There may be no better way to alert visitors to what’s in store at this year’s NAB Show than to extend a simple four-word greeting: Welcome to the future.
If last year’s show was designed to explore what an artificial intelligence-saturated world might hold for everyone with a stake in media and entertainment, this year’s event can be described as a sleeves-rolled-up plunge into doing business in a world where that future has arrived. In remarkably short order, the industry has progressed from debating where things are going to jumping aboard a train about to leave the station.
“With more hands-on activations, in-depth discussions and next-generation technologies on display, the 2025 NAB Show is set to be the ultimate destination for anyone looking to stay ahead in the evolving media and entertainment industry,” Karen Chupka, NAB’s managing director and executive vice president for Global Connections and Events, said.
Displays and events on the exhibit floor complemented by a jam-packed conference schedule featuring more than 500 speakers will focus on developments along five trend lines that define the new reality, including AI, cloud virtualization, the creator economy, sports and streaming.
For example, the pervasive impact of sports will be highlighted by a new three-day Sports Summit: The Future of Sports Rights and Fan Experience, which explores the technology and trends transforming the sports fan experience and driving new revenue streams, as well as the Sports Business Hub, devoted to exploring new revenue models and engagement strategies.
In addition to the sessions, hands-on activations will include Reimagining Sports Media Through AI-Powered Transformation With Microsoft, as well as the Live Esports Racing Challenge presented by AWS and NVIDIA, Chupka said.
In the streaming domain, Chupka said, multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), OTT service providers and everyone else attending this year’s Streaming Summit will gain insight into “new monetization strategies, evolving consumer behavior and the continued rise of hybrid models like FAST, AVOD and subscription bundling.”
In addition, “Brands like AWS, Amagi, Veritone and Zixi will showcase the latest advancements in content delivery and ad-tech solutions.”
Participants in the Creator Economy will find the show is highly focused on “the merging of trends across Hollywood, broadcast and independent digital creators,” Chupka added.
“The same tools, gear and techniques used in big-budget films and live TV productions are now accessible to creators producing content for social media platforms. This shift is breaking down industry barriers — today, all content creators, regardless of platform, can come together at NAB Show to explore workflows and technology.”
One such creator — boasting some 24 million subscribers — is Main Stage speaker Dhar Mann, who will appear at NAB Show on Wednesday. The Forbes Top Creator will discuss how he and other creators are scaling digital intellectual property, partnering with brands and harnessing other trends, Chupka said.
The AI Juggernaut
There’s no better testament to the transformative fait accompli on display at this year’s show than the normalization of AI in just about every facet of operations.
“From the AI Innovation Pavilion to sessions across the show floor, we’re highlighting AI’s role in content creation, workflow automation and audience engagement,” Chupka said.
“The AI Video Editing Workshops and expanded Creative AI track at Post|Production World will provide hands-on training with tools like Descript, Runway, Premiere Pro and Firefly, helping professionals integrate AI into their editing, VFX and animation workflows.”
Conference sessions hosting AI-related discussions about security, content integrity and copyright protection will be front and center.
For the rapidly growing number of TV station groups that have grown comfortable with their ability to validate and implement AI solutions in day-to-day operations, the show’s emphasis on AI will be right in stride with what they’re looking for.
AI is “saving time and enhancing workflows,” Christina Hartman, vice president of emerging technology operations at E.W. Scripps, said. “The big story about AI in the newsroom is it’s revealing how much time we’ve been wasting on processing, on versioning to take a story to multiple platforms, on reviewing large documents.”
West Hall Presence for Broadcasters
Indeed, no sector is more affected by the transition to the new M&E reality than television and radio broadcasters. NAB Show has gone to new lengths to address their needs, starting with arranging a more convenient location for broadcast-related conference sessions.
This year’s lineup, including the Broadcast Management track, the Broadcast Engineering & IT Conference and the Small and Medium Market Radio Forum, as well as the NAB Member Town Hall and Member Lounge, will be located in the TV and Radio HQ on the second floor of the West Hall.
On the show floor below, Chupka said, attendees will find “the majority of radio exhibits, broadcast innovation discoverable in Futures Park and top-notch thought leaders speaking on the Main Stage, including the NAB Show Welcome session and We Are Broadcasters ceremony.”
NAB Show intensifies the emphasis on ATSC 3.0 under the NextGen TV brand with a major presence in the West Hall amid anticipation that the new administration in Washington will forge a regulatory climate more favorable to broadcasters. With ATSC 3.0 signals now available to 77% of U.S. households, the show will serve to “highlight how forward-looking policies can accelerate these advancements and ensure local stations remain at the forefront of serving our communities,” Chupka said.
Many station groups will be doing all they can at the show to connect the benefits of new technology with their pursuit of regulatory goals. Sinclair Broadcast Group, for example, will likely be taking a “very strong public stance” highlighting the need for NextGen TV, said Sinclair Senior Vice President, Advanced Technology Mark Aitken, who also serves as president of Sinclair’s all-IP platform subsidiary One Media Technologies.
Sinclair will make the case that it’s time for the government to sunset ATSC 1.0, buttressed by the fact that the NextGen TV transition is essential to making the Broadcast Positioning System a national security backup to GPS. Aitken also notes Sinclair will highlight opportunities for broadcasters to exploit the ATSC 3.0 data delivery system with support from the new EdgeBeam Wireless joint venture formed by Scripps, Gray Media, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair.
