V I D E O • A G E Ja n u a r y 2 0 1 2 30 (Continued from Cover) NATPE Spirits much more efficient…My expectations are that it’s much better organized than last year,” Vinay stated. Telefe International’s Michelle Wasserman also hoped the market would improve this year, although she was skeptical. “It might be worse this year, but I hope the organization will take care of [the elevator issues],” she said. Liongate’s Peter Iacono stepped up, recommending NATPE “focus on making the market more meaningful and more robust through their panels.” Iacono mitigated his comments by adding that NATPE has done a great job with the panels and speakers they’ve brought to the market in recent years. Similarly, Argentina-based Ledafilms’ Pedro Leda suggested that “For the full duration of themarket the hotel only have NATPE attendees as registered guests [at the Tresor Tower]. This would help speed up the use of the elevators.” While this may be difficult to implement, it would undoubtedly alleviate some of the strain on the elevators, which caused many buyers to delay or even miss scheduled appointments with distributors last year. Leda also hoped that buyers would be “careful when scheduling meetings, taking into consideration the location of each seller company [to] avoid unnecessarily long walks from one end to the other of the hotel.” Despite some attendees’ worries regarding the infamous elevator situation, NATPE president Rick Feldman was optimistic. During a recent press conference he revealed that, “We’re looking to have our strongest year, coming off of a strong year in Miami. Everything is pacing really nicely” in terms of attendance figures, he said. Feldman estimated that more than 250 exhibiting companies would set up shop at the Fontainebleau. But he cautioned, traditionally “NATPE is one of the markets that tend to break relatively late,” since some companies book in January. According to Feldman, “We already have new companies from 15 countries. Probably at least 50 companies that will be in Miami in January…weren’t there last year,” and there will be three meeting rooms to accommodate the large number of participants. Plus, Feldman stated, “All the major studios are coming in a bigger and better way than they’ve come at any time in recent memory.” (See related front cover story.) He also reported that this year represents the “best contingent of domestic broadcasters that we’ve had in years.” To remedy the past elevator problems, this time the U.S. studios are spread out in exhibition suites in all four towers at the Fontainebleau, and many of the other companies are housed in additional areas of the hotel, thereby thinning the lines at each elevator bank. Over 600 buyers fromover 65 countries are scheduled to attend, and distributors are looking forward to presenting their content. For Lionsgate, NATPE is important because, as Iacono noted, “it’s both an international and domestic market.” He went on to say, “We have very robust expectations for NATPE [because it’s] a great opportunity to see all of our clients from Latin America, and also some of our European clients will be coming.” While in Miami, Telefe focuses “basically on Latin America, but we do have some meetings with European clients. Latin America for us in its whole is important,” said Wasserman. In the weeks leading up to the market, Leda at Ledafilms said, “As always, NATPE is the kick off of the new year. We will be very busy as [in December], we had already an almost full schedule with over 50 confirmed meetings.” The company’s core business is Latin American distribution, which makes NATPE and the L.A. Screenings Ledafilms’ major markets. Tomas Darcyl, president of Argentinabased Telefilms, also emphasized that Latin America is at the core of its business: “Our company, as it did during the last 50 years, will focus on each and every one of the Latin American territories.” Power’s Waddell concurred that “NATPE is all about Latin America, and it is these buyers that we will focus our efforts on.” The market is not lacking in special events, and Starz in particular will be very active at NATPE this year. As Gene George, EVP, Worldwide Distribution at Starz, stated, this year is “ultra special because there will be lots of events focusing on Starz and Magic City.” He continued, “We’re highlighting and premiering our new original series Magic City, which will be launching in April.” The series is formally launching at the Miami market with a screening on Sunday, the day before NATPE’s official start, at the Fontainebleau. Following the screening, Magic City stars and director Mitch Glazer will participate in a cocktail reception. Additionally, on Monday morning, Glazer and the series’ stars will take part in a moderated poolside discussion called “Coffee With Magic City.” George was quick to point out that even without Starz-centric events, “NATPE is an important market for us because we focus a lot on the U.S. distribution portion of our business, and NATPE gives us a good opportunity to meet with a lot of those cable platforms.” George also noted that, “On the international side, definitely NATPE is more keyed toward the Latin area, but we also see a lot of the European platforms at the market,” citing as an example a deal Starz made for Spartacus in France last NATPE. There will be plenty of other activities to keep participants busy, despite the fact that organizers were “careful not to program so much at lunchtime so people don’t have conflicts,” Feldman said. Nonetheless, a number of executives will participate in leadership sessions and one-on-one chats, including Starz’s Chris Albrecht, Lionsgate TV Group’s Kevin Beggs, The Cisneros Group of Companies’ Adriana Cisneros, NBC Universal’s Jeff Shell and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, among others. NATPE will kick off with two premarket screenings (by Fox and Starz) and three parties held on Sunday by Starz, Venevision and FremantleMedia. The NATPE-organized opening cocktail party will follow on Monday night, January 23. The ninth Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award ceremony will be held at the Fontainebleau on Tuesday. In a ceremony hosted by Hollywood Access’s Billy Bush, the awards will honor FremantleMedia North America’s CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz; Fernando Gaitán, VP of Production and Content for RCN TV; Dennis Swanson, president of Station Operations for FOX Television Stations; and Matthew Weiner, creator and executive producer of Mad Men. Each award recipient will also participate in separate Legacy Talkback sessions throughout the day on Wednesday. Additionally, the NATPE Digital LuminaryAwardswillcelebrateinnovation in new media and will be followed by a champagne toast on Wednesday afternoon, while that night the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce will host a cocktail celebration to close the event. Each morning, the market will open at 8:00 with yoga and “Coffee With” sessions around the pool at the Fontainebleau Hotel. Sony Pictures Television will be exhibiting aboard boats across the street from the Fontainebleau CABLEready’s Gary Lico exhibiting on the floor at NATPE The Tresor Tower at the Fontainebleau NewsProNet’s Deanna Ray and John Cuddihy picking upVideoAgeDaily at the Tresor Tower
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