NATPE Global, which is now owned by Toronto-based Brunico, has added staff ahead of its planned return to Miami this January.

Led by previously announced executive director Claire Macdonald, who was formerly senior VP and publisher of Realscreen, the team now includes Jen Fitzgerald as senior conference producer, Brian Boudrea as sales manager and Cesar Diaz as buyer relations manager for Latin America and Hispanic U.S. In addition, NATPE Global has expanded the remit of Victoria Elmacioglu, head of buyer relations and business development manager, Europe, and Jose Sanchez, business development manager, to represent NATPE Global as well as NATPE Budapest.

Brunico acquired the assets of Los Angeles-based NATPE in January after it declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to the financial pressures created by the pandemic. Brunico also produces Realscreen Summit, Kidscreen Summit and the Banff World Media Festival, as well as publishes such trade publications as Realscreen, Kidscreen and Playback.

Fitzgerald has produced such large-scale events as The Canadian Comedy Awards, CANCOM Comedy Symposium, Realscreen Summit, Realscreen Awards and the Marketing Evolution Summit and Media Innovation Awards. Before joining Brunico, she spent six years working with the live-action production unit at Canada’s Corus Entertainment working with such brands as YTV, CMT Canada, OWN Canada and W Network. 

Boudreau has been with Brunico for nearly seven years, starting as event sales representative for all company events and working his way up to senior account manager with Playback Magazine and Banff World Media Festival.

Based in Miami, Diaz leads his own company, 7A Media, which focuses on content development, international sales and consulting. For more than 30 years he has worked for various Latin American television enterprises including Venezuela’s Radio Caracas Television, Argentina’s Telefe and Spain’s Telefónica de España. He also spent 22 years with Cisneros Media Distribution, formerly Venezuela’s Venevision International.  While at the helm of the international sales division for each of these companies, Diaz worked to export telenovelas to non-Spanish speaking markets such as Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa while maintaining a strong presence in all of the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America as well as Spain and North America.

Based in Greece and with more than 20 years of experience in production development and distribution, Elmacioglu’s legacy production company and studio facilities — Television Enterprises — has produced content for channels and platforms operating throughout Europe and the Middle East. In 2017, she organized the Mediamixx Festival in Thessaloniki, Greece. 

Sanchez is a senior business development leader with more than 20 years experience across the entertainment industry where he’s worked with such companies as Disney/ABC, BBC, A&E, Discovery and Reed Midem.  

NATPE Global 2024, which will include programming buyers and sellers as well as distribution decision-makers from connected TV device manufacturers and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), will be held January 16-18, 2024, at downtown Miami’s InterContinental Hotel.

NATPE Global is returning to Miami January 16-18 under the leadership of Toronto-based Brunico Communications Ltd., which acquired the association earlier this year after it declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The event, which will be held at the InterContinental Hotel in downtown Miami, will focus on  global programming production and distribution. The InterContinental is a change from the conference’s venue of the past decade – the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc Hotel and Resort on Miami’s South Beach. Brunico is hosting its first event under its new NATPE brand — NATPE Budapest — at the InterContinental in that city from June 26-28. The InterContinental in Miami offers luxury suites, cabanas and 100,000 square feet of exhibition space. 

“The entertainment industry is exploding with change, creating new distribution opportunities and innovative ways to monetize content. At the same time, securing early access to new hit programming has never been more competitive or crucial,” said Russell Goldstein, president and CEO of Brunico Communications Ltd., in a statement. “NATPE Global brings the entire media ecosystem together under one umbrella to do business in the world’s most valuable market for content.”  

Brunico acquired NATPE in January for $150,000 plus an assumption of $1.05 million in outstanding liabilities, according to documents filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. 

Assets included in the deal are NATPE Global, NATPE Budapest, NATPE Streaming Plus and the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards. Brunico produces other content-focused conferences, including Realscreen Summit, Kidscreen Summit and Banff World Media Festival. It also publishes entertainment trade publications Realscreen, Kidscreen and Playback.

In the wake of the third year without a NATPE Market and Conference, syndicators and station groups gathered at the Fox lot in Los Angeles last week at an event initiated by Fox. 

The off-the-record two-day event, called The Summit, was supported by other major distributors, including Debmar-Mercury, CBS Media Ventures, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Discovery, and was attended by station group executives from such groups as Sinclair Broadcast Group, Fox Television Stations, CBS News & Stations, NBCUniversal Local, Weigel Broadcasting, Nexstar Media Group, Scripps, Tegna, Standard Media, Cox Media Group, Hearst Television and more. 

Unlike NATPE, the event was solely dedicated to issues faced by syndicators — who develop, produce and sell syndicated programming — and their TV-station buyers. In recent years, NATPE had expanded to include content producers and buyers both domestically and globally since the waning syndication business did not throw off enough revenue to support an entire conference. 

“For me, the event was narrow in a really good way,“ Mort Marcus, co-president, Debmar-Mercury, said. “The only people who were there were people we wanted to talk to. I was on a panel and the people in the audience were broadcasters who would stand up and ask questions. We had healthy and collaborative industry discussions on both days.”

During the course of the event, the executives in attendance had frank discussions about such topics as exclusivity, multiplatform distribution, programming costs and other factors.

