NAB Show 2026 draws 1,100+ exhibitors, AI pavilions debut as footprint doubles

NAB Show 2026 opens its pre-show conferences today in Las Vegas with more than 1,100 exhibitors and attendees representing over 18,000 companies — up from 12,000 in 2025. Forty-four percent of attendees are first-timers and 23% are international. The exhibit hall opens Sunday, April 19.

The show's AI footprint has grown faster than its general attendance. The number of AI-focused exhibitors is nearly double the prior year, and NAB has added two dedicated AI Innovation Pavilions for the first time. The conference programme spans roughly 550 sessions across 11 stages with more than 630 speakers. Creator attendance is expected to more than double year-on-year, reflecting NAB's deliberate expansion beyond its traditional broadcaster base.

"We're at a point where the biggest shifts in media are no longer theoretical," said Karen Chupka, EVP at NAB. The show's theme frames AI as moving from pilot projects into operational deployment — a framing echoed in several pre-show vendor announcements landing today.

The scale numbers signal how much NAB has broadened since the pandemic disruption years. The shift from 12,000 to 18,000 represented companies in a single cycle is the sharpest single-year attendance increase the show has reported.