NATPE Global Opens in Miami

The first edition of NATPE Global under new owner Brunico officially gets underway in Miami today with more than 1,500 registered delegates, including over 700 buyers, at the InterContinental, with the festival organizers stressing the market’s multi-region focus ahead of Content Americas taking place in this same city next week.

At a press conference yesterday, Russell Goldstein, Brunico’s president and CEO; Claire Macdonald, executive director; and Jen Fitzgerald, senior conference producer, stressed how NATPE Global is reinventing itself under new ownership. Brunico acquired the NATPE assets following the organization’s bankruptcy and successfully held its first NATPE Budapest last summer.

“We’re feeling really good about being a one-stop destination for content,” said Macdonald, with buyers on hand from North America, Latin America and Europe and some 70 countries overall represented at the event.

Like other Brunico events, structured networking is a key component of NATPE Global, Macdonald said. The next three days will also feature the NATPE Global Pitch Showcase and a conference schedule that includes, among others, Paramount’s Pam Kaufman and Lisa Kramer, FOX Entertainment Global’s Fernando Szew and Global Agency’s Izzet Pinto, as well as a range of sessions tackling the evolving distribution business and the FAST opportunity.

The elephant in the room, of course, is if Miami needs two international content markets in the same month. Asked how NATPE Global is differentiating itself, Macdonald said, “The scope of it, the buyers, are very different. They cater to different audiences.”

Goldstein added, “We’re not a single region event. It’s multi-regional. You can look at the depth of buyers from the U.S. and Europe and across all platforms. Our belief is that people who are selling programs want more return on their investment and to see more buyers from more regions in one location. And that’s how we believe going forward that NATPE has an advantage.”

The event is spread across three floors of exhibitor suites and a market floor with tables and booths. Two elevators have been reserved solely for access between the suites and market floor, Macdonald said.

As for setting NATPE Global’s 2025 dates and venue, Goldstein said the organization is waiting to get feedback from this year’s event.