Videoage International October 2021

8 World V I D E O A G E October 2021 (Continued from Page 6) The Century Plaza ma- nagement contacted VideoAge to explore how willing the international TV sector would be to go back to exhibiting at the hotel for L.A. Screenings 2022. To gauge the industry’s interest, VideoAge sent out a questionnaire to 33 of the 60 independent companies that usually exhibit at the L.A. Screenings (with a response close to 50 percent). The reaction has been a resounding “no” due to the high room rate. However, some past exhibitors said that it was too early for a decision. A few added their belief that the L.A. Screenings will indeed resume in 2022. It is also VideoAge ’s opinion that, if the broadcast Upfronts take place in New York City (as occurred this year) on May 16-19, 2022, it is to be expected that the U.S. studios will be showing their new series in L.A. from May 20-26, 2022, and the indies will be camping out in L.A. from May 17-21. The buying contingent will obviously shrink and probably be on par with the L.A. Screenings events of the early ’90s. As for the opinion that “it’s too early to say,” it has been pointed out by room aggregators (such as NATPE and Isabella Marquez) that the hotel(s) have to decide early whether to reserve rooms for the L.A. Screenings or for other events. In addition, room aggregators need to know in advance what block of rooms to reserve in order to offer discounts to exhibitors and assign room numbers in advance, without risking heavy losses in case of cancellations, since in 2022 contract cancellations due to pandemic-related issues will no longer be possible. Famous Quotes “The Know-Nothing Running With the Bulls. Traders are boasting about their own Clue- lessness.” The Wall Street Journal , March 27, 2021. “My good friend, the late Norman Horowitz (1932- 2015) used to call me twice a week to tell me the same thing over and over: ‘No one knows anything!’” VideoAge , September 2018 A fter being closed for almost five years for renovations, The Century Plaza Hotel in the Century City area of Los Angeles, finally reopened on September 27, and its owners are looking to get some TV business back. The property moved from the Hyatt, under the management of the Fairmont Hotels, and the room count has been reduced from 700 to 400. Also its basic room rate has increased. It’s gone up from $300 to $750 a night, plus occupancy taxes. Not to mention other costs like parking. In the past, The Century Plaza was the key exhibition hotel for L.A. Screenings’ international distributors. Indeed, the LATAM contingent, originally composed of buyers, moved to the Plaza in 1966 as the hotel opened, just three years after the informal L.A. Screenings (then called the May Screenings) started. The Plaza had lost its prominence with L.A Screenings exhibitors well before its renovations began, with the May event moving to the nearby InterContinental (originally called the Park Hyatt, and now under the IHG umbrella, while the Century Plaza was managed by Westin Hotels). Call For Action: The Century Plaza Has Reopened C M Y CM MY CY CMY K