“There’s a tension between the station groups and the syndicators,” said Stephen Brown, executive VP, programming and development, Fox Television Stations and Fox First Run. “The syndicators need to find revenue sources to cover the deficits in advertising revenues, while the stations are saying, ‘We are giving you valuable time and, in some cases, money, so we want to have some kind of exclusivity.’ There’s a natural tension there but that can be worked out. We had the beginnings of conversations in the open that we normally don’t have.”

Fox et al were so happy with the event and the frank conversations it encouraged that they hope to hold it again next year and expand it. 

“I think it went really well and I’d like to continue doing it,” Steve LoCascio, president, CBS Media Ventures, said. “We need to trust each other and we need to try something different. The half-hour format for Drew was really different and partnering with Fox on Pictionary was another example.” 

Whether syndicators and station group executives will attend such an event rather than a rebooted NATPE under new ownership remains to be seen. In January, Canadian company Brunico Communications, which produces such events as the Realscreen and Kidscreen Summits and the Banff World Media Festival, announced it had acquired the assets of the bankrupt association, reportedly for $150,000 plus outstanding debt. Brunico has said it plans to run NATPE Budapest in June and then bring NATPE back next January. ■

Brunico Communications has acquired the assets of the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE) after the Los Angeles-based organization declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October. The sale was by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California after a hearing on December 29 and is expected to close by the end of this month. 

“The international content community has been waiting patiently for the return of NATPE, and we are very excited to welcome back our new clients and delegates. Brunico will be reaching out to all NATPE partners in short order to discuss the transition and our plans for the future,” Brunico Communications president and CEO Russell Goldstein said in a statement.

Assets included in the deal are NATPE Global, NATPE Budapest, NATPE Streaming Plus and the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards. The first NATPE event under the Brunico umbrella will be NATPE Budapest June 26-28 at the Intercontinental Hotel. 

NATPE Global, which had been held at the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc Resort (which claims it is owed $3.4 million by NATPE) in Miami Beach for a decade, will return early in 2024, according to Brunico, though the producer did not say where the conference would be held. Brunico said it plans to “invest significant resources in building the NATPE brand, in particular NATPE Global,” it said in a press release.  

“With a distinguished track record building must-attend content markets like Realscreen Summit and Kidscreen Summit, and then reinvigorating the widely-acclaimed Banff World Media Festival, we could not be more pleased with this outcome,” said Andy Kaplan, chair of NATPE’s Board of Directors, also in a statement. “With the Board’s full support, Brunico is ideally positioned to elevate NATPE to new heights.”

Toronto-based Brunico produces other content-focused conferences, including Realscreen Summit, Kidscreen Summit and Banff World Media Festival. It also publishes entertainment trade publications Realscreen, Kidscreen and Playback. Brunico offered $150,000 for NATPE’s assets and agreed to assume an estimated $1.05 million in outstanding liabilities, according to court papers.

Other conference producers, including U.K.-based C21 International, had been kicking the tires on NATPE. C21 did not win the auction but has scheduled a similar sounding event, Content Americas, at the Hilton Miami Downtown January 24-26. Others listed in the court filing as interested bidders were the National Association of Broadcasters, DISCOP, RX France, PMC, Questex and Lakewood Advisors. 

In its bankruptcy filing, NAPTE said it has total assets of $949,000 as of September 30, 2022, which marked the end of the first half of its fiscal 2023. At the end of fiscal 2022, the organization had assets of $2.6 million. The NATPE filing said that it ran at a $1.33 million deficit in the first six months of its fiscal year. ▪️

The Fontainebleau Resort in Miami, where the National Association of Television Programming Executives was planning to hold its conference in January 2022, is claiming NATPE owes it $3.4 million and is opposing NATPE’s plans to auction off the bankrupt trade group’s assets.

The Fontainebleau on Monday filed papers with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the central district of California.

NATPE in October filed for bankruptcy court protection, claiming that the cancellation of events because of COVID-19 left its finances in shambles. Last week, NATPE asked the court to approve a plan to auction off NATPE’s assets before the end of the year.

NATPE said Toronto-based Brunico Communications was the top bidder for the assets, offering $150,000 plus the assumption of liabilities. In the auction, Brunico would be the “stalking horse” bidder, whose offer others interested in the assets would have to top.

In its filing, the Fontainebleau called itself “the largest creditor in the case” with an unsecured claim of no less than $3,414,618.69. Previous filings by NATPE had not cited debt owed to the Miami resort, where NATPE had held its January conference and marketplace for more than a decade.

Fontainebleau said the proceeding thus far was “characterized by excessive compensation and insider dealing” and said that decisions regarding NATPE’s assets should require “transparency and due deliberation.”

The Fontainebleau was critical of NATPE’s actions.

“The Debtor has apparently run some kind of a sale process on its own, selecting a stalking horse offer that is plan dispositive. The stalking horse offer provides for 90% of the purchase price to consist of the assumption of certain customer obligations, resulting in one group of creditors getting paid 100% with other similarly situated creditors getting paid just pennies on the dollar,” the hotel said in its filing. “Disclosures about the sale process and the Debtor’s operations are inadequate, and this Court should require the Debtor to slow down and run a transparent sale process designed to maximize the return to general unsecured creditors.”

