SONY EXECUTIVE HIROSHI YOSHIOKA TO DELIVER NAB SHOW OPENING KEYNOTE FEATURING EXCLUSIVE 3D PRESENTATION–NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith and Michael J. Fox Also Headline Event–

 WASHINGTON, DC –Sony’s Hiroshi Yoshioka will deliver the opening keynote on Monday, April 12 at the 2010 NAB Show in Las Vegas, show organizers announced today. Yoshioka, who oversees Sony’s television, digital imaging, home audio and video businesses, will focus on the global and U.S. consumer demand for 3D technology and Sony’s vision for the future of 3D technology, for consumers and professionals.

Expanding on Sony’s “lens to the living room” vision for 3D, Yoshioka will present exclusive 3D footage including clips from the Masters Golf Tournament and other sports and entertainment events.

“Sony is a technology leader whose innovations have changed the way we create, manage, deliver and consume audio and video content,” said NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith. “Mr. Yoshioka has been central to that leadership and we look forward to him imparting his knowledge and insight on the technologies and trends that are driving our industry’s future.”

Yoshioka is executive deputy president and a corporate executive officer of Sony Corporation. He also serves as president of the Consumer, Professional & Devices Group, and oversees Sony’s Semiconductor & Component Business Group.

Yoshioka joined Sony in 1979 and has held various positions in the camcorder product division, personal audio video company, personal IT network company, and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB based in Sweden. During his tenure, he played a key role in the successful launch of Sony’s camcorder and digital still camera business. Most recently, he was president of the TV Business Group, where he led the transition of Sony’s TV business from CRT to LCD technology.

Also headlining the NAB Show Opening event will be NAB’s new President and CEO Gordon Smith. A two-term U.S. Senator from 1996-2008 and head of NAB since November 2009, Smith will deliver his first State of the Industry address at the 2010 NAB Show. Smith’s address will highlight the legislative and regulatory challenges and opportunities broadcasters face in the digital age, as well as NAB’s advocacy efforts on behalf of the radio and television industries. In addition, Smith will address the unique and positive role broadcasters play in every local community across America through their commitment to public service.

Michael J. Fox, Emmy-Award winning actor and advocate for Parkinson’s disease research, will be honored at the Opening event with the NAB Distinguished Service Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the broadcasting industry.

About the 2010 NAB Show
The NAB Show will take place 10-15 April, 2010 in Las Vegas (exhibits open 12 April). It is the world’s largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums. Complete details are available at www.nabshow.com.

News media registration is now available online. Click here to register as press for the NAB Show.

About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.

COMIC BOOK LEGEND
STAN LEE TO APPEAR AT 2010 NAB SHOW

WASHINGTON, DC — The NAB Show, the annual conference and expo for professionals who create, manage and distribute entertainment across all platforms, announced today that Stan Lee, the iconic co-creator of Spider-Man, X-Men and The Incredible Hulk, will appear at this year’s event. The 2010 NAB Show takes place April 10-15 in Las Vegas.

“In Conversation With: Stan Lee” will take place Wednesday, April 14 at 9:00 am.

“A key theme of this year’s NAB Show is transmedia: developing, integrating and monetizing content for multiplatform distribution,” said Chris Brown, executive vice president, conventions & business operations for NAB Show. “Stan Lee has epitomized the concept of transmedia with his amazing creations, which have been turned into smash hit feature films, television series and innovative digital content.”

Stan Lee is the Founder of POW! Entertainment and has served as its Chairman and Chief Creative Officer since inception. But he is best known as the man whose super heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry.

His co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange. Now the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Media, Lee creates new intellectual property for POW!, which has been in operation since 2001.

About the 2010 NAB Show
The NAB Show will take place 10-15 April, 2010 in Las Vegas (exhibits open 12 April). It is the world’s largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums. Complete details are available at www.nabshow.com.

News media registration is now available online. Click here to register as press for the NAB Show.

About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.

NBC SPORTS TO BE INDUCTED
INTO NAB BROADCASTING HALL OF FAME

–Chairman Dick Ebersol to accept award on network’s behalf–

WASHINGTON, DC- NBC Sports will be inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame during the NAB Show Television Luncheon. Accepting this honor on behalf of NBC Sports is Emmy Award winner Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. The Luncheon, sponsored by VCI solutions, will be held on Monday, April 12, in Las Vegas.

“From the Olympics to its coverage of the NFL, The Kentucky Derby and Wimbledon among other sports franchises, NBC Sports has always been a pioneer in storytelling and a leader in ‘must-see’ over-the-air broadcast programming,” said Marcellus Alexander, NAB Executive Vice President of Television. “We’re thrilled to have Dick Ebersol, one of the true giants of broadcasting, on hand to accept this prestigious honor.” 

NBC Sports broadcasts a number of impressive sports properties, including the Olympics, the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), Notre Dame football, the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, the PGA TOUR, the United States Golf Association (USGA) Championships, Wimbledon and the French Open.

Under Ebersol’s leadership, NBC Sports has become synonymous with superior production that elevates the event, broad promotion and mutually-beneficial partnerships. He has produced eight of the top 10 most-watched television events in U.S. history and recently produced three milestone television events: the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 became the most-watched event in U.S. television history with a record 215 million viewers; the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games in 2010 were the second-most watched Winter Olympics in history with 190 million viewers, trailing only the Lillehammer Games in 1994; and Super Bowl XLIII in February 2009 produced, at the time, the largest-single audience in U.S. television history with a record 152 million viewers. It is currently the second-most viewed program of all time.

Over more than three decades in television, Ebersol stands alone as an executive who has played a prominent role in the wide-ranging fields of sports, entertainment and news by possessing the rare combination of a producer’s creative vision, a CEO’s business acumen and a partner’s genuine desire for cooperation.

Ebersol’s crowning achievement has been establishing NBC Universal as the home of the Olympic Games. Beginning in 1967, when he temporarily dropped out of Yale University to join Roone Arledge and ABC Sports as television’s first-ever Olympic researcher, his passion has been the Olympics. In 1989, Ebersol returned to NBC as president of NBC Sports. He served as executive producer for the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, his first Olympics since Munich in 1972 for ABC, and then began an unprecedented run of Olympic rights agreements that established NBC as “America’s Olympic Network.”

Ebersol’s career is unique, in part, because of its diversity. In addition to his sports prowess, Ebersol, along with Lorne Michaels, whom he hired, conceived and created “Saturday Night Live.” As an independent producer, he created iconic, Emmy Award-winning programs such as “Friday Night Videos” and “Later with Bob Costas.” Ebersol even served as senior vice president of NBC News. 

Previous NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame television inductees include Bob Newhart, Bob Barker, NBC’s” Meet the Press,” Regis Philbin, “The Tonight Show,” “Saturday Night Live,” Ted Koppel, “M*A*S*H,” “60 Minutes,” “The Today Show” and “Star Trek,” among others.

About the 2010 NAB Show
The NAB Show will take place 10-15 April, 2010 in Las Vegas (exhibits open 12 April). It is the world’s largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums. Complete details are available at www.nabshow.com.

News media registration is now available online. Click here to register as press for the NAB Show.

About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association for America’s broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities, strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital age. Learn more at www.nab.org.