant.”
David Santrella
Salem Media
NAB Joint Board Chair
This “come back” convention was well executed and the NAB staff is to be congratulated on a job well done. While there may have been fewer people, there were a lot of the “right” people, making it a great networking event as well as an informative one.
Deborah Parenti
Publisher
Radio Ink
It was really exhilarating to see so many industry friends (including competitors) in person after such a lengthy absence. And yes, I know that was a sentiment felt and shared by many, but I couldn’t start giving you my impressions without making that observation first and foremost. Attending sessions, visiting with our exhibitors on the floor and having hallway conversations with friends all resulted in an overall very upbeat attitude about radio, more so than at any time in recent years. I think people are pretty pumped up about how hot audio is, and radio is the primary component of audio, so there was an abundance of optimism about our industry, which was terrific.
I thought the tributes paid to Sen. Smith with both the NAB’s Distinguished Service Award and the BFOA’s Lowry Mays Award were very moving, and obviously well-deserved. Just as importantly, I thought that Curtis LeGeyt did a magnificent job in his first turn as NAB’s President & CEO. I heard nothing but praise for his performance, and the virtually seamless transition from Gordon to Curtis was a great indicator of the superb team NAB has built in DC.
As a member of both the NAB Board and the RAB Board, I always take some time to visit and thank some of our exhibitors at the Show, and this year in particular, every one of them I stopped by to thank for being there was enthusiastic about the amount of traffic and business they’d had this week, which was really great to hear.
Bill McElveen
Regional President
Alpha Media
“Overall the show was much slower than past NAB shows – as very much would be expected. The number of exhibitors seemed to be much smaller as well. That said those that were there were all serious – not really any that just went to be in Vegas – it seemed those we talked to were there to get things done. I think the show can be summed up with this – a lower number of leads – but a higher % of quality leads – vs 2019. I think the NAB teams did a good job – and the new West Hall looks great – but the placement of the three Podcasting companies in that hall was sub-optimal. The Three were – Libsyn, Bluebrry, and Live 365. Hopefully for 2023 – they will get back to having a podcast pavilion again and put us near other audio products / services.”
Rob Walch
Libsyn
“I thought it was some of the most outstanding content ever presented at the NAB show. I was extremely impressed by the attendance. We were so happy to be together, learn from the sessions, enjoy each other’s company and get a ton of business done. For me personally, it was probably my most productive NAB ever.”
Heather Cohen
The Weiss Agency
“Great to get back and be in person with everyone. A bit surreal for many of us who haven’t traveled in two plus years but the energy from seeing people was positively noticeable. I think the NAB did a good job of unity building at a time the radio industry desperately needs it. Glad that there was lots of future leaning content. Impressed with leadership of Curtis Legeyt”
Buzz Knight
Buzz Knight Media
“Just as we’d hoped, it was great to get the AM/FM band back together in Las Vegas. It was also smart to see all those car panels, as well as hearing from NAB chief Curtis LeGeyt. I wish all attendees could have seen Caroline Beasley, LeVar Burton, and Gordon Smith being honored by NAB – truly inspirational. All that said, I miss the Radio Show, and hope it comes back.”
Fred Jacobs
Jacobs Media
“How great is it to say once again: we got business done at NAB! Everyone I saw had broad smiles. It was a reunion. And, while virtual meetings are essential, nothing beats an in-person meeting. There was magic in the meetings we had in our Skyview suite at the Bellagio. The overall business vibe was positive and there was a palpable sense of opportunity.”
Steve Jones
President & CEO
Skyview
“My impressions were that it was wonderful to again be together with our industry. The sessions seemed well attended, and at over 52,000 attendees, it looked busy. Not a number like 2019 and prior…..but it sure beat the virtual meetings and zoom burnout we all had in 2020 and 2021.”
Jim Loftus
Chief Operating Officer
Seven Mountains Media
“To sum it up in four words: fuel for the soul. It felt like everything made sense again and that we are all going to be ok. I feel energized about the future, and the future of radio.”
Amy Bolton
Next up…the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio Conference in Miami
Did Ginny Morris discuss all of the sexual harassment and mistreatment of women at her stations. Covering for her disgusting prized morning show hosts and cash cows?
These people were at a different show then I was. It was an absolute hash from the minute I got on the plane. There was not a booth in the airport as the NABShow website indicated. The manager of McCann Airport came down to meet us and informed us he had heard NOTHING from NAB, yet there it was on the Show website. The list of locations to pick up your show badge had been removed from the site, but the ‘see list below’ was still there. We finally found the hidden table at MGM Grand we were off to the show. The first evening for us was the Creators Content event. It was a throwback to a bad high school dance. Nothing that said creator. Nothing that created excitement. The discussion in the line-up was what a mess the show and the app was. Not one attendee that I spoke to had anything glowing to say. The planner failed, the app failed and there were lined up to get free chilled red wine. On the floor over the next two days three things became apparent. If you were looking for a booth, forget you will not find it. I spoke to many people who were following the floor numbers to find booths and there was no logic jumping from booth 5000 to the next both 3054 and then 4300. Next came the people in the booths (this is not a NAB issue) but it hit across many of the booths. The exhibitors were more interested in connecting with their workmates rather than connecting with the potential clients. Some of the booths had pro-greeters which eased the ” I am ignoring you’ feeling but more times than not failed to get the proper connections. Lastly, we are content creators, broadcasters and streamers may be the last mile solution, but we are the first mile creation. We felt we were at a house party we did not belong at. The show while it had equipment to offer had no focus for us. The Creators gathering on Sunday night we were able to share with a few the nuances of edit software or how to pull a little more colour out of the overblown footage. For us the real topper was the International Gathering where I was told Canada is not an International country and then had to point out that the event was an All Access pass before we were allowed to enter. I went away from that gathering shaking my head at the failure of the mission to connect the International community.
NABShow 2022, a mess from the airport through three days of show. I must have been at a totally different show then the attendees in this article.