The official news came out on Tuesday, March 5, 2024: “The 2025 editions of Realscreen Summit and NATPE Global will co-locate at the InterContinental Miami hotel. Spanning the week of February 3-7, each event will retain its own agenda while providing attendees the option to participate in both markets. Realscreen Summit will kick off the week, followed by NATPE Global, with a mid-week crossover day bridging the two events.”
Since this was the suggestion that VideoAge made in its April 2023 Issue, why did it take so long to be implemented? VideoAge posed this and other questions to NATPE Executive Director Claire Macdonald (pictured above on the left), who will helm the sales effort as SVP Revenue, NATPE & Realscreen, and Realscreen EVP Mary Maddever (pictured on the right), who will lead the content teams as Executive Content Director for both events.
Claire Macdonald: Brunico only secured the assets of NATPE in January 2023, and it was important to focus on delivering a world-class market that delivered results in Miami in January 2024. Hotel contracts are negotiated months, often years in advance, and Realscreen Summit was contracted to New Orleans a few years ago. It was also essential that we spoke to our stakeholders to make sure that this was indeed the right decision and what the industry wants. The more we consult with our clients, the more it’s apparent that this is the desired move.
So the 2025 event will start with Realscreen on Monday, February 3, and then it’ll be NATPE Global’s turn, February 5 to the 7? Is that correct?
CM: Actually, each event runs over three days, with Wednesday, February 5, as the crossover.
How many participants does the Realscreen Summit usually bring in?
Mary Maddever: Realscreen usually brings together around 1,400-1,500 key players from across the unscripted business. Realscreen is unparalleled on the factual front, and that base has been growing with increased European and broader international market presence.
The news about the new dates and the combination of events just came out, so VideoAge hasn’t yet had a chance to gauge the industry’s reaction, however, a five-day event is likely going to be too long for some buyers and sellers, especially considering that most participants will get in on Sunday. Are you offering cost incentives for attendees to stay longer?
CM: There will certainly be bundling options as far as registrations go, but we do expect that attendees will make the decision that is best suited to their business goals when it comes to length of stay. The hotel rate will be constant across both events.
MM: It’s actually a very efficient use of travel time — and cost effective — for a cross-section of our delegates who attend both events. The two events in one destination already dramatically increases the scope of business opportunity.
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