Video Age International October 2015

14 October 2015 V I D E O A G E Margherita Zocaro of Italy’s RaiCom C hanges are brewing at NATPE Europe. The market for Central and Eastern European (CEE) territories is considering a return to Budapest because the U.S. studios don’t particularly like the remoteness of the Hilton Hotel location in Prague. As NATPE CEO Rod Perth explained, “We’re committed to finding whatever works best.” There were grumblings about the studios and their screenings, which took place Monday, June 22 and Tuesday, June 23, the latter of which was the market’s official opening day. On the one hand, major studios are important to NATPE because they attract more buyers. On the other, smaller exhibitors complain that studio screenings take buyers away from the market floor, with many of them leaving town after the screenings. Solutions proposed by the participants are plenty, from the NATPE Europe organizers’ buyer incentives that start on Tuesday (which NATPE already does), to scheduling the studios screenings at the end of the market, or, as one British seller suggested, having studio screenings at the beginning and end, with the floor market dates in between. However, for the organizers, NATPE Europe presents a different set of challenges. As explained by NATPE’s Perth, “The economic condition in the region is a problem, as well as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.” Monday, June 22 at NATPE Europe was a hybrid day — part business (Warner Bros. screenings), part seminars (three in total) and part meetings (with some participants jumping on the opportunity to connect with buyers at the bars in the Hilton Prague lobby). But the biggest event of this “unofficial day” was the screenings/cocktail party presented by Telemundo Internacional. The company was in town in full force with top-level sales executives having traveled fromMiami and Madrid for their first CEE screening, amid a renewed push to win the region over. Officially, the market started on Tuesday, but not before CBS Studios International kicked off its traditional NATPE Europe Screenings, followed by NBCUniversal. Over 60 buyers attended the 8 a.m. CBSSI screenings conducted by London- based Michelle Payne at Atlas Cinema, a movie theater around the corner fromtheHilton Prague.  At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the market floor opened to 140 exhibitors, scattered among suites, tables, stands and viewing boxes. However, because of some misunderstandings with the Monday studio screenings date, some exhibitors had left early, thinking that Wednesday was the last day. The Latin Americans were back in full force with 10 companies (compared to four last year)— possibly to reclaim their CEE territories from the Turks who, with their telenovelas, are becoming formidable competitors. Naturally, Turkish distributors were also present in a big way with all their major companies present— including ITV Inter Medya, Global Agency, Kanal D and TRT. But of the 250 registered buyers, only 200 actually showed up. As mentioned, the studio screenings represent a magnet for buyers, and in order to keep them in town after the screenings, NATPE Europe organizers contribute to their hotel room costs and offer other services that start after the studio screenings. In terms of appointments, buyers were clearly partial to U.S. studios first, followed by mini- majors, suchas Starz, andvisited smaller indies last. Prague II Better Than Prague I; But CEE’s Economy, Regional Conflict Are A Drag NATPE Europe Report (Continued on Page 16) At the opening night party at the Hilton Prague’s Cloud Nine Sky Bar & Lounge: (l. to. r.) Manuela Caputi of Italy’s Mediaset Distribution, Telemundo Internacional’s Marcos Santana, Mega’s Juan Ignacio Vicente of Chile, Paloma Garcia from the Barcelona, Spain, office of Caracol Breakthrough’s Jodi Mackie (r.), Kino Swiat’s Marta Nowakowska of Poland From l. to r.: Televisa Internacional’s Manola Martin del Campo, Beatriz Rodriguez, Claudia Sahab, Olivia Dernandez-Castaño