AP R I L 2 0 1 0 N A T P E ( C o n t i n u e d ) he could muster in terms of enthusiasm for Miami was, “I think [it will be better], yeah.” Park’s biggest complaints about 2010’s event were echoes of our other respondents. “It’s been a little bit noisy on the floor,” he commented. “But, moving to an all-suite format would also have its defects. Buyers have difficulty in the suites. If you don’t have an appointment, it’s difficult getting in there.” Also bothered by the Digital Theater located within shouting distance of the market stalls was Bill Xiaoming Du of China’s Star-D Productions. This was his second year at NATPE, and felt that his coming was “probably a bad thing.” He said, “Compared to last year, it’s been very quiet [business-wise]. The Digital Theater has been kind of a problem. That’s a bit loud. And — I can’t find a cafeteria!” That said, Du added that Star-D will definitely be attending the 2011 affair in Miami. For smaller companies like Animation Dance Association, who made their NATPE debut this year, “Markets are very useful because you can just stay in one place and people come to you,” explained CEO Alexander Vasilkin. “It saves a lot of time.” But comments like Vasilkin’s only apply in a stand scenario, because as outlined by the other companies’ we spoke to, buyers are less likely to casually walk into suites without preset appointments. the market this year. With the general sentiment that suites don’t work well unless one has appointments set in advance, saying that business was good because all of the company’s previously scheduled appointments showed up is not a particularly convincing argument. Comcast’s Gary Forsyth and Fireworks’ Greg Phillips echoed RCN’s satisfaction, noting, “This market has been good” and “We’re completely satisfied,” respectively. Phillips added, “We’ve done enough sales and had enough strategic meetings to have made this market extremely worthwhile. It’s been NATPE business as usual.” But what exactly is NATPE business as usual? Because as Guinness World Record’s Molloy had said earlier, “NATPE has definitely gotten smaller. If it stayed [in Vegas] next year, we’d think twice about coming.” Steven Park, senior sales manager in Korea’s KBS Media International Business Department was similarly hesitant with his feelings. While he said that business had been good for KBS this year, and that it has been on par with their past six attendances, all Lionsgate’s Peter Iacono and Kevin Beggs Image Entertainment’s Steve Saltman, GMX’s Don Golden, Barbara Gomperz-McCarney (Continued from Page 20) Fremantle Corp.’s Randy Zalken, Irv Holender V I D E O • A G E 22 The Banff World Television Festival is taking TV to new heights by teaming up with Canada’s premier digital media conference, nextMEDIA. BANFF is the next step in the evolution of media – and the only conference that is set up to grow your business by combining the expertise of traditional television and the in-demand innovation of digital media. THE HEIGHT OF MEDIA JUNE 13-16, 2010
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