NAB stands for National Association of Broadcasters. The NAB is an American trade association that represents over 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and also broadcast networks before the United States Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Courts. NAB holds two important annual events including the Electronic Media Show and NAB Radio Show, which attract over 110,000 industry professionals.
While the NAB claims to represent, radio, television and broadcasting networks, the group has received considerable criticism for its perceived lack of support for Satellite Radio services. In the United States, NAB lobbied against the FCC's approval of XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, the only two providers of Satellite Radio services in the country. In addition, the proposed merger of XM and Sirius in 2007 has been criticized by NAB.
As NAB advocates on behalf of free public radio services before government, regulators, business, and the community, it recently criticized the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for commenting that free terrestrial radio should be forced to pay royalties to record companies. The NAB's position was simply that the current system is fair for all parties involved, free music for free promotion.
The group also advocates for pro-consumer initiatives in the run up to the transition to digital television in the United States in February 2009, such as the use of warning labels on analog TVs in electronics stores.
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