The Fontainebleau is asking that NATPE provide it with copies of all of the offers it has received; for disclosure about any relationships between NATPE and the bidders; that bids should be entirely in cash and that a trustee should work with the hotel to evaluate bids and procedures, including the determination of the winning bid.

In his declaration with its bankruptcy court filings, former NATPE CEO JP Bommel, now identified as the group’s interim CEO, said that “prior to its bankruptcy filing, [NATPE’s] operations were dramatically affected by the unavoidable cancellation of an event due to COVID, which resulted in a lengthy and drawn-out arbitration with its hospitality vendor hosting the event. In summary, the vendor is demanding payment of a cancellation fee, and Debtor opposes the fee due to a Force Majeure clause in the agreement. The arbitration was pending when the petition was filed.”

After it filed for bankruptcy protection, NATPE laid off several of its staffers. C21, a U.K. publishing company quickly issued a letter of intent saying it was interested in acquiring NATPE’s assets.

Last month, NATPE formally said that its initially planned January conference in the Bahamas was canceled. ▪️

The National Association of Television Programming Executives, which is filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October after canceled events left it unable to pay creditors, said that several parties expressed interest in the trade group’s assets, headed by Toronto-based Brunico Communications.

Brunico, a publisher that produces events including the Realscreen Summit and the Banff World Media Festival, offered to pay $150,000 for NATPE’s assets and to assume the group’s liabilities, according to papers filed with the court.

In a declaration to the court, former NATPE CEO JP Bommel, now the group’s interim CEO, said that since filing for bankruptcy, NATPE has been in contact with “numerous parties identified as being interested in purchasing the assets.”  

After communicating with those parties, NATPE evaluated four bids, Bommel said. At the end of this process, Bommel said, "Brunico was determined to be  the best offer.”

Others identified as interested purchasers in the filing were C21 International, which publicly expressed interest earlier; the National Association of Broadcasters; DISCOP; RX France; PMC; Questex and Lakewood Advisors, whose managing partner is Ed Grebow.

NATPE is asking the court to approve rules for auctioning off the groups’ assets. The auction would start with Brunico’s offer being the “stalking horse.” 

In order to overbid Brunico, another buyer would have to start at $190,000 and be able to increase that offer in increments of $10,000.

Brunico would get $29,000 as a breakup fee if it were not the winning bidder.

A hearing is scheduled for December 14. If the terms of the auction are approved, the auction will take place that day.

If approved, a sale could be completed by December.23.

In its bankruptcy filing, NAPTE said it has total assets of $949,000 as of September 30, 2022, the end of the first half of its fiscal 2023. At the end of fiscal 2022, the organization had assets of $2.6 million. The NATPE filing said that it ran at a $1.33 million deficit in the first six months of its fiscal year.

The National Association of Television Program Executives, which filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this month, said that it has canceled its 2023 NATPE Global Conference and Marketplace in January.

The event was scheduled to be held at the Baha Mar Resort in the Bahamas.

NATPE said that it has not made decisions at this time about whether or not its NATPE Budapest, Hungary, and other 2023 events will also be canceled.

C21 Media, a British publishing company, has said it wants to acquire NATPE’s assets and said it plans to hold conferences for content producers and distributors in 2023 in Miami, where NATPE traditionally held its January conference, and Budapest. NATPE slated the Bahamas event after canceling the annual conference that was to be held in Miami, Florida, this past January. It canceled that January 2022 event less than two weeks before it was to begin. 

NATPE said it filed for Chapter 11 because the cancellation of in-person events due to COVID caused its financial position to deteriorate. It has laid off staff members, with three former executives retained as consultants, including CEO JP Bommel, who put out today's release. Its most recent event was NATPE Streaming Plus in September.

In its bankruptcy filing, NAPTE said it has total assets of $949,000 as of September 30, 2022, the end of the first half of its fiscal 2023. At the end of fiscal 2022, the organization had assets of $2.6 million. 

The NATPE filing said that it ran at a $1.33 million deficit in the first six month of its fiscal year. ■

C21 Media, a U.K. publishing company, said it issued a letter of intent to acquire the assets of the National Association of Television Program Executives, which is currently seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has laid off several of its staffers.

Any acquisition would need approval from the bankruptcy court, C21 said.

C21 also said it planned to hold two conferences for content producers and distributors in 2023 in locations where NATPE had operated conferences: Miami, Florida, and Budapest, Hungary. Specific dates were not disclosed.

“These two new events will provide a vibrant Hispanic and U.S. programming market early in the year, and a progressive Central & Eastern European content market in June, with some haste,” David Jenkinson, editor-in-chief and managing director of C21, said in a release. “Alongside these new event initiatives, we have issued a letter of intent to the management of NATPE with a view to acquiring its assets, which will be aligned with our business should this happen. Any acquisition would require the approval of the U.S. bankruptcy court.”

In a Chapter 11 petition filed last week at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, NATPE said it has run at a $1.33 million deficit in the first six months of the fiscal year after losing $1.92 million last year. 

The organization, whose money-generating events were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, has laid off staff members, retaining as consultants three former executives, including CEO JP Bommel, several people familiar with the situation said. Bommel has not replied to emails or telephone messages from B+C.

