FEED’s guide to NAB Show 2026

It’s that time again. Sunny Las Vegas is soon to become the beating heart of media, entertainment and technology for the 103rd edition of NAB Show.

But before you pick up your gambling chips or look into hiring the city’s finest Elvis impersonator, we’re here to help you prepare for what this year’s event has to offer.

With expected key topics to include AI-driven storytelling, as well as the overall reinvention of broadcast spaces as we know them, one thing that’s for certain is that NAB Show isn’t just a trade show, it’s the event that sets the tone for the upcoming year – helping us understand exactly where the industry is heading next.

This year, NAB has made it clear that 2026 isn’t about incremental updates, it’s about ‘major programme enhancements’, designed to reflect a rapidly evolving media technology sector. The organisers promise ‘a dynamic experience which mirrors the transformation across broadcasting, streaming and content creation’, and that idea runs through everything that’s been announced so far, with the emphasis also on the topic of convergence.

It’s started to become apparent that broadcast is no longer just broadcast, streaming isn’t just streaming and sport isn’t just sport. Everything overlaps and intersects – and NAB Show 2026 is due to lean fully into that gear shift

A show floor that actually means something

For years, industry events have wrestled with how to make physical exhibition spaces feel relevant in a hybrid, post pandemic world. With that in mind, NAB has shared that its approach for 2026 is to reimagine it entirely.

At the centre of this rethink is the newly designed TV and Radio HQ, which is being repositioned not as a niche corner, but as a central and integrated hub. According to NAB, this space will feature ‘new programming and a prominent Central Hall presence’.

The show aims to create a more cohesive and immersive experience for attendees, blending education, exhibition and networking into something that feels less segmented and more organic.

“The TV and Radio HQ for 2026 reflects the way in which broadcasters want to experience NAB Show today, with relevant, high-energy programming that’s integrated directly into the show floor,” says Karen Chupka, executive vice president of global connections and events at NAB. “This new Central Hall presence makes it easier for broadcasters, exhibitors and attendees to connect, discover ideas and engage with the conversations shaping the future of television and radio.”

The enhanced HQ will feature the HQ Theatre, offering entertaining sessions and live conversations showcasing the trends, technologies and talent impacting TV, radio and audio storytelling in the years to come. Alongside the theatre, the NAB Member Lounge has curated networking activations and offers members an elevated space to gather, exchange ideas and engage with peers.

From live demos bleeding into panel discussions, spontaneous conversations turning into partnerships
worth many a dollar, the ultimate aim here is to enable a cross-pollination that only happens when you stop separating ‘tech people’ from ‘content people’.

Sports Summit sets new goals

If there’s one sector where media innovation is happening at breakneck speed, it’s sports. Where other areas of the industry have struggled at times, grappling with the surge of the creator economy and social media, sports have remained as an ever-evolving, content-churning machine. And it’s a machine that demands increasingly complicated broadcast tools and solutions to sustain its enormity.

This year, NAB’s Sports Summit is expanding to four full days, which serves as a clear acknowledgement that sports media isn’t just a vertical, but instead a driving force behind some of the industry’s most ambitious innovation. The language of the announcement of this expansion speaks for itself: the summit will spotlight ‘the new era
of sports media and entertainment’.

Headlining the Sports Summit is Jon Miller, president of acquisitions and partnerships at NBC Sports, who will have a fireside conversation on the Main Stage with John Ourand from Puck’s The Varsity in a session titled ‘NBC Sports Playbook: Rights, Partnerships and What’s Next’. It will examine the strategy behind NBC’s major rights acquisitions and distribution partnerships at a pivotal moment for the industry. The session comes after NBC Sports’ Legendary February, which packed the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Super Bowl LX and the NBA All-Star Game into the shortest month of the year.

Some of the other the key talking points will include:

• Direct-to-consumer streaming strategies
• Immersive fan experiences, focused on AR and VR
• Creator-led sports content
• Personalised viewing experiences

The expansion signals that sports are now a breeding and testing ground for anything media-tech focused, from monetisation models to production workflows.

A landmark show for Lawo

In the run-up to this year’s show, Lawo has announced the introduction of a groundbreaking innovation that forms the next major step in the company’s converged media-infrastructure strategy.

First revealed during Lawo’s global online event on 8 April, the new solution is designed to accelerate system set-up and optimise operational efficiency across broadcast, recording, live performance and corporate AV environments. Its main mission is to make production workflows smarter and more agile on a daily basis.

The new solution aligns closely with the broader industry movement towards dynamic, software-defined media facilities. Central to Lawo’s approach is the HOME platform, which serves as the operational backbone for Lawo’s IP ecosystem, where third-party solutions are more than welcome.

HOME management provides key services such as device discovery, authentication and orchestration. These capabilities allow production infrastructures to adapt available resources and processing power in real time. Extending this flexibility, HOME Apps offer containerised microservices that run on generic COTS servers and can be deployed, scaled and reconfigured instantly as workflow demands shift. Together, the systems enable a facility model defined not by bespoke hardware but by rapid, workload‑based resource allocation.

At NAB Show 2026, booth C2108, Lawo will showcase an extensive suite of HOME Apps. Each application can be launched or stopped on demand, creating an adaptable processing environment that supports rapidly changing production requirements and aligns with the Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) as well as the Media eXchange Layer (MXL) initiatives.

Lawo will also present the latest software generation for its mc²36, mc²56 and mc²96 production consoles and its crystal on‑air mixing systems. The mc² release introduces a refined Strip Assign workflow that accelerates channel configuration and improves visual clarity, while deeper integration with Waves SuperRack via the ProLink protocol enhances real‑time plug‑ in workflows. EBU R 143-compliant security features provide protection for systems in interconnected IP production environments.

