The new year brings with it the very first television market of 2009: the Las Vegas-based NATPE. Like last year’s event, which took place smack dab in the middle of the WGA writers’ strike in Hollywood, this year’s NATPE comes in the midst of a Wall Street-induced worldwide economic slowdown. Being the first market on the calendar year could prove advantageous to NATPE since buyers’ budgets were mostly dried up after last October’s MIPCOM. Now, the industry knows the full extent of cuts in their 2009 acquisition budgets, but is also ready to be first in line for new sales. In addition to the recession, the NATPE organization is dealing with the imminent end of its longtime contract with Las Vegas, meaning that following the 2010 event, NATPE will need to find a new venue to call home. VideoAgespoke with a slew of NATPE exhibitors and insiders to determine how they plan to survive the economic crisis, whether it’s better to exhibit on the floor or in the suites, and whether or not NATPE is still relevant. According to Rick Feldman, president and CEO of NATPE, which will be held January 26-29 at Sin City’s Mandalay Bay Resort, the market is definitely still a significant one for the industry. But he recognized that changes needed to be made in order to lure more people to the convention floor, a place that fewer and fewer distributors are choosing. As such, NATPE has made a number of enhancements “on the floor” for its 46th annual edition, though they are more cosmetic than substantial. These include doubling the exhibition floor space and offering new destinations, including The What’s Next Demo Lab, which will feature cutting-edge demos that showcase how technology is shaping the content lifecycle; a digital theater for demos, digital briefings and interactive chats, which will offer seating for up to 100; the Celebrity Chef Kitchen, which will showcase the hottest TV celeb chefs demonstrating their culinary skills; and a restaurant and café, which will be open for power lunches on the NATPE floor. “The consensus was that we needed to make the floor a real destination,” said Feldman. “The key is to have everyone there on the floor and not have people leave.” Additionally, the NATPE floor will offer a business-to-business lounge where executives can hold meetings, and a networking lounge with e-mail kiosks and electrical charging stations. NATPE will also provide freeWiFi Internet connectivity throughout the exhibition floor. Despite these innovations, many companies still prefer the tried-and-true suite option. “This year, we’ve chosen to exhibit in a suite rather than on the floor,” said Patricio Teubal of Italy’s Mediaset, which will be at its very first NATPE since launching a scripted formats distribution unit. “Given that most telenovela distributors are traditionally located at THEhotel and since most of our potential clients are the same, it will be easier to reach us.” Teubal, who said that he and his colleagues have already scheduled more appointments for the upcoming NATPE than he had for last year’s conference, also noted that the sad state of the economy will definitely affect the business done in Vegas. “In this period of recession, TV channels have lower advertising budgets and therefore, lower budgets for production. For this reason, we’re focusing on formats that request low budgets — though we have alternatives for all budgets.” Like many NATPE attendees, Mediaset plans to focus on a number of Latin territories, including Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay, Peru, and Chile, but will also be seeking out U.S. and Canadian partners. Like Mediaset, Miami, Florida-based Televisa Internacional will also take a suite at THEhotel. The company, which will be hawking an eclectic slate of telenovelas, series, entertainment formats and licensed product, including animated series El Chavoand soap Mujeres Asesinas , will also focus primarily on Latins. “For many years NATPE has been and continues to be a very important market for Latin America,” said Claudia Silva, director of Sales, Licensed Product and Pay-TV for Televisa. “And in recent years, clients from Asia and Europe have been attending, which has been very good for our business. More than ever, NATPE is related to content. This is a great opportunity for us because we have the most extensive library of Spanish-language content in the world, allowing us to become a one-stop-shop for clients around the world.” Argentina’s Telefe will also be exhibiting at a suite in THEhotel alongside its telenovela-producing brethren. According to Michelle Wasserman, head of the company’s International Distribution division, NATPE 2009 promises to be very lucrative for Telefe. “We expect a good market with regards to meetings, contacts and business discussions,” said Wasserman. “However, we believe that the market will have its peculiarities, and we can estimate those after having gone through a couple of markets during this budding economic crisis.” Wasserman believes that the industry’s production level will not vary much seeing as howTV stations always need content. “We believe that ready-made content, unlike formats, V I D E O • A G E JA N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 10 N A T P E P r e v i e w Shaky Economy, Floor Plans, Latins, Drive TV Market will be in higher demand.” Jene Elzie, vice president of International Sales and Strategic Planning for Comcast International Media Group, who will once again be holding court in a suite due to its more “intimate” feel, said that she plans on doing much business with the Latins. “A majority of our [NATPE] clients are from Latin America, so we tailor our stuff to the Latin American market.” And, she added, despite the proliferation of many a TV market throughout the year, she thinks that NATPE is as important as ever. “There are in fact many markets popping up,” noted Elzie. “But many of them are more tailored — SPORTEL focuses on sports, DISCOP East focuses on Eastern Europe. NATPE is certainly still relevant, especially with the number of Latins in attendance. It’s a more regionalized opportunity for us.” While some TV firms are embracing what many hope will be the future of NATPE — suite exhibition — others are still clinging to that old standby, the convention floor. “We will exhibit on the floor, as always,” said Ron Alexander, director of International Sales at the Chantilly, Virginia-based Teleproductions International, Ltd. (TPI). “The mix of hotel exhibitors and convention floor exhibitors is a bit odd and not convenient for buyers in general. We’ve always been advocates of a presence on the floor. In addition to our regular buyers, we like the opportunity to meet drop-bys.” Despite the sad state of the economy, Alexander RCTV’s Guadalupe D’Agostino Telefe’s Michelle Wasserman Patricio Teubal of Mediaset Cookie Jar’s Dan Waite (Continued on Page 12)
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