Floor gets hot, lifts backfire, biz lights up.

This year's NATPE market was the best it's been in years. Pacing 10 to 15 percent ahead of last year, attendance was estimated around 8,000. The floor of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas and the floors and elevators of the adjacent THEhotel were packed for three days with buyers and sellers from around the world. And if the number of first-run syndicated shows being developed said anything about the state of the business, then the biz is back, with some 10 syndicated first-runs offered to U.S. TV stations.

Arnie Zipursky, CEO of Canada's CCI Entertainment, captured the mood on the international side: "We are pleasantly surprised and thrilled. A couple of years ago we doubted NATPE's importance, but the activity has been fantastic. The two sales people we brought here have been booked as much as at MIP or MIPCOM." Luis Villanueva of Venevision added: "The industry is in a great place right now, and the convention is very positive. There is a community feeling that the industry is on an up-slide right now."

While buyers came from around the world, Latin Americans seemed to be creating much of the buzz. Andrew Haber of Alfred Haber Distribution said, "Latin America is back to where we need it to be, in a strong way. All of Latin America is out in full force." When asked about the market, Alliance Atlantis's Rose Marie Vega said, "Let me put it this way: I am completely booked from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m, every day. It has exceeded expectations; we are doing real business here. A lot of the Latin Americans who were not able to come to MIPCOM are here. We have seen representatives from every pan-regional." According to Jose Escalante of RCTV International (formerly Coral), "NATPE is the number one market for us, we see all the Latin buyers plus Europeans and a few Asians ... The [Latin American] countries that presented a weak economy during the past three years are now presenting themselves as healthy and emerging." Fremantle-Media's vp of Latin American sales, Sheila Hall Aguirre, agreed: "The Latin American market has recovered significantly since 2003." Leslie Nelson of DIC Entertainment said, "We've been thrilled with the Latin American presence. We just lament the fact that there are not a lot of European kids' buyers."

As far as other territories go, CCI's Zipursky said, "We have been meeting people from Australia, and doing more business with Eastern European buyers." Almira Malyshev of Screen Media Ventures also noted the increase in Eastern European buyers.

Returning to the floor this year was Paramount, along with its sister companies CBS and King World, under a large Viacom umbrella. The co-habitation prompted CBS Paramount International Television president Armando Nunez, Jr. to say, "It's wonderful sharing a space on the floor with our colleagues." On the smaller side, companies exhibiting in the designated AFMA pavilion on the conference floor were resoundingly pleased with their locations. Almira Malyshev said, "It's our second year at this pavilion and we've found that it's where more people are. It's a good spot because we get more foot traffic. It is livelier, busier and has more traffic than last year." Regent Entertainment's Gene George concurred, "You have a lot of companies in the pavilion with the same buyers, so it's very convenient." But Gary Lico, CEO of CABLEready noted the "ghettoized" nature of the NATPE floor. "If you were to draw a line straight down the floor, you would see the ghetto to the left and the suburbs to the right." He continued, "I thought part of the reason for having NATPE was to mix it up a bit." He issued a warning to NATPE to start paying more attention to the independents: "The independents at NATPE outnumber the studios 10 to 1. NATPE ought to be going after them more." Lico also criticized NATPE for not including any small to medium-sized company execs on its board.

While the floor was busier than before, many companies still opted for suites in the nearby THEhotel annex--which required taking a 15-minute walk from the convention floor. The long walk, combined with a seemingly interminable wait for the elevators--which at times caused an around-the-hallway line--provided significant obstacles to market participants. Sabrina Sanchez of CABLEready said, "The distance caused a lot of people to be late to meetings." Artear Argentina's Silvia Bottero agreed: "because of the distance between the suites and the floor, many meetings started late ... and [there were many] no-shows." The distance also affected the floor, prompting 3DD's Danielle O'Shea to comment that because of it, "meetings are being missed."

CABLEready's Sabrina Sanchez said that, overall, their suite experience was great. "It is quiet and very comfortable. Since we come here knowing most people, we don't really rely on walk-ins. However, it's great for business to be down the hall from companies like CHUM and 20th," she said. Ledafilms's David Nunez agreed, "We couldn't be happier with the suite." But WWE's Dominic Hayes predicted that the suites' heyday may be nearing its end. "WWE used to be on the floor, and in following the flow of the market, it moved to the suites; but it looks like the market-floor may actually be coming back," he said.

Another sign of rejuvenation was witnessed in the high attendance at the seminars. The subject that dominated many of the seminars was the increased effect of mobile technology on the industry. At a MOBILE++ conference before NATPE, Michael Arrieta, senior vp of Sony Pictures Digital, said Hollywood is staking claim as the leader in providing content. "Mobile is a great new medium but it's not instead of; it's in addition to. Verizon is as important to Sony as Comcast is. Networks aggregate lots of eyeballs and mobile is another way to do cross-platform programming. There will be programming unique to mobile but it's the pulling together that will be truly innovative."

A popular and later talked-about conference was the opening session featuring Ted Turner, in which the cable TV guru emphasized the danger of biased news channels such as Fox News, comparing the popularity of the rightwing net to the popularity of the Nazi party in Germany before World War II.

But, the primary role of NATPE remains subjective, with some companies seeing it as a necessity, for doing business and others appreciating it primarily as a stopover between the Cannes markets. "We see it as a bridge between MIPCOM and MIP-TV. The AFM shift makes it even more important," said Regent's Gene George. Dominic Hayes of WWE said, "We approach this market in a similar way we approach MIP-TV or MIPCOM. We've had a good number of meetings but people don't walk in and make deals on the spot. I'm sure some good money will be made as a result of this market."

Summarizing a generally positive consensus, Decode Entertainment's Dominique Bazay said: "this year things are getting done and things don't usually get done at NATPE."

1. Salsa's Jerry Diaz and Ximena Rubio

2. Long lines for the elevators

3. The Televisa Estudios group

4. CHUM TV's Mike Lolato, Victor Rodriguez, Lidia Andich and Kevin Byles

5. Tepuy's Marcos Santana and Patricio Willis with Telemundo's Ramon Escobar and James McNamara

6. Producer Michel Zgarka

7. ReachMedia's Elie Kawkabani

8. Herb Lazarus and his Carsey-Werner team

9. Jose Escalante and the RCTV sales force

10. Marcel Vinay Sr. heading the TV Azteca/Comarex contingent

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