While participating in the combined Realscreen Summit/NATPE Global events in Miami, one cannot help but be reminded of the strategy behind Mip London… but with one marked difference. While the NATPE Global TV market is taking advantage of the popularity of Realscreen’s TV conference, the Mip London TV conference is taking advantage of the popularity of the London Screenings TV market. VideoAge will soon be reporting on the happenings at the London event, but this is a report about the joint Realscreen Summit/NATPE Global, which will be ending tomorrow, Friday February 6, following a five-day run during which it marched moderately along (which, in classical music, is called andante moderato).
NATPE Global began on February 4, at the conclusion of Realscreen Summit, which started on February 2. Both took place at the InterContinental Hotel in Miami. Both attended by U.S. studio reps. And both drew a fair number of content buyers. Indeed, the official combined figures are 110 exhibitors, over 600 content buyers, and a total of 1,900 delegates across 55 countries.
The number of participants who returned or stayed in Miami for NATPE following the conclusion of Content Americas on January 22 wasn’t provided, but VideoAge‘s reporters noted several participants from Los Angeles and even Scandinavians who made appearances at both events.
Even though the Realscreen event was billed as a “Summit,” there were a good number of content distribution companies scattered around meeting tables. One case in point was the Los Angeles-based ACI, whose execs, while waiting for their NATPE stand to open, kept busy at a table located in the foyer on the second floor.
Highlighted conferences included events featuring public TV stations, All3 Media, and Global Agency. Issues with public broadcasting were discussed by the BBC’s Fiona Campbell and Channel 4’s Shaminder Nahal, both from the U.K.; SBS’s Bernadine Lim from Australia; and WGBH’s Chris Schmidt from Boston.
Before her presentation, Jane Turton, CEO of London-based All3Media, met with VideoAge, but declined to comment on the company’s acknowledged talks about a possible merger with Banijay. Incidentally, just after Turton’s talk, VideoAge had a videoconference with Cathy Paine, CEO of Banijay Rights, who was similarly mum about the potential merger. Later on, during the second day of the Summit, Turton was inducted into the Realscreen Hall of Fame.
Also on Tuesday, the Summit’s second day, there was the Realscreen Awards ceremony recognizing a seemingly endless list of non-fiction and unscripted shows (for a total of 27 winning shows).
NATPE’s portion started on Wednesday, February 4, with a keynote delivered by Sean Cohan, president of Canada’s Bell Media, and a luncheon/seminar under the theme “Discover Romania,” which was billed as a shooting location offering generous rebates.
NATPE also had its own celebration — a cocktail held at the Miami Pool House, outside the InterContinental compound. This was in addition to the NATPE gala, held in an actual pool area at the InterContinental on Thursday, February 5.
Finally, VideoAge was the only trade publication at Realscreen with a printed edition available for attendees at the magazine bin.
Pictured above: ACI’s Chevonne O’Shaugnessy and Hector Campos; All3Media’s Jane Turton; Global Agency’s Izzet Pinto at the presentation of new music format The Mashup; the Radial Entertainment team in a NATPE suite; the Romanian team at their luncheon/seminar; VideoAge‘s Dom Serafini (center) with Ink Media’s Cayce Kelly (l.) and Pam Wilson-Quinn; Realscreen Summit’s awards show; Multicom’s Daniel Clutter and Ryne Dillon on the NATPE market floor.
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