With NAB Show 2023 fully wrapped up and all attendees, speakers, and exhibitors back home to business as usual, Radio Ink reached out to some of this year’s participants from around the industry to summarize their experiences. We’ll share those thoughts with you in this week’s daily headlines.
Xperi Senior Vice President, Broadcast Radio & Digital Audio Joe D’Angelo:
“The NAB Show was back in full force in 2023 and broadcast radio was extremely well represented. It was exciting to see the energy and enthusiasm that broadcasters and their suppliers brought to the show and their collective focus on innovation and the future of radio. We were reminded of the importance of AM radio and the valuable role it plays in serving local communities, especially in times of crisis, and leadership’s ongoing support of the medium.
And of course, there was the car, specifically the connected car and the opportunities it represents. Our DTS AutoStage global connect radio platform was on display giving broadcasters a hands-on look at the number 1 choice of the auto industry for radio innovation as well as the DTS AutoStage Broadcaster Portal, which for the first time is providing broadcasters direct visibility into actual in-car listening behaviors. At Xperi, we’ve heard the industry’s rallying cry to ‘all row in the same direction’ and we are proud to be providing the platform for the global radio industry to leverage and compete against big tech in the car.”
Audacy Senior Director of Research and Insights Reggie Shah:
“NAB has me really excited about more data. Xperi had a big presence with DTS Autostage, which promises us deep insights into the dashboard around content and location. Nielsen also announced that they’re in discussions with potential providers of in-car data. More data brings us more opportunities to understand and super-serve our listeners and clients.”
Benztown President Dave “Chachi” Denes:
“AI was discussed virtually everywhere at NAB. From ‘Cocktails and Conversation’ to the Convention Center, you could not escape the white-hot topic. My good friend, mentor, and Jack FM President Garry Wall likened it to the pandemonium around the dot-com bubble. I believe that’s an astute observation. While there were a few incredibly successful companies born during that moment in time such as Amazon, Priceline, and eBay, there were far more failures, including Pets.com, Worldcom, and AltaVista. Like the Internet, AI will be a game changer and will forever be part of our lives. However, I think it’s far too early to predict the winners or the losers. There are some impressive early leaders in the space such as ENCO GPT, Futuri’s Radio GPT, and Veritone’s Custom AI, who were all at NAB.
AI aside, there were a lot of exciting events, dinners, and panels featuring real people. Some highlights for me included the Broadcasters Foundation of America’s Philip J. Lombardo Charity Golf Tournament, Cocktails and Conversation, and presenting the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation Insight Award to Bill Owens, Executive Producer, 60 Minutes. We were also very fortunate to have Benztown featured at the ENCO booth in the West Hall and at the Broadcasters General Store booth in Central Hall. We had a raffle for a Benztown Cigar Box guitar at each booth and gave away over 1,000 Benztown and Enco-themed bags. Overall, we had a great show and I left very tired but also excited for the future.”
Wait… you learned about the importance of AM radio and NAB? Even though nobody listens? Okay.