Who NAB Show brings to the Las Vegas Convention Center
NAB Show is produced by the National Association of Broadcasters, which calls it the destination for content creators and broadcasting innovators. Its pitch to exhibitors is access to buyers and influencers across broadcast, media, and entertainment. The hall categories show the range: AI and cloud, streaming and sports, cameras, audio, lighting, transmission, editing, and post-production.
That audience is technical. Visitors know what the gear should do, and they notice when a demo runs off a laptop taped under a counter. The exhibit has to make working equipment look deliberate and keep it running for four straight days.
NAB Show halls: West, Central, and North
For 2027, NAB Show is in the West, Central, and North halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, with category placement largely the same as 2026. Island height limits differ by hall, so the hall is a design input, not just a wayfinding detail. The organizer's map of where products go:
- West Hall: AI and machine learning, cloud computing and storage, streaming, ad tech, asset management, the Sports Theater, and startups
- Central Hall: cameras and camera support, audio, lighting and grip, digital signage and displays, the Creator Lab, Futures Park, and transmission
- North Hall: acquisition, editing, graphics, post-production, production, the Main Stage, and the Broadcast Engineering and IT (BEIT) Conference
NAB Show dates and the move-in calendar
NAB Show 2027 runs April 3 to 7, with exhibits open April 4 to 7. NAB has also published future Las Vegas dates of April 23 to 26, 2028 and April 8 to 11, 2029, which helps when you're budgeting an exhibit to last more than one show.
The 2027 exhibitor schedule isn't posted yet. For 2026, targeted move-in began April 13, every booth had to be set by 2 p.m. on April 18, the show opened April 19, and dismantling could start no earlier than 2 p.m. on the closing day. Booths of 800 square feet or more owed a booth review form by January 15, about three months before opening. Expect a similar rhythm and check the new kit when it's published.
Designing NAB booths around working gear
Most NAB exhibits are built around equipment that has to work: cameras on live feeds, control surfaces, monitors, and full production or streaming workflows. Counters and demo pods should be sized around the actual gear, with ventilation, lockable space for spares, and service access from the back, so a technician can swap a unit without taking a demo offline.
Cable management is the detail visitors notice. Route power and signal through the structure and flooring rather than across them, decide where every screen's processor and media player lives, and give video walls a real structure. A quieter zone for conversations matters too, because a booth full of running demos gets loud.
NAB Show exhibitor rules for height, rigging, and review
The 2026 rules are the latest published, and several shape the structure from the start:
- Island and split-island height, hanging signs included: 30 feet in the North and West halls and 25 feet in Central
- Linear and corner booths: 8 feet in the rear half and 4 feet in the front half, with no hanging signs or truss
- Freeman is the exclusive rigger, a chain hoist is required from 200 pounds, and truss plans go to LVCVA Fire and Safety 90 days ahead
- Truss structures and video walls need drawings stamped by a licensed engineer
- Booths of 800 square feet or more submit design and technical renderings, and every multi-level or covered booth goes to LVCVA Fire and Safety regardless of size
- Sound is capped at 80 decibels with speakers facing into the booth, and floor covering must cover the entire space
- Outside builders register as exhibitor-appointed contractors with the required insurance; for 2026 the deadline was April 10
Freight and logistics for NAB Show in Las Vegas
NAB requires an unlimited material handling package with exhibit space, priced by booth size, and Freeman is the exclusive material handler. Shipments from third-party vendors, such as AV or furniture rentals, are billed separately, and missing your targeted date adds a charge. That structure rewards a tight freight plan: fewer, well-labeled shipments arriving on the assigned day.
Equipment-heavy exhibits also need a plan for the gear itself: who ships cameras and servers, when they arrive relative to the structure, and where empty cases go. A Las Vegas builder can bring the structure across town on its own schedule, so your technical team arrives to a finished booth ready for equipment. Plan travel with NAB's age policy in mind: no one under 16 can register or enter the floor.
An NAB Show planning timeline
As general guidance for an April show with a mid-January review deadline, the Las Vegas trade show calendar and our trade show checklist help pace the work. If you're collecting builder proposals, the exhibit RFP template lists what a builder needs to quote an NAB booth accurately.
- Summer and early fall: book space, confirm the hall, and brief your builder on the gear you'll demo
- October and November: concept, 3D design, and AV planning with your technical team
- December: engineering for truss, video walls, and any upper deck
- January: the booth review form for 800-plus square foot booths, and truss plans to the fire marshal 90 days out
- February and March: fabrication, graphics, AV integration, and a shop walk-through
- Early April: targeted move-in, equipment install, and testing