This past November, USSI Global had the privilege of attending the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in New York. The NAB Show is the leading media and entertainment technology event on the East Coast, and broke the record this year for attendance by 30 percent. NAB’s mission is to enable broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age through advocacy, education, and innovation. The show was able to do just that, and aligned seamlessly with the USSI mission of providing quality and customized network, broadcast and digital media services globally.
The NAB Show was able to bring in 362 companies in 63,011 net square feet of exhibit space. Those companies provided 15,404 attendees, 1,112 of which were international attendees. In addition to being the largest NAB show to date, there were 87 different countries represented. The turnout was incredible and the show showcased the best in next-generation technology for media, entertainment and telecom professionals with focuses in areas such as film, satellite, online video, live events, corporate, A/V, production, and post.
New York was hustling and bustling even more than usual, as the presidential election took place just the day before. The NAB Show took place at the Javit’s Center in Manhattan, which is the same location that the democratic nominee’s held their election celebration later that night. Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine joined their supporters in the 840,000 square feet exhibition space and finished off Election Night with an explosion of fireworks over the Hudson River.
The buzz and enthusiasm surrounding the election at the Javit’s Center continued during the NAB Show, when Award-winning political journalist Soledad O’Brien joined NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith for the keynote session on the intersection of media and politics. The two engaged in candid and wide-ranging post-Election Day conversation on politics, the media, and how the two come together. This was an extremely appropriate and intriguing feature within the show that greatly appealed to the record breaking audience. It was clear that the NAB Show producers went above and beyond this year by doing their research and using it to their advantage.
“The growth of this year’s show is a testament to the power of the NAB Show brand and our ability to produce a dynamic and productive experience for attendees and exhibitors,” said NAB Executive Vice President of Communications Dennis Wharton. “We look forward to continuing to find new ways to serve media and entertainment professions in this unique and thriving New York media market and beyond.”
Being a part of the NAB show was a great way to connect with our customers and meet with long-time colleagues. USSI Global hosted a luncheon on both days of the event at Uncle Jack’s on 9th Avenue. This is the second year that we held this luncheon and we were able to bring in approximately 70 people in attendance over the course of both days. It was an extremely successful networking opportunity that gave us the chance to discuss USSI Global and our continued growth. It was great to hear the positive feedback about USSI that is filtering through the industry.
Greg Palm, the Vice President of Broadcast and Network Services was one of the NAB Show attendees, and said that USSI is actually able to grow as a company because of show and the outstanding networking opportunities it provides. USSI Global had members from the Engineering teams, executive management, and new business development in attendance, all of whom are critical in relationships with both customers and vendors.
Attending the NAB show is definitely a priority for USSI Global, as a large majority of our broadcast customers attend this show and most have a presence in the New York area. It presented a great opportunity to meet those customers in person and also to look at vendor offerings in new technology. Since our customers are the core of USSI Global, attending the NAB Show and being able to socialize during the luncheon gave us the chance to thank them in person for the outstanding relationships we continue to nourish. We look forward to the next National Association of Broadcasters Show and the future opportunities it will give us to connect with our broadcasting community.
