12 March/April 2017 V I D E O A G E At NATPE 2017, the 38th edition of the annual market (and the sixth in Miami Beach), the organizers’ two-year fight to eliminate or simply reduce the number of people attending the market without buying a registration badge intensified. ThesofasandcoffeetablesattheFontainebleau’s main rotunda (the market’s headquarters) were nowhere to be found during the day (they returned at night, however) and guards were manning the bar area to prevent people without badges to conduct business. Tables and chairs were also eliminated from the bar at the pool area (another spot where people without badges would sit for hours to meet prospective buyers). However, the “badgeless” meetings moved to the hotel’s indoor and outdoor restaurants instead. The first two days of the market were characteristically busy, with the market floor, and the four suite towers buzzing. And, even though it is, in effect, a two-day market in a three-day event, the last day, Thursday, January 19, saw distributors in the suites still busy with meetings, while on the floor, before closing time at 4 p.m., Champagnewas served, courtesy of NATPE. During a closing press conference, NATPE’s new president and CEO, JP Bommel (it was the first Miami market for him since taking over the non-profit organization), emphasized the conference portion of the event, which was held at the adjacent Eden Roc Hotel, and which had a strong music business focus, considering that Bommel came from years at Reed Midem, specifically running Midem’s music trade show. Previously, the native of France held posts at Sony Music, BMG Entertainment and Capitol/EMI. But he also emphasized the U.S. station groups’ summit, which showcased original content from station groups. Although NATPE has lost most of its U.S. domestic TV focus, some local stations (now represented by station groups) are still participating. Also, NATPE’s main celebration, the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, remained a domestic event. And, NBCUniversal’s two content sales divisions, for example, hosted a joint party for both NATPE’s domestic and international buyers. Other exceptional parties were hosted by Telemundo Internacional and Viacom. Telemundo Internacional (TI) did it again with lavish screenings, a red carpet and afterparty for over 500guests. It all startedat theEdenRocHotel with a Hollywood-style presentation hosted by TI’s boss Marcos Santana, and continued till the wee hours of the morning at the Fontainebleau’s LIV nightclub, with all TI’s stars also present. Viacom bussed over 400 guests to its studios, just over the Miami Beach causeway, for a lavish party held in a tent (the studio’s soundstages were all occupied by ongoing productions). Hosted by Viacom’s international boss, Pierluigi Gazzolo, the party featured a live performance from Argentinean music sensation Diego Torres, in honor of Viacom’s recent acquisition of Argentina’s terrestrial TV network, Telefe. On the other hand, Disney Media Distribution LatinAmerica held a couple of press conferences to let people knowmore about its original production line-up. Two drama series took center stage: Selena’s Secret (El secreto de Selena), a 13-episode series based on a 1997 book written by Puerto Rican journalist and three-time Emmy winner Maria Celeste Arrarás, about the murdered singer, who was known simply as Selena. Disney DMD-LA also announced the cast of its second drama co-production series, El César, about Mexicanboxing champion JulioCésar Chávez. The winner of six world titles in three weight divisions, Chavez is partnering with Disney MDLA, Mexico’s TV Azteca and Mexican producer BTF Media to produceEl César, a 26-episode drama series about his life and boxing career. AmongthevariouscommentsVideoAgecollected, David Ellender of Sonar Entertainment said that despite the fact that NATPE continues to be “a Latin American market, I’m [pleasantly] surprised at the European buyers that are returning,” pointing specifically to Scandinavia, France and Germany as well as OTT streaming platforms from all over the world. Ellender said he was glad to have made time to attend two sessions on Tuesday, January 17 the opening day of the three-day market — one which featured a representative from Hulu, the other from Amazon — both, he said “were well attended and informative.” Some rumblings on the otherwise impeccable event were heard about the NATPE Welcoming Party, hosted by the City of Miami Beach, which required guests to pay for drinks. In a feature about NATPE, The Miami Herald, Florida’s largest daily, reported that the NATPE convention brought to the Miami area $5.2 million worth of business, up from last year’s $4.7 million. Even though NATPE doesn’t release attendance figures, The Miami Herald estimated over 5,000 participants. During the end-of-market press conference Bommel could not estimate how many “badgeless” executives were in attendance, so it’s hard to know whether NATPE’s crackdown worked. Next year, NATPE Miami (the name it uses to distinguish itself from NATPE Budapest, which is held in June) will once again start the day after the Martin Luther King holiday, Tuesday, January 16. (Lucy Cohen Blatter contributed to the story) Fighting “Badgeless” People, Bringing Music to the Table NATPE Miami Review Viacom International’s president Pierluigi Gazzolo hosting a party at Viacom International Studios in Miami Evander Holyfield, five-time U.S. heavyweight boxing champion with (l. to r.): producer Ron Sperling, Multicom’s Irv Holender, promoter Sal Musumeci Complimentary Champagne was served on the market floor, which housed 81 stands (there were also 60 meeting tables in a separate hall) Telemundo Internacional’s Marcos Santana welcoming over 500 guests at the Eden Roc Hotel The Fontainebleau’s main rotunda without sofas and tables, to discourage meetings without registration
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