Natpe hails ‘diverse’ buyer presence

This year’s Natpe Budapest will benefit from a new location and 421 buyers from 54 different countries, according the event’s chief operating officer and MD, JP Bommel.

JP Bommel

Natpe announced in November that the market, which takes place for four days from June 27, would be returning to the InterContinental Hotel in the Hungarian capital after two years in Prague.

“We chose Budapest because it’s a terrific city for content, as a lot of production gets done there. In many ways it’s the media capital of Eastern Europe, and it’s very accessible,” Bommel told C21.

There will be a significant focus on the strength of the original productions coming out of Hungary and other parts of CEE this year, Bommel added.

“We don’t want it to be seen as just the US studios coming to Budapest. We want to make sure there’s an emphasis on local content and give distributors that don’t go to Cannes a platform to reach international buyers,” Bommel said.

Former Reed Midem executive JP Bommel succeeded Rod Perth as Natpe boss earlier this year.

He expects between 750 and 1,000 people – including 134 exhibitors, 20 of which will be new to Natpe – to attend the event.

“It’s a reflection of what’s going on in the marketplace. We have new companies from Israel, Mexico, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, China and Belgium attending. It’s interesting to see the diversity,” Bommel added.

Among the US studios at Natpe will be NBC, CBS, Lionsgate, Warner Bros and Paramount, which is returning to the event after a five-year absence.

A CEE Content Showcase fronted by K7 Media international research manager Danny Kershaw will kick off the Content Summit on June 27. This will be followed by a masterclass titled The Practicalities of Making a European Coproduction.

Peter Kolosi, deputy CEO of RTL Hungary, is the keynote speaker on Tuesday, while the lunchtime case study session will spotlight HBO Europe drama series Aranyelet.

The Wednesday breakfast session Global Formats: What’s Working, What’s Failing, What’s Next? will be debated by a panel including Mike Beale, ITV’s executive VP of global development and formats; Merrily Ross, VP of formats and content development at Modern Times Group; and Pascal Dalton, regional sales director for TV formats and new media at Endemol Shine Group in CEE.