Last month, NATPE held its NATPE Streaming Plus conference in Los Angeles. The group said it planned to move its annual January marketplace and conference from Miami, Florida, to a resort in Nassau, the Bahamas. There have been no announced changes to that plan. Joe Schramm, president of Schramm Marketing (an unsecured creditor listed in the petition), said he was retained to create programming for the conference and has not been told recently whether or not the Bahamas event was going ahead. Schramm, who also programmed the L.A. streaming conference among other NATPE events, told B+C he enjoyed working with the organization and said he hoped the Bahamas event will go ahead. 

In its bankruptcy filing, NAPTE said it has total assets of $949,000 as of September 30, 2022, the end of the first half of its fiscal 2023. At the end of fiscal 2022, the organization had assets of $2.6 million. 

The Fontainebleau Miami Beach and Eden Roc Miami Beach Resort, where the NATPE marketplace and conference used to take place, are on a list of creditors that have the 20 largest unsecured claims against NATPE. NATPE canceled the January 2022 conference just 10 days before it was scheduled to begin, citing health and safety concerns for attendees during a rise in COVID-19 infections. Bommel said at the time that “although this decision from a financial point of view will cost the organization a great deal of money, that was secondary to our primary concern, which is to put the welfare of our members first." 

NATPE listed $1.2 million in liabilities for the six months ended September 30, including $148,187 in account payable, $20,000 in accrued payroll, $91,358 in accrued vacation and $773,133 in deferred revenue. 

In the first six months of fiscal 2023, total gross revenues were $1.329 million, compared to $892,911 in all of fiscal 2022.

NATPE listed expenses of $1.561 million for fiscal 2023 to date, compared to $1.895 million in all of fiscal 2022.

Among the biggest creditors with unsecured claims broken out in the NAPTE bankruptcy petition were Lionsgate TV, owed $128,800; MGM Television, owned $80,500; NBCUniversal, owed $80,000; MODco Media, owed $72,000, and Sony Pictures, owed $51,250. ■

The National Association of Television Program Executives said it plans to file to restructure its business with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court under Chapter 11.

The organization said that its financial reserves were drained because its revenue-generating events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As late as 2022, NATPE said it was forced to shut down its flagship conference, which had been scheduled as an in-person event in Miami in January. The cancellation came on relatively short notice, and NATPE ended its long run at the venue's location after that.

NATPE managed to hold its first event in June, an in-person marketplace in Budapest and has announced that its annual January conference is moving from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas.

“NATPE is looking at all possible options to restructure, including raising funds through strategic alliances, and continue to operate NATPE as a more streamlined and reorganized operation,” the organization said in a statement. “For almost 60 years, NATPE has been the leading global professional association for content producers, distributors, developers, streamers and buyers across all distribution platforms. NATPE is optimistic that it will emerge from the reorganization process in the same position.” ■

The National Association of Television Program Executives is moving its 2023 Marketplace and Conference to The Bahamas, the trade group announced Tuesday.

The flagship event, which has been held in Miami Beach, Florida, since 2011, will run from January 17-19 at the Baha Mar Resort and Convention Center in Nassau.

“After many months of research and discussions with our partners we have greenlit the move to this bold new destination," said JP Bommel, president and CEO of NATPE, in a statement. "Our aim is to ensure that we provide added value and new revenue opportunities to attendees across the content ecosystem. With hundreds of new exhibition and activation options and over forty restaurants and entertainment venues across three hotels, Baha Mar is perfect for both business meetings and the networking that has made NATPE an industry staple for decades."

NATPE canceled this year's conference amid a nationwide surge in COVID infections less than a month before it was scheduled to take place in person at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel and resort. At the time, Bommel said that even though the decision would "cost the organization a great deal of money, that was secondary to our primary concern, which is to put the welfare of our members first." Earlier, the conference and marketplace event was held in Las Vegas, New Orleans and San Francisco.

The 2023 program, under the theme "Content, Networking and Monetization," will feature leadership sessions and networking meetings with industry executives across production, distribution, marketing, advertising, finance and data. The event additionally includes an awards program and a marketplace for buying and selling TV content. 

NATPE's international conference is currently underway in Budapest, running from June 27-30. ■

NATPE, which represents programming and media executives, said it will be banning Russian companies from its NATPE Budapest International TV sales marketplace scheduled for June 27-30 at the InterContinental Hotel in Budapest, Hungary, a neighbor of Ukraine, which is currently under siege from Russian forces in an unprovoked attack.

"The Ukrainian people have our full support over the barbaric and horrific invasion of their homeland by the brutal dictator Putin and his surrogates," the association said in a statement Tuesday (March 1). "We wish we could provide more tangible assistance, but what we can do is join the world community and prevent Russian presence from conducting commerce."

Also: MPA Condemns Russian Invasion

"We pray for the Ukrainian people and hope they continue their battle to an ultimate victory for their great, independent country."

The National Association of Broadcasters Tuesday urged broadcast programmers to pull the plug on any Russian state-sponsored programming, saying that while it backed free speech, it also backed private actors exercising sound moral judgment. ■

After holding its annual trade show event virtually earlier this year, the National Association of Television Program Executives said it will hold its next conference in-person Jan. 18-20 in Miami.

The organization said a list of speakers and an event schedule will be announced soon. 

NATPE said the Miami event will follow the highest standards and COVID-related protocols to keep exhibitors, buyers, sponsors, honorees, partners and all attendees safe, including: mandatory proof of vaccination for all attendees, outdoor tents for select sessions and meetings, and designated NATPE Safe zones fully controlled by the event production team. More information on NATPE Safe protocols is available here. 

