Event Preview: NATPE Budapest


NEW YORK: The Sofitel Chain Bridge Hotel will once again play host to a bevy of programming buyers and sellers for the annual NATPE Budapest.

Taking place June 24 to 27, the event marks the second under NATPE president and CEO Rod Perth, who says he gained a lot of insight from that initial outing.

“NATPE Budapest was my first event after taking up the role as president and CEO of NATPE in 2012,” says Perth. “It was an extremely useful experience and I spent most of my time there talking to our clients—both buyers and sellers—to find out how they saw the event and how it might evolve in the coming years. The CEE region is an exciting and dynamic market and we have invested in further research to understand the business realities of the region.”

Attendees spoke and Perth and the NATPE organization listened, adjusting the event’s schedule a bit this time around. To better accommodate screenings and meetings, Monday and Tuesday will feature the invitation-only studio screenings, with registration opening late afternoon on Monday and the market floor opening at noon on Tuesday. Full market days will be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

“We listened to what our customers told us,” says Perth. “They wanted to have enough time to screen studio content, have distinct market hours and a series of networking opportunities. It was also important for some to have a business discussion element, which is why we have introduced a breakfast briefing with experts from the region who will discuss how best to generate more business across the CEE.”

Perth says that NATPE Budapest has worked with the Hollywood studios to coordinate timing of their screenings to better fit with the market this year. The efforts were to “ensure that buyers are available to meet with all our exhibitors.

“The majors will be screening their hot new shows which have just launched at the L.A. Screenings,” continues Perth. “Buyers in the CEE region are able to get a first look at the newest U.S. content and this makes NATPE Budapest a must-attend event for many acquisitions executives across the region. This ensures that our exhibitors are able to benefit from the high quality of buyers in Budapest.”

In total, more than 150 distributors representing 25 countries will be at the event. There are also expected to be more than 200 buyers from 35 countries. To encourage newcomers to the market, for the first time NATPE Budapest has made available a Tuesday-only day pass for a minimal fee.

NATPE Budapest has lined up a new breakfast briefing session that will take place at the Café Gerbeaud. Entitled “Extending the Value of Content—Beyond Borders and Across Platforms,” the session will look at the opportunities and challenges of re-versioning programming across all genres in the CEE region. The event also has two networking opportunities to offer attendees: the Tuesday opening cocktail reception and a late night party on Wednesday at the Buddha-Bar that continues the celebration of NATPE’s 50th anniversary year.

“We hope that attendees will leave Budapest with the knowledge that we listened to their feedback and have worked hard to develop our CEE event for 2013 in response,” says Perth. “I believe that we have honed and developed NATPE Budapest into a dynamic, cost-effective event which is absolutely relevant for all those operating across the CEE region and an essential date in their calendars.”

Perth adds that the CEE market overall continues to be important for the industry to focus on. “With the rapid growth of digital channels, global content rights owners have even more opportunities to sell their shows into the region. At the same time, local producers are keen to develop and offer their productions both across borders within the CEE and to the rest of the world.”