IBC
NAB 2026 looks set to bring a raft of creativity and technological innovation, yet serious political and environmental questions remain.
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As the global media‑tech community heads to NAB, the mood
across the sector is harder to read than at any point in the past decade.
Economic headwinds, supply‑chain friction, shifting audience behaviour, and the
gravitational pull of AI have created a landscape that feels volatile. Yet the
IABM, representing broadcast and media‑tech suppliers, say the narrative of
decline simply doesn’t match what they’re seeing on the ground.
“It’s not as negative as it seems,” says Stan Coote, the
organisation’s CTO. “When budgets tighten, marketing is usually the first thing
cut. This year, it’s the opposite. Vendors want visibility because they have
real innovation to talk about.”
That said, the cost of Las Vegas accommodation and air fares
plus reluctance to run the gauntlet of heavy-handed TSA and social media
scrutiny is expected to dampen international attendance.
“You don’t want to say it’s a domestic show but there’s no
question we are running into some [people] who say they are not going,” Coote
reports. “NAB is still where the industry launches products. Even if some
people don’t attend physically, they want the wrap‑ups: ‘What did I miss?’”
Industry optimism is echoed in the IABM’s latest business‑intelligence
data. Chris Evans, Head of Knowledge and Insights, has been analysing the first
wave of the 2026 MediaTech Industry Tracker, which surveys both suppliers and
buyers across the sector. What emerges is a picture of divergence rather than
uniform contraction.
“Those heavily invested in pure linear broadcast are feeling
the squeeze,” Evans explains. “But companies that have diversified into
streaming, digital, enterprise, education, government, or other adjacent
verticals are finding new customers. It’s a business‑model story. Are you still
chasing the same buyers, or are you repositioning your products for new
markets?”
Evans adds that trust is becoming more important than ever.
“With tighter budgets, buyers want confidence in vendors. They want to
understand the roadmap, the ROI, the reliability. NAB is still the place to
build those relationships and access the North American market.”
Broadcast: no longer the centre of gravity
The IABM’s revenue‑mix data tells a story of gradual
rebalancing. Today, 61% of supplier revenue comes from media and broadcast,
with 39% from adjacent markets. That’s actually a rebound: 2023 saw the lowest
broadcast share in years, driven by post‑COVID disruption and the Hollywood
strikes.
“We’re seeing a rebuild on the broadcast side,” Evans notes.
“But the adjacent‑market strategies vendors developed during that period are
now maturing. They’re learning how to position their products for adjacent
markets.”
Coote highlights a major conceptual shift in the
organisation’s technology roadmap. What were once “parallel markets” are now
framed as transdisciplinary and plenary integration.
“Media now spans multiple industries, and the benefits flow
both ways,” he says. “Education and healthcare are using AI to generate content
and graphics, and those techniques are feeding back into broadcast. Audiences
care more about compelling content than ultra‑high production polish. That’s
influencing everyone.”
Ross Video is one company with considerable crossover in
target markets for its product.
Simon Hawkings, Sales Strategy and Business Acceleration Director, says, he’s
anticipating “a very practical” NAB with conversations focusing less on what’s
possible 10 or 15 years from now to what’s practical now.
“The defining trend will be a shift from innovation to
operational impact. AI, automation, cloud, and robotics are no longer framed as
future disruptors, they’re being deployed to solve immediate challenges around
efficiency, scalability, and cost. I think the focus of the show will move
toward streamlined workflows.”
Tariffs and supply chains
While macroeconomic pressures are real, the IABM isn’t
seeing the kind of existential strain some feared. Tariffs remain a challenge ((enough
for the organisation to establish a dedicated working group) but suppliers are
adapting.
“Some members have introduced transparent tariff
surcharges,” Coote explains. “The bigger issue is double tariffs — a
semiconductor taxed on import, then the finished product taxed again when
shipped elsewhere. That’s forced supply‑chain redesign. But we’re not seeing
companies shutting down. In a niche industry, if you need the kit, you need the
kit.”
Energy costs and shipping disruptions, meanwhile, have not
yet materially affected the sector.
Press freedom on the agenda – FCC grilled
NAB convenes while talk show hosts are being pressured off
the air and pro-Trump M&As are being waved through by Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr.
The White House stooge recently issued a press
release to encourage US broadcasters to show “patriotic, pro-America
content that celebrates the American journey … from our founding through the
Trump Administration today.”
In response, advocacy group The Media and Democracy Project
penned an open
letter claiming Carr had “turned the Commission into an authoritarian
agency in which decisions reflect the views of one person… while at the same
time weaponizing the FCC against the major broadcast networks because they
present some programming that displeases the President.”