“We are thrilled to see our exhibitors, sponsors coming back to Miami and to be welcoming new partners as we are ready to be the new year’s first major platform for the business of content as the industry continues to evolve globally,” NATPE president and CEO JP Bommel said in a statement. “All of us at NATPE are hard at work building a strong program focusing on new business, new markets, and financing. But most importantly, we look forward to NATPE Miami as a time to celebrate our return in person for what is sure to be a productive and educational week in the content industry.”

Whip Media said it is working with the National Association of Television Program Executives to produce a new data report that will tell buyers and distributors which programming is most popular with U.S. viewers.

The companies said that with more TV series travelling beyond borders the new NATPE Navigator report is designed to provide intelligence to the industry and help platforms looking for new ways to capture the attention of viewers and differentiate themselves from competitors.

Also Read: Consumers Complain About Streaming, But They Can Live Without Netflix

“With the growing consumer demand for new TV series and movies, content is no longer staying within its originating territories, but it's still difficult to predict hits and what content will resonate with local viewers,” said Carol Hanley, president of Whip Media. “We’re excited to partner with NATPE to provide this new actionable data to the industry along with insights on how to fill gaps in their programming in a marketplace now unbound by geography.”

The NATPE report is compiled utilizing Whip Media’s proprietary global panel of consumers who report what programs they follow and watch and, further, how they feel about those shows. The panel is made up of 18 million viewers in over 170 countries and provides data on more than 4.5 million movie and TV episodes on 1,100 global platforms.

The top shows in the current report are Netflix's Money Heist, which originates in Spain, followed by another Netflix show, Sex Education from the U.K. In third place is Schitt's Creek, from Canada's CBC.

Also Read: AMC Theaters Using Whip Media Platform for Video on Demand Business

“We at NATPE are proud of our position as a resource for this industry that has seen countless changes to the global content marketplace and are always looking for new ways to provide additional insights and guidance to our members,” said JP Bommel, president and CEO of NATPE. “This partnership with Whip Media will do just that, and we are eager to see the results of their study as we continue to navigate the shifts our industry is going through.”

Ben Silverman, Propagate chairman and co-CEO, will deliver the opening address at NATPE Virtual: ContentCast--The Business of Podcasting Content July 14. Joining Silverman for the address will be Scott Greenstein, SiriusXM president and chief content officer, and Brian Baumgartner, a cast member on The Office and host of podcast Office Deep Dive. 

ContentCast represents the first NATPE event dedicated to audio. 

Silverman was co-chairman of NBC Entertainment from 2007 to 2009. A veteran producer, he has worked on The Office, Jane the Virgin and The Biggest Loser, among many other series. 

“NATPE’s mission as the indispensable resource of content is to provide, inform and connect on new opportunities for our constituency,” said NATPE president/CEO JP Bommel. “It is without question that podcasting has grown into a powerful force, attracting new audiences, support from brands, and investments from major media and tech companies. This event is about the monetization these opportunities presented by the business of podcasting content.”

Executives from Audible, Black Love Inc., GroupM, iHeartMedia, RoosterTeeth, ViacomCBS and Wolf Entertainment, among others, will appear in the event. 

The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) in Los Angeles has named four industry executives to three-year terms on its board of directors. 

The new appointees represent such disciplines as streaming, global distribution, data and analytics, international production and talent management. They are: 

• Sarah Aubrey, head of original content for HBO Max, responsible for overseeing the streamer’s slate of drama, comedy, unscripted, documentary and animation programming. 

• Sean Cohan, chief growth officer and president, international at Nielsen, responsible for global strategy, corporate development, growth partnerships and all international business, including measurement, outcomes, sports, and Gracenote Content Services across more than 80 countries.

• Dan Cohen, president of ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, who leads the company’s worldwide content licensing and distribution operations. 

• Laura Kennedy, CEO of Avalon, the talent management, production and distribution group based in London, Los Angeles and New York.  

“The addition of these four executives to our strong, diverse and experienced board embraces our objective through the next three years to continue to reflect the industry’s content and distribution while actively increasing the diversity of our membership,” NATPE chairman Andy Kaplan said in a statement. 

The NATPE board has 41 members representing all areas of the content industry. 

Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, will deliver the opening keynote at NATPE Virtual: News Television April 20. Gio Benitez, ABC News transportation correspondent, hosts the event. 

The News Television event will offer keynotes and panel discussions covering news and its many aspects, including politics, crime, health, financial, entertainment, sports and weather. Participating companies include AccuWeather, Axios, CNN, Newsmax, PBS and Tubi.

The inaugural NATPE News Awards will honor Greg Kelly, who hosts Greg Kelly Reports on Newsmax TV, and PBS Newshour.  

The Council on Foreign Relations is a think tank focused on foreign policy. 

“News is at the core of the television experience, and we are thrilled to bring together such great minds as we dig into how the space is changing as the industry evolves,” said JP Bommel, NATPE president and CEO.

Jonathan Capehart, host of The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC, will deliver a keynote on the business of Black television as part of NATPE Virtual: Segregation, Segmentation and Storytelling. It happens Feb. 16. 

