MIAMI—Rod Perth, NATPE president and CEO, opened the 51st NATPE market and conference Monday morning with a promise that the event in 2015 “will not compete with Realscreen,” the reality TV gathering in Washington, D.C. that this year and last ran at the same time as NATPE. “Real Screen will have its own dates, we’ll have our own dates.”
Perth also confirmed the conference will return to Miami next year. While NATPE has indicated it would return to South Florida, where it has been held for four years running, and that it would avoid that scheduling crunch again with a competing conference, Perth cleared up any lingering doubt attendees and exhibitors may have had as they look ahead to planning for next year.
Despite there being another TV conference at the same time this year, Perth said that the number of buyers at this year’s NATPE is up and the attendants here represent every corner of the industry. He appealed to the room to “get to know your colleagues,” saying “the person sitting next to you” could be a local station exec, an international buyer, a brand manager, someone for the digital or banking community—virtually anyone working in TV today.
