Modernity can be tricky. The app with the NATPE Global exhibitors’ list went online just before the market’s opening day, January 16. But a NATPE official mentioned that if anyone wanted a printed copy, he or she should get one from the registration desk early on opening day (just 400 were printed, she added, noting that they’d probably go fast).
The list became a hot commodity for both NATPE and the competing Content Americas market, which will start next week here in Miami: NATPE at the InterContinental Hotel, Content a bit north at the Hilton Hotel. In an informal survey conducted by VideoAge, a number of buyers complained that without a list of exhibitors available in advance, it was difficult to avoid making appointments with sellers located far apart.
At a pre-market press conference, Claire Macdonald, NATPE’s executive director, reported a total of 1,500 pre-registered participants, of which 700 were buyers.
However, Russell Goldstein, president of Brunico, NATPE Global’s organizer, said he couldn’t yet share the dates for NATPE Global’s 2025 market. Content Americas, on the other hand, has already called its market for January 21-23, 2025. Goldstein stated that any decisions will be made after he and his fellow executives gauge the response from this year’s participants. He added that participant feedback — from both sellers and buyers — is very important.
The opening day saw the market floor on the second level pick up steam quickly. Six elevators moved delegates to where they were going, but lots of traffic meant longer wait times. The market floor housed three pavilions, 21 company booths, and 27 company meeting tables; plus, one meeting room (Escorial Room). The private suites (on the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd floors) housed 17 companies, including a number of major U.S. studios (excluding NBCUniversal and Disney), with Lionsgate also taking a cabana by the hotel’s pool on the fifth floor, in addition to a suite. The five cabanas housed a total of five different companies.
The pool area was also set to be used for the opening party, but a passing storm required a move indoors, to the second floor. A free, light buffet breakfast was included for registered NATPE delegates every day.
In terms of participants, in addition to content buyers and sellers, VideoAge‘s Water Cooler met a vast array of executives, ranging from media consultants to on-air personalities pitching their own shows to channels and syndicators to international channel distributors (like Condista, which distributes Italy’s RAI, and IMD, which distributes Mediaset Italia) to producers, screenwriters, and TV channels (like France’s TV5 Monde) looking to expand their international distribution.
Pictured (from top to bottom): Jen Fitzgerald, conference producer; Claire Macdonald, NATPE Global’s executive director; Russell Goldstein, president of Brunico. View of the market floor. The opening day party. Conferences. The WAWA luncheon.
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