Capehart hosts The Sunday Show Sundays 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET. 

Others slated to speak include Monique Nelson, chairperson and CEO of multicultural ad agency UWG; Mona Scott Young, CEO of Monami Productions; Brett Dismuke, president of streaming service All Black, and Detavio Samuel, COO of Revolt TV. 

Carlos Greer, entertainment reporter from the New York Post’s Page Six, will host the event. 

“The virtual event will feature a series of discussions that each take a bold approach toward advancing the conversation around the impact of segregation practices on the evolution of the Black TV business, the importance of Black audience segments to advertisers, and the significant role of the Black voice in television content,” said NATPE. 

NATPE is a global content association and professional membership organization. 

“NATPE’s mission is to advance the conversation in the evolution of content and to embrace, engage and educate global audiences,” said NATPE president and CEO JP Bommel. “In that respect NATPE is gathering outstanding leaders to have important discussions that celebrate Black voices in television. We are also coming together to discuss the business of Black TV during Black History Month.”

NATPE Virtual: The Business of Live Sports takes place March 23 and NATPE Virtual: News happens April 7.

NATPE is launching a broad new initiative to embrace the MVPD ecosystem, which will continue throughout 2021 and beyond. In addition to forming a soon to be named MVPD committee and conducting special MVPD-focused keynotes and sessions during the NATPE Virtual Miami conference on Jan. 19-21, there is a kickoff event planned for Dec. 15.

“Content Distribution on a Global Scale: MVPDs and the Worldwide Content Market” will take a look at where "the industry's global MVPD content sector is going." Moderated by Horowitz Research president Howard Horowitz, the session will feature comments and insights from Verizon Consumer Group chief content officer Erin McPherson, Liberty Latin America VP chief programming officer Stephane David, and Virgin Media, Liberty Global head of programming, David Bouchier.

Related: NATPE Slates Virtual Miami Confab in January

“Our goal at NATPE is to continue to advance the content conversation," NATPE CEO and president JP Bommel said in a statement. "While evolving rapidly, the relationship between content producers, rights-holders, and networks with MVPD buyers is more important today than ever. MVPDs remain a key conduit for delivering content to homes and screens everywhere.”

NATPE MVPD committee and COO of TV5 USA Patrice Courtaban added: “TV5MONDE is pleased to support NATPE in launching this new MVPD initiative and hosting this exciting first event. With the executives in charge of content acquisition for three global MVPDs, Erin, Stephanie and David, fielding Howard’s probing questions, I anticipate a very lively and informative discussion that provides a wide range of strategic insights.”

MIAMI — With the media-technology world fixated on the growing number of consumer options for streaming video, NBCUniversal continues to beat the drum that its (largely) free-to-consumer, ad-supported model for its upcoming Peacock OTT service gives it an edge over the competition.

“Consumers are going to choose content wherever and whenever, and Peacock is a step in that direction,” said Laura Molen, president of ad sales and partnerships for NBCUniversal, speaking Wednesday at the annual National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE) conference. “It brings together our entire ecosystem, and the ad-supported supported model gives us a unique space in the marketplace. This is an opportunity to offer it to consumers for free; and an opportunity for marketers to put their ads on this blank canvas.”

Molen’s comments came less than one week after Comcast and its NBCU division unveiled the major details behind Peacock at an investor event in New York.

Peacock will be available in two tiers: Peacock Free and Peacock Premium, and will feature more than 600 movies and 400 television series, and live and on-demand content (across news, sports, late night and reality).

Peacock Free is ad-supported option will offer more than 7,500 hours of programming (including next day access to current seasons of freshman broadcast shows, classic series, movies, curated daily news and sports programming).

Ad-supported Peacock Premium, which is offered at no additional cost to Comcast and Cox subscribers, will include full-season Peacock originals and tent-pole series, next day access to current seasons of returning broadcast series, early access to late night talk shows, and additional sports programming. The cost is $4.99 per month, and users can purchase the ad-free experience directly for $9.99 per month.

And NBCU has been out aggressively beating the drum ahead of the service’s April launch. Before the investor meeting last month, NBCU ad chairman Linda Yaccarino was at CES in Las Vegas, also explaining how advanced advertising will give Peacock an edge over Disney+, HBO Max and the other subscription services crowding into the OTT market. 

“At the highest level, we’re partnering with marketers to really break legacy and create an entirely different space for advertising,” said Molen, who refers to Peacock as ‘giving advertisers a seat at the table to learn about what audiences want from the commercial experience.”

“This is a chance to innovate together,” she said. “We have a rich history in this space. Going back to the very beginning, NBC was the first network to even air a commercial on air, which was for Bulova watches. And we have always been on the forefront of change.”

Peacock has announced State Farm, Target, Unilever and Apartments.com as the first batch of confirmed advertisers for Peacock.

“We are going to be working together with a streaming council to really add to the ad experience,” Molen said. “We are going to be trying new formats, and we will be working together to understand frequency capping, where to place content, and new ways for consumers to interact with content.”

Molen cites the “Prime Pod,” a 60-second standalone break, which will be the foundation for advertisers at Peacock. There will be five Prime Pods in one hour on Peacock for traditional ad units, and there will be new ad units created to maximize the advertiser experience at the streamer.

