Video Age International June/July 2016

NATPE in Europe 8 then continued: “U.S. studio screenings will precede NATPE Budapest, with CBS, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. among the confirmed participants. And Paramount is back for the first time in five years. The U.S. studios bring fresh content from the L.A. Screenings, and most of it has never been seen before. The region is facing some economic challenges, and in some cases some of these companies don’t have the means to travel, so we want to bring the shows to them. But it’s equally important for buyers to see the breadth and depth of local content.” “[For this reason], there’s going to be a focus on local production from the CEE area. It’s a prolific and creative region of the world, and we wanted to make sure they had a voice.” They’ve created a format pitch contest for local producerswithinCEE called Pitch & Play Live, and three companies will compete for a prize in front of a panel of judges. “The winners will be awarded a development meeting, among other prizes,” he said. Bommel quickly reassured, “We’re trying to make sure that all the sessions and events happen during lunch and breakfast, and that all the screenings happen before the market. We don’t want buyers and sellers to be disturbed.” About the returning venue he said, “Budapest is a vibrant location for the media business, and one could say it’s the media center of CEE. It’s also a lot easier to get to than Prague, and we responded to our clients from all over the world who requested that we move NATPE there. The InterContinental in particular is great because everything’s on one floor, and it’s bright. We will not be stuck downstairs in a basement.” And this year, among the 123 exhibitors, 20 are new, including Sonar Entertainment (U.S.), Comarex (Mexico) and Newen Distribution (France).Newthisyear forexhibitorsare“viewing boxes,” which were added to suites, stands and meeting tables. According to Bommel, as of the begining of June, “the stands and meeting tables are sold out and very limited inventory left for suites and viewing boxes.” Indeed, among the new additions — with a suite — is Canada’s Breakthrough, headed by Jodi Mackie, director of International Sales and Acquisitions, who said that, as of press time, her meetings with buyers were “90 percent full.” As to the return to Budapest, Mackie expects the location to “revitalize NATPE East,” she said, using a former term for the market. And as a suggestion to NATPE organizers she hopes “exhibitors are allowed more display space at their exhibition spaces to feature their latest Turkey), then in 2011 it was renamed NATPE Budapest; four years later NATPE Europe, and, this year it returns as NATPE Budapest. Discop began as a trade show for emerging or developing CEE TV markets, using the Sofitel Hotel in the Pest section of Budapest as its venue. All worked well until the CEE TV markets officially moved from “developing” to become first “developed” and, later, “mature,” thus CEE TV networks (local entities and imports from the U.S. and/or Germany) started neglecting the trade show’s core indie exhibitors and instead began courting the U.S. studios. On top of that, the Sofitel Hotel started to become too expensive (the introduction of the euro in Hungary aggravated the situation) and too antiquated for the market’s needs. Sensing the upcoming turmoil, in 2011 Zuchowicki sold the trade show to NATPE, which was looking to add a sister venue to its successful NATPE Miami. It wasn’t too long before NATPE began devising ways to revitalize it by considering first a move to Warsaw, but settling for Prague. NATPE would not consider a move to an emerging TV territory, such as Sofia or Bucharest to keep up with the original nature of the market. Indeed, if Discop’s founder, Zuchowicki, is recognized for operating trade shows for emerging TV markets, NATPE seems more at ease with developed or mature markets. Unfortunately, the Hilton Prague Hotel, the venue for two consecutive events, wasn’t particularly accommodating and too far removed from the city center to be appreciated by participants (in addition, the hotel management went out of its way to create discord with both NATPE and market participants), and thus this year the trade show returns to Budapest, but at the more promising InterContinental Hotel, which is adjacent to the Sofitel. So, this in a nutshell is the baggage that NATPE’s new president, JP Bommel (a former ReedMidem executive who is tackling his first NATPE in Europe, and is pictured on the front cover and below) now has to deal with. But even though his task is difficult, the future seems promising and he’s addressing all the challenges with innovation and with services aimed at making the market more fruitful for exhibitors. VideoAge met with Bommel both in Los Angeles, where NATPE’s headquarters are located, and in NewYork City, where he maintains an apartment. The event, which takes place June 27-30, “has attracted 414 buyers from across Central and Eastern Europe as well as Western Europe,” Bommel pointed out right away, he programs that might attract brand new buyers.” To Budapest, Mackie will be bringing, “ Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables , based on the classic, with Martin Sheen cast as Matthew Cuthbert. The title was licensed by HBO CEE and two additional new movies have just been greenlit by YTV, in Canada. Breakthrough’s newest lifestyle series Uprooted features Sarah Sharratt, a Cordon Bleu trained chef who was whisked away to rural France by her husband to their 12th Century castle; it’s the real life Cinderella story,” she said. A returning exhibitor with a suite who is also enthusiastic about Budapest is Melissa Pillow, vice president of Sales for Europe at Telemundo Internacional. “For my business it makes more sense to be in Hungary, because that is where our genre is in higher demand,” she said. As for the number of expected buyers, Pillow tends to agree with NATPE official figures of more than 400, because of “the return of the market to Budapest, [which] is attractive to many.” To Pillow, “The product from our catalog that works best in CEE is the classic traditional telenovela. We’ll promote two titles of this genre at this edition of NATPE in Europe: Rich in Love ( Silvana Sin Lana ) and Eva’s Destiny ( Eva la Trailera ). Among other returning exhibitors are Televisa from Mexico, Kanal D from Turkey, Benijay Group/Zodiak Rights from the U.K., Caracol from Colombia, Starz from the U.S. and from Italy, RAI and Manuela Caputi of Mediaset, who will highlight seven titles, including new series A Sicilian Story . And Bommel hopes for some serious business, with a healthy dose of fun this year: “Parties are important too, and are really great for building relationships. Every night we’ll have a happy hour, and there will be lots of different parties: the Welcoming Party on Tuesday night, NATPE Budapest Party on Wednesday night. We want to make sure people have a good time, have fun and build relationships.” ( Lucy Cohen Blatter contributed to this story ) June/July 2016 V I D E O A G E (Continued from Cover) Breakthrough’s Jodi Mackie (r.) and Kino Swiat’s Martha Nowakowska of Poland at last year’s NATPE In Prague. JP Bommel (c.) with Matt Palmer, NATPE’s Chief Marketing Officer (l.) and VideoAge ’s editor Dom Serafini “The region is facing some economic challenges, and in some cases some of these companies don’t have the means to travel, so we want to bring the shows to them. But it’s equally important for buyers to see the breadth and depth of local content.”