The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a
trade association
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...
and
lobby group
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
broadcasters in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. The NAB represents more than 8,300
terrestrial radio and
television stations
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ear ...
as well as
broadcast networks.
As of 2022, the president and CEO of the NAB is Curtis LeGeyt.
Founding
![National Association of Broadcasters (NAB)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/National_Association_of_Broadcasters_%28NAB%29.jpg)
The NAB was founded as the National Association of Radio Broadcasters (NARB) in April 1923 at the
Drake Hotel Drake Hotel may refer to:
;in Canada
*Drake Hotel (Toronto)
The Drake Hotel is a hospitality venue on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near Parkdale. In addition to a nineteen-room boutique hotel, there is a restaurant lounge, co ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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. The association's founder and first president was
Eugene F. McDonald Jr., who also launched the
Zenith corporation. In 1951 it changed its name to the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters (NARTB) to include the television industry. In 1958 it adopted its current name, "National Association of Broadcasters".
Commercial radio
The NAB worked to establish a
commercial radio system in the United States. The system was set up in August 1928 with the establishment of General Order 40—a radio
reallocation scheme by the
Federal Radio Commission which awarded the choicest frequencies and broadcast times to the then-emerging commercial radio industry. In the wake of General Order 40, a loose coalition of educators,
nonprofit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
broadcasters,
labor union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (s ...
s, and
religious groups coalesced to oppose the NAB and their allies through the 1920s and 1930s, and to develop a public, nonprofit, license-funded radio system without commercials (similar to what happened with the BBC). The coalition claimed that the commercial industry would only promote profitable programming, thereby reducing the quality and future potential of radio broadcasting.
Not having the political connections, resources, or publicity of the NAB and the commercial radio industry, the non-profit coalition eventually lost the fight with the passage of the
Communications Act of 1934.
The
National Independent Broadcasters were formed in 1939 as part of the NAB, to represent stations that were not associated with any network, but the group split off in 1941.
Satellite radio
Many
satellite radio
Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than t ...
enthusiasts have criticized the NAB for lobbying against legislation approvals for those services. The NAB protested the FCC's approval of both satellite radio services in the United States—
XM and
Sirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbreviated Alpha CM ...
—and furthermore criticized the 2008
merger of the two companies, calling the merged company a "potential
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
".
Digital transition
In 2005, the NAB, together with the Association for Maximum Service Television Stations, Inc. (MSTV), commenced development of a prototype high quality, low cost
digital-to-analog converter box for terrestrial
digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative adva ...
reception. The result of this project was a specification for the converter box, which was then adopted by the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' ec ...
as
technical requirementfor
eligible converter boxes for the Administration's
Digital-to-Analog Converter Box Coupon Program.
White space
The NAB has lobbied against the use of
white spaces, unused broadcast spectrum lying between broadcast channels, for wireless broadband internet and other digital use. The NAB has claimed that use of white space will interfere with existing broadcast spectrum, even though tests by the Federal Communications Commission at levels far stronger than that being advocated for in policy circles have not supported such claims. Indeed, the FCC has recommended the use of white spaces for broadband and other digital use.
In 2011 the NAB funded an advertising campaign titled "The Future of TV", advocating for the private ownership of the spectrum, framed as a threat to free television.
Free TV campaign
In mid-2014, an NAB advertising campaign against a Congressional threat appeared, advocating viewers to defeat a cable-TV lobby.
Similar organizations
Organizations similar to the NAB exist in individual
U.S. states, including
Georgia Association of Broadcasters
The Georgia Association of Broadcasters represents radio and television broadcasters across the U.S. state of Georgia. It is affiliated with the National Association of Broadcasters.
See also
* List of radio stations in Georgia (U.S. state)
* ...
(GAB) in
Georgia, and the
Illinois Broadcasters Association (IBA), in Illinois. In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
, the
Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has a similar role.
Gatherings
![NAB Convention Floor Las Vegas 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/NAB_Convention_Floor_Las_Vegas_2010.jpg)
NAB's annual spring convention is the
NAB Show. It typically draws over 100,000 industry professionals. NAB also manages the
NAB Radio Show which is held each autumn and draws over 3,000 radio professionals. At the 2010 and 2011 NAB shows, popular technology included stereoscopic video and editing software—a demand inspired by James Cameron's ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...
''; point-of-view cameras, and DSLR cameras boasting shallow Depth of Field. Other strides in nonlinear editing technology included archival film restoration, digital audio mixing improvements, motion stabilization of hand-held footage and rotoscoping with one click.
The annual
NAB Show returned to Las Vegas April 23-27, 2022, after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary attendance figures indicated the show attracted more than 50,000 visitors from 155 countries.
Censorship
In 1952, the NAB created the
Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters, which banned profanity, the negative portrayal of family life, irreverence for God and religion, illicit sex, drunkenness and biochemical addiction, presentation of cruelty, detailed techniques of crime, the use of horror for its own sake, and the negative portrayal of law enforcement officials, among others. It was enforced by a committee appointed by President of the NAB.
After the courts struck down the Code as unconstitutional in 1983, the NAB board of directors issued a brief "Statement of Principles of Radio and Television Broadcasters" that encourages broadcasters to "exercise responsible and careful judgment” in the selection of material relating to violence, drug abuse, and sex.
On March 1, 2022 the NAB called "on broadcasters to cease carrying any state-sponsored programming with ties to the Russian government" in response to the
Russian invasion of Ukraine the week prior.
Hall of Fame inductees
NAB awards
The NAB presents several annual awards:
*
NAB Marconi Radio Awards, to the country's top radio stations and personalities
*
NAB National Radio Award, to an outstanding individual leader in the radio industry
*
NAB Crystal Radio Awards
The NAB Crystal Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters to American radio stations. The award was established in 1987 to recognize radio stations for year-round commitment to community service.
Finalists fo ...
, to radio stations achieving excellence in community service
*
NAB Engineering Achievement Awards, to an individual for their outstanding accomplishments in the broadcast industry
*NAB Distinguished Service Award, for broadcasters who have made a significant and lasting contribution to American broadcasting.
Publications
* Bruce A. Linton. ''Self-Regulation in Broadcasting''. Washington, D.C.: National Association of Broadcasters, 1967.
* ''Broadcast Self-regulation'', 2nd edn. Washington, D.C.: NAB Code Authority, 1977.
* ''The Television Code'', 22nd edn. Washington, D.C.: NAB Code Authority, 1981.
* Jean Benz, Jane E. Mago, & Jerianne Timmerman, eds. ''Legal Guide to Broadcast Law and Regulation'', 6th edn. Washington, D.C.: National Association of Broadcasters, 2015.
See also
*
Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters—includes the NAB's ''Television Code'' and ''Seal of Good Practice'' and enforced from 1952 to 1983.
References
External links
NAB official websiteNAB ShowNAB Radio ShowWilliam S. Hedgespapers at the
University of Maryland libraries. Hedges was a co-founder of NAB and also served as its president from 1928-1930.
National Association of Broadcasters recordsat the University of Maryland libraries.
{{authority control
Radio organizations in the United States
Television organizations in the United States
Trade associations based in the United States
Organizations established in 1922
Entertainment companies of the United States
501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations