In advance of NATPE 2013, new NATPE president-CEO Rod Perth held a press conference to alert attendees (and possible attendees) of what’s in store for this year’s event, which will be held January 28-30, 2013 at Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Resort.
Perth announced that each of the major studios has signed on to attend this year’s event, in addition to many independent distributors, producers, networks and program representation firms, including Content Media, Fremantle, Lionsgate, Televisa and many more.
Perth said that in terms of registration for this year’s event, the numbers are “well ahead of any other benchmarks in the past.” Room reservations are pacing “well ahead of last year,” he said.
The 2013 theme will be “Beyond Disruption,” a phrase that “describes how content, advertising and technology are now interdependent ecosystems that are encouraging reinvention of tomorrow’s business models,” according to a press release from NATPE.
“I thought we needed a theme that became a kind of metaphor for the conditions all of us are dealing with these days. We want it to be a theme that touches everyone who walks in the door,” Perth said. “The word ‘disruption’ for many is a negative word, but I believe it’s a metaphor for opportunity,” he said.
Perth announced that NATPE’s 10th Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award honorees will include Steve Levitan, creator of Modern Family, John Langley, creator/executive producer of Cops and Debra Lee, CEO of BET. They are still waiting to announce the fourth nominee, however it is clear that there’s a dominant U.S. domestic component, which will not resonate well in an international TV event.
He also mentioned that one of his primary objectives as head of NATPE has been to “build stronger relationships with parallel organizations. Ultimately, the customers we share will benefit from this relationship. I’m hopeful these conversations will lead us to ways we can amp up the market and conference experience in an increasingly relevant way. These are exploratory conversations,” he said.
Perth also mentioned that he’s going to be attending MIPCOM in a couple of weeks to “meet with old friends.” He added that he recently took a trip to Canada and “we will have the most significant buyers from Canada. I got that commitment from the people I met with,” he said.
And Perth also promised “more fun” this year. While he couldn’t divulge details, he said plans are underway for celebrations of NATPE’s 50th. He also stayed mum on keynote speakers for this year’s event.
Perth did acknowledge the conflict between NATPE and Realscreen Summit (taking place in Washington, DC from January 27-30).
“We’re well aware that there’s a scheduling issue. We believe that most people will attend both. D.C. and Miami are not far away. You can probably imagine that I’ve reached out to build a relationship with Realscreen, and it’s a positive [one]. And we both understand that we need to coordinate things like dates in future years,” he said.