“We want to offer the consumers a deeper ad experience at Peacock,” she said. “All different kinds of things that will re-explore and reimagine ads. The more we lean into giving consumers the content when they want and where they want, the more they are going to interact with content in all the places that it exists. We have all the ingredients…content, technology and the experience to make this all work.”

With YouTube pulling back from its subscription video model a year ago, there was speculation at the time that it might also be retreating from the original series game. But the pivot to better exploit what it’s done best for years, monetize video through advertising, has only emboldened its original content ambitions.

But YouTube has plans to double its originals output this year, releasing more than 100 movies and TV shows. 

“Our position in the marketplace is somewhat different than the rest of our competitors, so we think that the current rising programming tide lifts everybody,” said Wes Harris, head of marketing for YouTube Originals at a panel at the National Association of Television Program Executive conference (NATPE) in Miami titled “Launching Original Content When It’s Not on TV.”

The tally of original scripted programming across all platforms could rise to a record 530 series this year, according to industry estimates.

“We’re pretty confident where we sit in the marketplace, and having a free platform that is available at scale to anyone across the world is quite unique,” he said. “What is good for the consumer is good for the market overall. And while all this original content can be confusing to the consumer at times, we feel what we do, and how we do it, sets us apart.”

Unlike the traditional broadcaster or streamer, YouTube has its own ecosystem with the variety of content driven by both established names and the new generation of entertainers, otherwise known the “YouTube stars.”

“It’s this openness that keeps our viewers coming back for more,” explained Susanne Daniels, global head of original content for YouTube at an executive session for YouTube at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California last week. “In this last year, we’ve learned a lot about what our audience loves most about our original programming. We’ve learned that they want new formats and real-time specials that reimagine the basic 30-to-60-minute model, so we’re creating new experiences that better reflect today’s culture. This can be anything from a two-minute comedic segment to a two-hour feature long documentary.”

Daniels cited the content on YouTube Originals ranging from short-form like Almost Ready with former Pretty Little Liars star Shay Mitchell to a long-form musical documentary focusing on legendary country singer Johnny Cash.

Last year, over 50 original programs produced around the world were featured on YouTube. And one upcoming show generating early buzz, debuting on January 27th, is new docuseries Justin Bieber: Seasons, which promises to offer “an intimate look at the past few years of his life.”

“I think that because there is so much content you want to make it as accessible as possible for people to be able to consume it,” said Ben Relles, head of innovation, YouTube Originals, speaking alongside Harris at NATPE. “We have our own voice and we follow a specific strategy.”

Effective last August at YouTube was the launch of a dual distribution model, where you can binge the originals without ads behind a paywall or watch them for free in an ad-supported traditional format.

“The range of programming is what makes YouTube such a unique platform,” said Karissa Zigarovich, head of YouTube brand & entertainment insights, also at NATPE. “Since there doesn’t seem to be a shortage of competing programming anytime soon, you have to separate yourself from the rest and what we do in our research is try to become experts on our audience and the culture on the platform and as off. Last year we spent a lot of time dissecting TV content and genres, and now it is about offering the original content that people want to see.”

Added Daniels: “We have a lot more work to do as we develop shows that reflect the strengths of YouTube. We have a huge opportunity to reach a global audience and make an impact. Whether it’s highlighting the profound positive influence of artificial intelligence on our health, shedding light on what pride has meant to LGBTQ people throughout the country in our documentary, State of Pride, we want our programming to have a purpose.”

For the 17th consecutive year, the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards will recognize individuals who’ve exhibited extraordinary passion, leadership, independence and vision in careers in front of and behind the TV cameras.

This year’s group of honorees, to be recognized at the National Association of Television Programming Executives’ NATPE 2020 Conference in Miami, includes a veteran TV performer, a pair of network TV’s top programmers, a prolific showrunner, and a power player in U.S. Hispanic and international TV.

Their collective pedigree is an apt tribute to the memory of Tartikoff, the longtime NBC executive who transformed the TV medium by emphasizing quality and depth.

To be honored at the Jan. 22 gala dinner are: actress Christine Baranski; Karey Burke, president, ABC Entertainment; Courtney Kemp, TV creator, showrunner and producer; Marcos Santana, president, NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Global Studios; and Jeff Zucker, chairman, WarnerMedia News and Sports and president, CNN Worldwide. Proceeds from the event will go to the NATPE Educational Foundation and the Broadcasters Foundation of America. Entertainment Tonight co-host Kevin Frazier will emcee.

Tegna said it has reached an exclusive, multi-year distribution agreement with Sony Pictures Television for the station group’s programming in the U.S. and abroad.

Under the terms of the deal, SPT will distribute all Tegna owned first-run programming, including the new series “Daily Blast Live” (“DBL”), as well as future development. The programming partnership will collectively launch shows to air on Tegna stations, with the goal of increasing their national footprint in broadcast and cable. SPT will also act as the exclusive advertising sales representative for national barter and integrations, and will retain the right to market and promote the programs in all media.

Tegna has about 46 television stations in 38 markets.

“It’s a one-of-a-kind agreement, where Tegna and Sony Pictures Television each bring distinct strengths to the new partnership,” said Tegna SVP for programming Robert Sullivan in a statement. “With ‘Daily Blast Live’ and other programs in our creative pipeline, together with Sony’s expertise in the three key areas of sales, development and distribution, we look forward to expanding our list of available content for Tegna stations and beyond.” 

