Event Review: NATPE

From the lobby to the towers, the market floor to the cabanas, the Fontainebleau was positively bustling this week at NATPE.

Though no official attendance figures were released, it was obvious that the market is still riding high on its relocation to sunny Miami, which served as a welcomed beacon for many delegates escaping frigid winter woes.

“It’s been an incredibly energized, vibrant market,” Rod Perth, the president and CEO of NATPE, told the audience at a special conference held for press yesterday. “We had enormous spin coming out of the positive word of mouth from last year,” which had marked the 50th anniversary of NATPE.

Perth did confirm that attendance grew this year. “The most important number that you should know about is double-digit growth in buyers,” he noted. NATPE board chair Jordan Levin added, “All the major studios are back and all the major station groups are back. That has reestablished the foundation of NATPE, and then the building process on that is in terms of the international community, digital community, advertising community, the hardware and tech community, finance and banking. Those will continue to be constituencies that we target and grow.”

Digital was, indeed, a key component of this year’s conference. The opening keynote featured executives from Twitter discussing how buyers, sellers, distributors and advertisers can leverage the power of the social media platform to enhance their businesses. There were also sessions with executives from Aereo, Roku, YouTube and other innovative digital outfits. In his "Global Navigators" keynote, Grupo Televisa’s Emilio Azcárraga Jean discussed with World Screen’s Anna Carugati the importance of taking advantage of new distribution platforms. He also touted the strength of Latin America as a market for international companies to do business with.

There were a slew of deals announced this week that reinforced that sentiment as well, with a number of companies striking agreements with broadcasters in Latin America. ITV Studios Global Entertainment negotiated a raft of programming deals across the region, totaling around 200 hours. Shine International sold more than 290 hours to Discovery Latin America. BBC Worldwide took advantage of the new platforms in the region, placing programs with Xbox Video in Latin America for users to stream and download. FremantleMedia International also saw successful business being done in Latin America, for both finished series and formats.

Latin America has been a bright spot for many in the formats business as of late, and NATPE was no exception. Dancing with the Stars is getting a local adaptation on Teletica, one of the largest free-to-air broadcasters in Costa Rica. Jersey Shore and Ridiculousness are both set for Mexican treatments on MTV Latin America. Telemundo Media announced a partnership with Spain’s Reset TV for a new musical competition format, El Artista (working title). Dori Media Group landed format sales for its game show Smart Face: Lo Sabe, No Lo Sabe, though its business was in European markets such as Germany and Portugal.

NATPE has certainly seen an influx in European attendees in recent years, and the U.S. studios have also exerted their presence at the conference. However, at NATPE 2014 the spotlight was largely on the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic markets. For example, Cisneros forged a strategic partnership with Bungalow Media + Entertainment for the development of Spanish- and English-language content for Latin audiences. Serving the demand for high-quality novelas, Telemundo Studios announced the start of production on its new prime-time telenovela, Reina de Corazones. Globo, one of several LatAm outfits that have been diversifying their catalogues beyond the novela genre, unveiled several new productions for the market, including a slate of films.

Even though the overall sentiment in Miami was overwhelmingly upbeat, there were still a few rumblings heard throughout the Fontainebleau about waiting in lines at the elevators. NATPE has done “everything we can to offset the pain,” said Perth. (This included cookies and lemonade being passed out to those patiently and impatiently waiting on line at the Tresor Tower.) He mentioned the possibility of expanding to the Eden Roc next year as an extra measure being looked into to help the situation further.

Perth also announced that next year NATPE will return to Miami, though the dates are shifting slightly. Due to the hotel’s availability in accommodating the event, the 2015 edition will start on Tuesday, January 20. It will return to its original timing the following year. Perth also pledged that “Realscreen and NATPE will never collide again, as long as I am in this job.” Despite some executives dividing their time between the two events—in Washington, D.C. and Miami—the three days of NATPE proved fruitful for those looking to further their business in Latin America, the U.S. Hispanic market, the digital space and beyond.