Apple Not AT NAB 2008 !

Apple said Thursday that it won’t have a booth at this year’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show in Las Vegas, confirming a report posted at the TVTechnology Web site that Apple was scaling back its presence at the event aimed at video professionals.

The NAB Show is an annual gathering of broadcasters, television production companies, and video pros. This year’s trade show is slated for April 11 to 17 in Las Vegas.

Apple has had a large booth and a significant overall presence at the NAB event for many years, often using the venue to launch new products aimed at the professional video market. At last year’s show, the company introduced the Final Cut Studio 2 suite of applications, including a new program called Color. Apple has released high-end hardware, such as the 17-inch MacBook Pro, at NAB.

Given how recently Apple updated its professional video programs, it was unlikely that the company had another major release up its sleeve. Still, the lack of a booth on the show floor is a surprise, given the importance of the video market to Apple’s business.

“Apple is participating in fewer trade shows every year, because often there are better ways for us to reach our customers,” Apple spokesman Anuj Nayar told Macworld. “The increasing popularity of Apple’s retail stores and Apple.com Web site enable us to directly reach more than 100 million customers around the world in innovative new ways.”

Indeed, apart from the announcements last month’s Macworld Expo, Apple’s most recent product unveilings have taken place at press-only events organized by the company.

Nayar would not confirm whether Apple plans to skip NAB entirely, or to have some presence at the trade show even if it doesn’t exhibit. At last month’s NAMM show for music professionals, Apple did not have a booth, though representatives of the company did attend. Musician Herbie Hancock demonstrated Apple’s MainStage during a private briefing for professional musicians at NAMM.

Last year’s NAB show drew more than 111,000 attendees and more than 1,600 exhibitors, according to the event’s Web site.