NAB Show 2025 Preview – Professional Essentials Guide

NEWSCASTSTUDIO.COM

By DAK DILLON

Editor in chief, NewscastStudio

As the broadcast industry

prepares to gather for the NAB

Show this April, professionals

face a landscape in flux, driv-

en by technological advance-

ments, shifting viewer prefer-

ences and financial pressures.

The annual trade show will

showcase

how

traditional

broadcasters and streaming platforms are

adapting to profound changes across con-

tent creation, distribution and monetiza-

tion. 

But this year’s event will also look a bit

different – with many skipping the show

floor due to travel advisories and economic

uncertainty. 

Produced by the National Association of

Broadcasters, the event is the industry’s

premier marketplace for technology and at-

tracts professionals from across the global

media ecosystem. This year’s show arrives

as companies navigate com-

peting priorities: embracing

innovation while controlling

costs, expanding content offer-

ings while maintaining quality

and

developing

sustainable

business models in an increas-

ingly fragmented environment.

“Revenue isn’t growing as

fast as it used to, and costs

are rising,” said Steve Reyn-

olds, chief executive officer of

Imagine Communications. “The shift to-

ward multiplatform distribution has intro-

duced new expenses, as companies must

now produce, format, and manage content

across broadcast, streaming, direct-to-con-

sumer, and mobile services.”

This financial reality underpins many

conversations across the industry, driving a

push for workflow consolidation and oper-

ational efficiency.

According to Reynolds, early approach-

es to streaming often involved separate

production chains for different platforms,

“resulting in redundant expenses without

driving additional revenue. Now, the focus

is on eliminating these inefficiencies by uni-

fying production workflows.”

The monetization landscape has shift-

ed as traditional broadcast models face

disruption from streaming services and

evolving consumer preferences. Industry

leaders are reimagining revenue strategies

to maintain profitability while meeting audi-

ence expectations across increasingly frag-

mented distribution channels.

“A fundamental shift in viewing habits

has led to a paradigm change in moneti-

zation,” Reynolds noted. “While traditional

broadcast remains viable, the rise of linear

streaming and on-demand platforms has

reshaped how audiences consume content.

This shift has fragmented the audience,

making it increasingly challenging for ad-

vertisers to reach consumers effectively.”

Continued on next page

OVERVIEW

NAB PREVIEW

Image and cover images courtesy of the Las Vegas News Bureau and NAB Show

DILLON

NEWSCASTSTUDIO.COM