Lawo’s full suite of software‑ based processing technologies, IP‑native routing and dynamic resource‑management tools
will be on display at NAB Show 2026, booth C2108.

The science behind the streaming

One of the other major announcements for this year that particularly caught our attention is the keynote from neuroscientist and technologist, Poppy Crum, who will headline the Broadcast Engineering and IT (BEIT) Conference. That’s right, neuroscience is coming to NAB.

Crum’s work sits between human perception, AI and storytelling, and seeks to ask: how do people actually experience content? Her presence signals a shift in thinking. It’s time to stop focusing solely on building better tools at a faster pace, but instead on what all this technology does to the audience and their experience of the content they’re consuming.

Her keynote speech is set to cover some interesting sub-themes within that idea, including:

• How AI can adopt content in real time based on viewer response
• How emotion and cognition influence engagement
• How immersive formats affect memory and attention

Hosted by NAB chief innovation officer John Clark, the BEIT Conference Opening takes place on Saturday 18 April from 9.30 to 10.45am in the North Hall, with remarks from BEIT Conference Committee chairman Sun Sachs, senior vice president, digital products, Townsquare Media, followed by the presentation of the best paper award and best student paper award, co-sponsored with IEEE BTS.

Crum will then take the stage for her presentation ‘From Data to Mind: How Technology Is Reshaping the Minds of Storytellers and Media Consumers’, which will discuss how advances in AI and human-centred engineering are changing how people interact with broadcast content, media and technology.

Drawing on research in neuroscience and immersive systems, the keynote will explore how emerging tools, from empathetic interfaces to AI, are beginning to understand human intent and behaviour, transforming how audiences engage with broadcast, digital media and advertising.

Blackmagic goes immersive

When attending NAB Show, it’s almost a rite of passage to check out the Blackmagic Design stand. It’s virtually impossible to miss due to its size – and is usually packed full with attendees exploring its array of different products that sit across broadcast, live events and cinema. During this year’s show, Blackmagic will showcase its workflow line-up across the production chain, including the new URSA Cine Immersive.

Designed for Apple Immersive Video and VR180, it uses a fixed-lens solution and dual 8K sensors to capture stereoscopic 3D to a single Blackmagic Raw file. This unique integrated design makes shooting 3D video simpler than ever, without the difficulty of complex multicamera 3D rigs.

Blackmagic will also show a range of live production tools at the booth, including ATEM switchers, HyperDeck recorders
and Blackmagic Replay, alongside its 2110 IP Converter range as part of a wider SMPTE 2110 workflow. The converters are designed to link SDI and IP systems, supporting uncompressed video, audio and metadata over 10G Ethernet, as
well as PTP synchronisation and NMOS control.

Blackmagic will also be demonstrating DaVinci Resolve Studio and Blackmagic Cloud, including workflows which are built around ATEM ISO recordings, collaborative editing, remote review and finishing.

Visit Blackmagic Design at booth N2502 in the North Hall, or learn more at blackmagicdesign.com

This IS a laughing matter

Believe it or not, not everything at NAB has to be about pipelines, codecs and cloud workflows. Sometimes, it’s good to remind the industry why any of this even exists in the first place: to entertain people. Cue Nate Bargatze, who has been named as the recipient of the 2026 NAB television chairman’s award.

“Nate Bargatze has become one of the most important figures in American entertainment by making comedy that resonates across generations and platforms,” says Nick Radziul, NAB television board chair. “His work shows how broadcast television continues to be the cultural bridge between creators and audiences, delivering unparalleled reach and trusted, must-watch content that sparks shared moments viewers embrace.”

Described as ‘America’s reigning king of comedy’, Bargatze’s recognition feels like a nod to the importance
of storytelling and talent in a tech-driven landscape.

“Nate Bargatze’s rise underscores the continued ability of broadcast television to build a sense of community and reach large audiences at a time when viewing habits are rapidly changing,” adds Curtis LeGeyt, NAB president and CEO. “His power to create and deliver widespread appeal among the broader public is central to what NAB Show represents and why Nate is such a fitting honouree.”

Brainstorm brilliance

Brainstorm will unveil Suite 7 at this year’s show, introducing the latest evolution of its flagship solutions InfinitySet, Aston, Edison and the powerful eStudio. Designed around efficiency and streamlined workflows, Suite 7 empowers creators to produce cutting-edge virtual production, AR, XR and real-time 3D graphics faster and more easily than ever.

A move that highlights Brainstorm’s commitment to sustainability and performance optimisation, Suite 7 introduces enhanced hardware and software efficiency, further improving the Dual GPU support. This capability significantly boosts performance within a single licence and workstation while simplifying system architecture.

The workflow enables InfinitySet to deliver faster interoperability between Brainstorm’s eStudio render engine and Unreal Engine, supporting three camera inputs that can be composited in Unreal and output simultaneously
from a single workstation. The system is also able to generate simultaneous LED wall rendering, set extension and AR graphics from a single render node, maximising efficiency and reducing infrastructure requirements.

The eStudio render engine has also received major upgrades, including native Gaussian splatting support, as well as forthcoming Linux compatibility.

Suite 7 also enhances integration between InfinitySet and Aston, introducing advanced video wall management tools for building sophisticated graphics across displays of any resolution or aspect ratio, while including animated presets and StormLogic interaction between templates.

Additional highlights include 360º render output for VR-ready content, a redesigned internal mixer for greater usability and an expanded Edison ecosystem with Edison OnCloud and Eddie, a new, approachably named education-focused version that supports tools such as EdisonGO and StudioCall.

Check out the Brainstorm stand found at North Hall, booth N2352.