Event Preview: NATPE

The 2015 NATPE market and conference is promising to break down all barriers separating traditional and digital media. Taking place January 20 to 22, 2015, at the Fontainebleau in Miami, the event is being hosted under the theme “Content Without Borders.”

Rod Perth, the president and CEO of NATPE, says that this theme serves as a metaphorical reminder that “NATPE is all about content.” He adds, “As an industry, we can’t succeed by protecting creative or geographical borders that are safe. We believe that opportunities these days lie beyond comfort zones. That requires a fresh mindset. We’re committed to bringing together everyone whose business is about content in a growing and vibrant marketplace that’s all about deals, leadership, new ideas and making connections.”

Industry icon Norman Lear, whose prolific TV writing and producing career includes the iconic series All in the Family and hits such as Sanford and Son and The Jeffersons, is lined up as the opening keynote of NATPE.

New to the event is a dedicated NATPE||Reality Day, taking place Tuesday, January 20. This includes sessions featuring heavy-hitters from the international format community, a state-of-the-industry overview and a look at the current process for development deals, as well as a panel focused on reality shows in syndication. Also, NATPE will launch the inaugural NATPE Reality Breakthrough Awards during a networking mixer and luncheon recognizing innovative reality content in five categories: reality, competition, game show, docusoap and factual. Another conference component highlight is a case study on ABC’s Shark Tank. In addition to the conference lineup, a PRO Pitch event will offer selected participants the opportunity to pitch their ideas to top reality and format development execs. “The opportunity for creators is that these are almost impossible-to-reach decision-makers that they get to present their ideas to,” says Perth.

On Thursday, January 22, World Screen’s Anna Carugati is moderating Global Navigators: The Continued Vibrancy of the World’s Leading Channel Groups. The session will feature Hernan Lopez, the president and CEO of FOX International Channels; Robert Bakish, the president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks; and Andy Kaplan, the president of worldwide networks at Sony Pictures Television. Carugati will also moderate a Global Navigators session on Thursday with José Antonio Bastón, the president of television and content at Grupo Televisa.

There are a number of stars, showrunners, multimedia luminaries and execs taking part in the Storytellers and the Shaping of Pop Culture conference track. Dan Harmon, the creator and executive producer of the comedy series Community, will have a dedicated session, as will documentarian and writer Morgan Spurlock. The multi-hyphenate media mogul Russell Simmons will take part as well. Among the other highlighted speakers from this track are Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer of Netflix; Mitchell Hurwitz, best known for creating and executive producing the show Arrested Development; and Vince Gilligan, the creator and producer of Breaking Bad.

Sarandos is also being honored by NATPE with a Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, to be presented during a special reception taking place on Wednesday, January 21. Also being honored are Linda Bell Blue, who was the executive producer of Entertainment Tonight for 19 years; Gustavo Cisneros, the chairman of Cisneros, and Adriana Cisneros, the CEO and vice chairman of Cisneros; Jay Leno, who hosted The Tonight Show for more than two decades; and Jonathan Murray, the chairman of Bunim/Murray Productions, whose credits include The Real World and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

NATPE is continuing its focus on digital at the upcoming event as well, offering up opportunities for buyers and sellers to meet and transact business with multichannel networks and other digital content platforms in an integrated market setting.

Increasing buyer attendance is another area that NATPE has been focused on. The 2014 event saw buyer participation at record levels and 2015 is expected to follow suit. “We’re incentivizing buyers,” says Perth. “We’re pacing well ahead of last year in terms of buyers. We’re very optimistic.”

Perth emphasizes that NATPE is not a niche market, but rather a broad, inclusive one that touches on every area of the content business. “It’s all about coming to a place where there are endless possibilities,” he says. “NATPE||Miami is all about taking advantage of opportunities that are there for the taking, and we’re delighted that it just keeps getting better and better!”