NATPE Budapest

Following a two-year stint in Prague, NATPE is returning to Budapest for its 2016 market and conference, which is taking place from June 27 to 30, this time at the InterContinental Hotel.

JP Bommel, the managing director and COO of NATPE, believes the change of city and venue will bring a “new energy” to the market. “Budapest is the media capital of Central and Eastern Europe,” he says. “There’s so much creativitycoming out of that part of the world. Budapest being so accessible makes it a global destination, and that’s one of the reasons we went back: it has easy access. We listened to our clients and they said that Budapest was a good destination for them, and that’s why we were able to get all these buyers signed up.”

There are 418 buyers currently expected at the event, hailing from 217 companies and 49 territories. Bommel says that the NATPE organization has made a concerted effort to increase buyer attendance, and working with the U.S. studios was instrumental to this. “We need to accomplish two things when we want to make sure that the buyers’ investment to come to a show like this is taken care of. We want to make sure that there is a lot of new content for them to see, and we were able to convince the U.S. studios to come and do screenings.” Among those hosting screenings are CBS, Lionsgate, NBC and Warner Bros.

“We also wanted to make sure that buyers had an opportunity to see some fresh local content,” Bommel continues. “The region is very prolific in terms of new formats and scripted productions. We are fortunate to have a lot of local producers coming to present as well. We have a good ratio of buyers and sellers, both from the global and local scenes.”

Bommel says that creating a “calm, productive environment” for buyers to conduct business in is top of mind. “We have made sure that during the market hours, for example, the business is not distracted by any conferences or networking events. We built the show around their business so that [buyers] have three full, very productive days.”

The conferences will take place during breakfast and lunch hours. Day one features the CEE Content Showcase: Games, Talent and the Hottest Shows in Central and Eastern Europe. That session is followed by The Practicalities of Making a European Co-Production Workshop.

Peter Kolosi, deputy CEO and director of programming at RTL Hungary, kicks things off on Tuesday with a special morning presentation. The lunchtime session will be a case study of HBO Europe’s Aranyélet (Golden Life). The panel will feature Antony Root, the executive VP of original programming and production at HBO Europe; Gabor Krigler, creative executive at HBO Hungary; Judit Stalter, series producer from Laokoon Film; and Anna Zavorszky, production executive at HBO Hungary.

Wednesday’s conference track features the panel breakfast session Global Formats: What’s Working, What’s Failing, What’s Next? This will be followed by the all-new Pitch & Play LIVE event at lunchtime. This inaugural session will see three regional producers—selected from a field of ten finalists—present their formats one by one to an expert panel, who will then give their opinions in a curated discussion.

There are networking opportunities set for the evenings, with a welcome party on Tuesday and the official NATPE Budapest party on Wednesday.

Overall, says Bommel, “the emphasis of the show is on business. We are completely sold out. There are more than 100 exhibitors, including 20 new exhibitors.” Notable is the return of Paramount, which is back after a five-year hiatus.

“We want to give attendees the opportunity to discover new content and have a good time among their peers,” says Bommel. “We see a lot of big international markets where people rush around, but we want to make sure there is quality networking and relationship-building at NATPE Budapest. We want to celebrate television and celebrate local content.”