NAB Show wants to be the meeting ground for creators and legacy entertainment: “These two segments have so much to offer each other right now”

Back in 2024, the National Association of Broadcasters recognized the importance of content creators by carving out a dedicated gathering place for them at its longtime annual trade event, NAB Show.

That place, called the Creator Lab, was designed as a “dedicated experience to foster collaboration, learning and networking through panels, workshops, fireside chats and more,” NAB Show told us.

Now, for its third year, the Creator Lab has expanded to fill a 14,000 square foot space with its own mainstage. NAB Show 2026, running April 18-22 in Las Vegas, expects to welcome creators for three full days of programming on topics like platform best practices, monetization, metrics, production equipment, and overall tips and tricks to help both newbies and pros grow their content businesses.

Some of that programming will be delivered in the Creator Lab’s new Adobe-sponsored classroom, which was designed as “an intimate setting for hands-on tips about products and techniques,” NAB Show says.

As for who will help anchor Creator Lab’s programming, this year’s emcees are…

• digital industry veteran Jim Louderback, who spent eight years as CEO of VidCon and is editor & CEO of newsletter Inside the Creator Economy
• and RJ Larese, president of Whalar’s creator agency Sixteenth

Speakers for this year include a wide range of creators, entrepreneurs, CEOs, industry experts, and more. Some notable names include:

• creators MatPat, Dylan Huey, AtomicMari, and Taylor Lloyd
• Ben Harris, Director of Strategy and Operations for Jesser
• Pojo Riegert, Creative Director for Mark Rober’s CrunchLabs
• Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s Head of Editorial & Creator Liaison
• Shira Lazar, founder/CEO of What’s Trending
• Robin Raskin, founder of Virtual Events Group (which collaborated with NAB Show to develop the Creator Lab)
• Mitch Rotter, Director of Strategic Content Partnerships, Data & AI for Shutterstock
• and our very own Drew Baldwin, founder and CEO of Tubefilter

Karen Chupka, the National Association of Broadcasters’ EVP of Global Connections and Events, tells Tubefilter the Creator Lab is seeing 105% year-over-year growth in registration from 2025 to 2026.

NAB Show registrations as a whole are up 11% YoY, to more than 50,000 people this year, she adds. 45% of those registrants are first-timers, and 23% of them are from outside the U.S.

Chupka says based on feedback from creators who attended the previous two years, NAB Show has put more emphasis on networking opportunities within the Creator Lab.

“We know creators have wanted to do much more networking,” she says. “This year, there are networking opportunities built within Creator Lab, and within NAB Show itself. We have a networking lounge located in the grand lobby of the convention center, and we’ll be hosting different types of happy hours throughout the show.”

She says the networking lounge will be “an area of interest for creators who want to not only meet people from within the creator economy, but also meet other broadcasters, news reporters, and professionals in different spaces.”

Additionally, creators who want to start networking before the show now have a way to do it: NAB Show built an app for attendees that Chupka says will both give personalized recommendations on sessions to attend, and let them schedule meetups with one another.

Business development is on the programming menu, too. “What we’ve heard from creators is that they got into this because they love telling stories. They love doing what they’re doing,” Chupka says. “But suddenly they reach a level where they’re employing people and dealing with legal issues. We’re trying to bring programming to the Creator Lab so they can set up better businesses for themselves.”

NAB Show is also putting more emphasis on sports this year. It’ll have a dedicated area for sports, reflecting the proliferation of live broadcasts across digital platforms like YouTube and Netflix (thanks to pricey deals with leagues) as well as the growing influence of sports-focused creators like Jesser, IShowSpeed, Bryce DeChambeau, and Dude Perfect.

“We’re paying close attention to what’s happening in the sports industry with creator engagement,” Chupka says. “They’re covering sports as well as telling the stories behind athletes.”

Another nod goes to creators’ increasing power in media and entertainment; a third area within Creator Lab will highlight “how creators are partnering with agencies and working with other segments of traditional legacy media,” Chupka explains.

“One really unique thing about NAB Show is whether you’re telling stories on TikTok, TV, or the big screen, the show is for you,” she says. “What that also means is we have, on our stages across the show, people who are doing amazing things for movies, editing for movies or shooting for movies and TV shows, then also creators.”

With that in mind, the show’s ultimate goal is to unite “the big creative community that wants to connect with other people and learn from them, then leave feeling much more engaged and re-energized,” Chupka says. “These two segments–the creator economy and legacy entertainment companies–have so much to offer each other right now.”

NAB Show will come to the Las Vegas Convention Center April 18-22. Folks interested in attending can register here.

NAB Show is a Tubefilter partner.