NATPE Europe Adds More Sessions

LOS ANGELES: An expanded sessions lineup has been added to next month’s NATPE Europe in Prague, as well as a keynote by showrunner Adrian Hodges.

An award-winning writer and creator, Hodges most recently created the BBC series The Musketeers. He will share his experiences and perspective of the global television landscape during NATPE Europe’s first ever keynote breakfast session on June 23.

The market schedule has also been expanded to include a June 22 conference titled Global TV Formats: What’s Hot and What’s Not?, produced in association with FRAPA and led by format veteran Keri Lewis Brown from international media consultancy K7 Media. That session will be followed by Formats Futures: Buying or Selling? Creating or Adapting?, which is slated to feature major industry players such as Jennifer Ebell, VP of SE EMEA at ITV Studios Global Entertainment; Nathan Gibbs, the group head of format acquisitions at Zodiak Media; and Luci Burnley, the senior VP of formats at Small World IFT; among others.

That day’s final session, International Co-Productions: Partnerships That Are Taking Center Stage, will focus on drama and feature a roster of speakers, including Ben Donald, executive producer of international drama at BBC Worldwide, and Anne Mensah, the head of drama at Sky, to name a few.

The new sessions come as NATPE Europe announces an increase in exhibitors, with more than 120 confirmed from 25 countries, including 20-plus first-time exhibiting companies and key buyers attending from more than 30 countries.

NATPE||Content First CEO and President Rod Perth commented: “Our market in 2015 continues to retain its strong focus on the important territories which make up the CEE. We are very pleased to be the catalyst which draws key regional buyers and global sellers together to make crucial connections and close deals in an intimate setting in Prague. The timing of our event offers what is often the first opportunity for many representatives of TV stations, cable and satellite companies and SVOD providers to view the latest programs coming from Hollywood and the rest of the world; as well as internationally showcasing locally created programming and formats. This year we are delighted to expand our conference program to welcome a high level group of executives who will debate the future of the formats and co-production businesses as well as hearing from Adrian Hodges, who is one of television’s leading creators.”