DISCOP East Kicks Off in Budapest

BUDAPEST: The 18th edition of DISCOP East got under way today in Budapest, with some 700 buyers registered to attend and nearly 500 sellers, according to the event’s organizers, Basic Lead.

“Most of our clients who are here today are survivors,” Patrick Jucaud, Basic Lead’s general manager, told World Screen at the start of the event today, referring to the attending companies’ ability to withstand the hardships that battered the market over the last year. “I feel that there is much more energy here now than there was last year.”

Jucaud says that attendees seem to be in “business mode,” with meetings getting “right down to the point.” He adds, “When a company comes to the market, it means they want to do business, not just walk around. That gives a very strong energy to the market. We sense it and we feel it. Especially in the months running up to the market, both buyers and sellers were looking forward to doing business.”

A number of deals have already been signed across Central and Eastern Europe, even ahead of the event’s official first day. Globo scored a pickup for its International Emmy Award-winning telenovela India: A Love Story with TV3 in Latvia. FremantleMedia Enterprises sold programming from across a number of categories to broadcasters such as ProTV of Romania, Viasat TV3 in Hungary, STB in Ukraine, Polsat of Poland and MTV Russia, among others. ITV Studios Global Entertainment sold a package that included Shaftesbury Films’ Murdoch Mysteries to Hungary’s 4 Story TV. Global Agency landed its first deals for the hit Greek telenovela Secrets of Eden, with Antena 1 in Romania and TV7 in Bulgaria. MTV Networks International notched up more than 600 hours in sales to Rustavi2 in Georgia.

The meetings continue at the Sofitel Chain Bridge hotel tomorrow, Thursday, June 24.

Next up on the roster from Basic Lead will be the fourth edition of DISCOP Africa, in Nairobi, Kenya, from September 1 to 3. A fifth DISCOP Africa will take place February 9 to 11, 2011, in Dakar, Senegal. For the first time ever, Basic Leed is hosting DISCOP Istanbul, taking place March 14 to 16, 2011, servicing the greater Middle East. Jucaud notes that the three world regions covered by the events—Africa, the Middle East and Central and Eastern Europe—each provide a wealth of opportunities. “As more developed countries are generating less revenues for our clients, many are looking to new emerging marketplaces. Africa and the greater Middle East are two regions that are offering a lot of opportunities that have not yet been tapped into.”