Event Review: NATPE

NEW YORK: World Screen looks at the deals, sessions and headline-making news to come out of NATPE, which celebrated its 50th birthday.

There was much cause for celebration this week at NATPE. It was the 50th anniversary of the event and the first market with new president and CEO Rod Perth. This, along with the sunny skies and warm Miami weather, all contributed to the overwhelming sense of optimism felt throughout the Fontainebleau over the three-day event.

There were few gripes about the waiting times for the elevators this year—or should I say fewer gripes than the last two markets. And while no official numbers have been released, the event undoubtedly had a larger attendance this time around, including an increase in the amount of buyers that were on hand. The towers, market floor, meeting rooms and sessions were all buzzing with activity, as were the opening night party, held poolside and co-sponsored by Venevision, and the 50th anniversary bash, which took place at the popular LIV nightclub and featured a performance by the band Fitz and the Tantrums.

In his opening remarks on the first day of NATPE, Perth hit the nail on the head when he said that the event has “momentum” going for it since its move to Miami. In the same speech, Perth announced that the organization has created a digital brain-trust, with the advisory board to be led by Ross Levinsohn. This effort is part of NATPE’s commitment to “thriving beyond disruption,” said Perth.

The theme of Beyond Disruption was prevalent throughout the event, notably in Monday’s Game Changers track. This included a keynote from billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who asserted that television still reigns supreme as a content delivery system, despite advancements in digital platforms.

The next day’s Storytellers that Shaped the Face of Pop Culture track included a keynote from Steve Levitan, co-creator of Modern Family, and Peter Casey, producer on such iconic shows as The Jeffersons and Frasier, who both discussed the art of crafting a successful comedy. Levitan was one of this year’s honorees for the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards, alongside BET’s Debra Lee; John Langley, executive producer of Cops; and Tele München Group’s Herbert Kloiber. The morning following the awards, Kloiber took part in a Coffee With… session, led by World Screen’s Anna Carugati, in which he discussed his career legacy and how he is passing the baton to his son, Herbert L. Kloiber, who was also in attendance at the session.

NATPE board chair Jordan Levin was part of a special conference held for press yesterday, during which time he praised the organization for its ability to bring together different constituencies. NATPE, he said, has become a place where new ideas and conversations are sparked. “NATPE in the past was a lot more focused on what deals got done—and a lot more deals got done than anyone expected—but at the same time, we very much embraced the idea of what we want NATPE to be, which is to be a place where people look back and say, ‘This is where that deal started, this is where the idea came from.’”

There were indeed a slew of deals that got done this week. Endemol Worldwide Distribution sold a number of its titles into Latin America, including Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) arrived at NATPE with a number of sales already finalized with broadcasters in the Latin American region. FME later announced that it licensed the documentary Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide to Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic for broadcast on Discovery Home & Health across the region. A+E Networks inked a multi-year output deal with HBO Latin America and A+E Networks Latin America for Lifetime original movies, while a separate agreement saw the format 7 Days of Sex scoring commissions across Europe.

There were actually quite a few format deals confirmed during the event. Disney Media Distribution Latin America announced a pact with Vista Productions for a Colombian adaptation of the Chilean novela El laberinto de Alicia (The Maze of Alice). ITV Studios Global Entertainment sold the prime-time entertainment format Who Dares Sings for the first time in Latin America. Caracol Television, Warner Channel Latin America and Teleamazonas of Ecuador have teamed up on a Spanish-language treatment of Nip/Tuck, while Televisa has commissioned its own version of Gossip Girl for Latin America from Warner Bros. International Television Production, the producers of which were at NATPE to discuss the show’s Acapulco-set adaptation. Warner Bros. is also involved in an agreement with Globo to sell an updated version of the popular Brazilian telenovela Gabriela internationally.

Globo, too, was celebrating an anniversary this market. On Monday, more than 150 guests gathered for a breakfast held by the Brazilian distributor to celebrate its 40 years on the international market.

As has been the case with many NATPEs passed, Latin American and U.S. Hispanic companies were out in full force. Among them, Telemundo announced two separate deals, one for a VOD app with Samsung and the other for the exclusive rights in the U.S. and Mexico for TVN Chile’s entire library of novela scripts. Having taken note of the growing power of the LatAm and U.S. Hispanic markets, several companies announced new ventures that are meant to expand their presence in the region. This included Chellomedia, which established Chello Latin America, integrating Pramer, MGM Latin America and Canal Cosmopolitan Latin America. Banijay Group’s Bunim/Murray Productions has created a new entity called BMP Latin, geared toward Hispanic audiences. Just ahead of NATPE, Shine America introduced its new division dedicated to Spanish-language content for the U.S. and Latin American markets.

Many also reported that there was a noticeably strong presence from European companies, including with both buyers and sellers. The U.S. studios were well-represented, and international attendance overall seemed quite positive.

“This year confirmed that NATPE creates unique value by facilitating the increasingly important connections between content creators and producers, advertisers, distributors and emerging technology companies from all territories around the globe,” Levin told World Screen Weekly.

“It’s all too rare when you set your mind to new objectives and achieve them far more rapidly than you ever thought possible,” Perth shared with us. “We said we were going to reinvigorate the market, make it more relevant and bridge the gap between the worlds of linear and digital content. I’m delighted that we’re on our way in such an energized fashion—it couldn’t have been a better way for me to break in.”