DBL currently airs live in every time zone each weekday in 36 Tegna-owned  markets across the country and on Facebook and YouTube. The program features content trending in real-time from television, digital and social media platforms. The deal also includes Tegna’s “Sister Circle,” a daily talk show targeting an adult, African American TV audience, and “Sing Like A Star,” a singing competition program.

“Tegna is a first-class broadcasting company with forward-thinking, digital and programming initiatives,” said SPT president of distribution John Weiser in a statement. “We are proud to have been selected as their partner and to represent Tegna’s shows in the marketplace.”

NATPE has named executive producer Greg Berlanti (Arrow, Flash), Telemundo and NBCUniversal International chairman Cesar Conde, award-winning actress Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie), TBS and TNT president Kevin Reilly, and award-winning actor Tom Selleck (Blue Bloods) as recipients of the 15th Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.

They will receive the prestigious award at a special reception on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018, at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, Fla.

The Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award is presented each year during the annual NATPE Miami Market and Conference, which will next take place under the new theme “A Changing Industry in a Changing World,” Jan. 16-18, 2018, at the Fontainebleau & Eden Roc hotels in Miami Beach.

“Each of the Tartikoff honorees is a leader in their field and a legend in the industry," said Andy Kaplan, president of Sony Pictures Television Networks and chair of NATPE. "We are thrilled to celebrate the substantial achievements of Greg Berlanti, Cesar Conde, Jane Fonda, Kevin Reilly and Tom Selleck at this year’s event in Miami."

The 2018 Tartikoff Legacy Award recipients are recognized for exhibiting their extraordinary passion, leadership, independence and vision through their diverse work in being a part of the creation and distribution of content for the world’s traditional and digital marketplaces. Named in honor of Brandon Tartikoff, one of the most esteemed programmers in the history of television, the Award was created to acknowledge a select group of television professionals who have demonstrated the highest degree of excellence in their field.

“These five extraordinary individuals have had such distinct, significant impacts on the entertainment industry,” said Lilly Tartikoff. “In choosing to honor those with careers defined by the same zeal and dedication that Brandon held dear, this event continues to be one that he would have found so meaningful. I am honored to congratulate each of these brilliant recipients of the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.”

ZoneTV, a “digital-first” video service that’s targeting integrations with MVPD set-tops, said it will be heading to NATPE next week looking to do some major wheeling and dealing.

ZoneTV, now helmed by former AT&T exec Jeff Weber, said it will be going to the show in Miami looking for 10,000 hours of content it can use toward a planned programming expansion and the coming debut of a service that will enable that content, in genres such as sports, food and lifestyles, to be delivered inside MVPD set-tops and interactive program guides alongside a pay TV operator’s regular content.

The company will be looking to broaden a library of licensed content that already includes fare from sources such as Field and Stream, Saveur and Popular Science. ZoneTV’s focus on set-tops seems to share similarities of others that are trying to integrate OTT content into MVPD guides, including Frequency, a company backed by Liberty Media as well as Wurl, which has announced  WideOpenWest,  Fidelity Communications and TDS among its pay TV partners.

RELATED: TiVo, Frequency Connect on OTT

ZoneTV, formerly known as ES3, initially targeted Mediaroom, the IPTV middleware platform that Ericsson acquired from Microsoftin the fall of 2013 that powers pay TV services from companies such as AT&T, Hawaiian Telecom, Telus, Frontier Communications and CenturyLink.

DirecTV, now part of AT&T, was ZoneTV’s first launch partner outside the Mediaroom environment. More recently, Comcast integrated ZoneTV’s “Santa Tracker” app on its X1 platform during the holidays.

RELATED: Comcast’s X1 Takes ‘Santa Tracker’ Over-the-Top

“NATPE calls itself the ‘forum for new ideas,’ and ZoneTV is all about creating TV’s new delivery models,” Weber said, in a statement. “Our whole programming concept is fresh: developing linear programming formats that pay TV providers can add to their line-ups without having to clear or manage bandwidth for the new content.”

NATPE on Tuesday unveiled the recipients of the 14th annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award.

The honorees are Dana Walden and Gary Newman, chairmen and CEOs of Fox Television Group; Susanne Daniels, global head of original content at YouTube; Randy Falco, president and CEO of Univision; Josh Sapan, president and CEO of AMC Networks; and actress, director and producer Eva Longoria.

The honorees will receive their awards at a reception on Jan. 18 at Fontainebleau Miami Beach during NATPE Miami 2017.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

YouTube is on track to launch its version of original series – both scripted and unscripted – by the end of the year, said Alex Carloss, YouTube’s head of originals, at NATPE 2015 in Miami.

While YouTube is planning to add original scripted and unscripted series to its mix, its budget, development and launch process is probably much different than that of traditional TV studios.

“We’re not in the TV production game at a TV level, but we’ll fund beyond what [YouTube creators] would typically be able to realize,” Carloss said.

Shows produced for YouTube also may not mimic the TV model, meaning that episodes could run five minutes each or 90 minutes each.

“I just heard the head of FX [John Landgraf] over the weekend opine that if you could remove restrictions of duration from 22 minutes or 44 minutes, you could right-size your storytelling to what was appropriate,” Carloss said.

Read more at B&Chere.