It will be interesting to see if any of this gets aired by
NAB’s Associate General Counsel Larry Walke when he leads the session ‘Ask the
FCC’.
A trio of FCC commissioners including Deputy Bureau Chief
Alexander Sanjenis will field questions. Will Walke pull no punches or be
briefed to stick to general questions about media ownership and the transition
to NextGen TV?
The session, ‘The First Amendment and Press Freedom in
Today’s Media Landscape’ couldn’t be more explicit. Here, Anna Gomez - the lone
Democrat on the FCC – will have her say on what role, if any, the US government
should play in addressing public concerns about news content. Or, as NAB itself
bluntly puts it, ‘When does oversight become overreach?’
NAB is to be commended for putting media censorship and
press safety under the spotlight. Astonishingly this is press safety in America
not some foreign warzone.
‘The Cost of Bearing Witness: Journalist Safety in a
Polarized America,’ moderated by CNN anchor John Berman, will hear from Al
Jazeera’s managing editor Mohamed Moawad alongside Mara Gassmann of the Reporters
Committee for Freedom of the Press and PBS investigative journalist A.C.
Thompson. President Trump’s order to end federal funding for PBS was recently
ruled unlawful by a US judge.
Sustainability – Not on the agenda
After a few years of apparently being taking seriously the veil has fallen.
Cutting carbon from the production and supply chain doesn’t warrant a single
conference session of the approximately 500 at NAB2026. If there is one, it is
buried so deep in the program as to be inconsequential.
Perhaps this means the message is so embedded in corporate policy
that it doesn’t need underlining. Perhaps reducing Co2 automatically follows
from adopting more remote and IP based production workflows. Perhaps it is just
a sign of the times: sustainability may continue but it’s not to be promoted
above the parapet in America.
Devoncroft’s Josh Stinehour is scathing. “When the
microphone is hot at industry panel sessions, media technology buyers dutifully
answer in the affirmative about the importance of sustainability to technology
deployment decisions. [But] when answered within the safety of anonymity and
asked in a framing of impact on commercial success, sustainability is not
viewed as an important trend in the global media technology industry.”
Stinehour was commenting
on the analyst’s 2025 report which ranks the importance of industry trends by
technology stakeholders. It found that sustainability considerations are now “standard
fare” in US vendor’s product marketing efforts but the importance of the
subject related to business P&L comes 20th out of 22 categories and is
trending downward year on year.
European’s shouldn’t feel smug either. The broadcast kit
buying community here voted Sustainability / Carbon Reduction 12th from 22 in
Devoncroft’s survey – an improvement for sure but still not a top ten
consideration.
When AI is the single most pervasive topic and technology at
NAB and the wider industry you would expect at least one session to focus on
the impact of energy draining data centres on the environment.
Creators - Expanded presence
The organiser’s continues to woo the younger generation by
offering free passes to Creators and expanding the number of Creator-centric sessions.
There’s sound reason too since the creator economy collectively is raking in $250 billion a year according to Goldman Sachs, with
YouTube now valued by financial services company MoffettNathanson
at $560 billion, out ranking Netflix.
YouTuber Mark Fischbach, known as Markiplier, turned heads
in Hollywood earlier this year by taking his self-directed and produced horror
film Iron Lung - in which he also starred - direct to cinemas bypassing
distributors and taking $50m at the box office. It’s somewhat of a coup for NAB
to have him talk about how individuals like him can build up filmmaking skills
from shorts to longform on YouTube then use their social media following to
generate interest on other platforms.
Creator sessions such as ‘Beyond Views: Measuring Creator
Impact’ examine how success is defined beyond simple metrics, while ‘Creator
Survival Guide: Contracts, Burnout and the Business of Building Content’
tackles the realities of sustaining a creative career.
What was once dismissed as niche is now operating like a
parallel Hollywood. Microdramas, vertical series and creator-led short-form
shows are building massive, loyal audiences through low cost, rapid production
cycles and direct-to-fan distribution. Erin McFarlane, Head of Vertical Content
at Dhar Mann Studios which has a deal with Fox to make 40 narrative-driven vertical titles, shares her
experience in ‘Microdramas: The 60-Second Studio Surge.’
For Ross Video’s Hawkins individual creators are now a “serious
force” in the ecosystem. “With tools becoming more powerful, accessible, and
interconnected, high-quality production is no longer limited to large teams or
traditional infrastructures. This growing creator economy is reshaping
expectations prioritising speed, flexibility, and independence.”
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