In an exclusive interview for CEETV, NATPE’s MD and COO JP Bommel talks about the success of the recently concluded NATPE Miami 2016. Yako Molhov has the questions.

CEETV: Mr. Bommel, you took over as NATPE’s MD and COO in September last year, several months before NATPE Miami. What were this year’s highlights and attendance figures for the market? Did you introduce any changes compared to previous years?

JPB: I was delighted to be a part of the NATPE 2016 Market and Conference, and to have the opportunity to meet so many important leaders in the media business from around the world. Many I knew and many were executives important to NATPE’s business. I made many new contacts as well, individuals that will be extremely valuable to NATPE as we move ahead.

NATPE Miami was a huge success, as we hosted the Hollywood studios, global distributors and the top decision makers from all areas of the global content ecosystem. Our expansion to the Eden Roc proved to be a smart move; the conference sessions there were full and the business was very active at the Eden Roc and at the Fontainebleau as well. A few highlights come to mind: the standing room only session “Scripted State of the Union,” featuring Amazon, Lionsgate, Showtime, UTA, EPIX and Endemol Shine; our Reality Breakthrough Awards hosted by Howie Mandel; the fireside chat with Quincy Jones and Norman Lear moderated by Ted Sarandos of Netflix; and my personal favorite was a moving evening honoring the recipients of the 13th Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards - Sophie Turner Laing (Endemol Shine), Doug Herzog (Viacom), Steve Harvey, and the legendary Quincy Jones and Norman Lear. It was truly a magical night!

I am so excited at the opportunities that lie ahead to continue to build NATPE and to introduce new activities and opportunities that can benefit our members.

CEETV: This year’s conference part of NATPE Miami operated under the theme of “Be Creative. Be Fearless. Be Ready.” What made you choose this tagline and what were the main conclusions from the conference part this year?

JPB: To be perfectly honest, I wish I had come up with that theme, but the credit goes to Rod Perth and the NATPE Team he had been leading before I started. It’s a true reflection of what the content business is about and how it links to our key priority at NATPE - to provide the most relevant platform for the business of content. Years ago, NATPE recognized the importance of content across all screens and has made the development, creation and distribution of content our central theme. Now, as content enters the platinum age, we are the beneficiaries of NATPE’s vision. The only thing that was missing from our theme was “Be There.” For those that didn’t come I think they missed a terrific business and professional opportunity.

CEETV: On this year’s agenda, the key word is “digital”, with many of the scheduled sessions dealing with content development for a variety of platforms. The growth of OTT content and other digital video-on-demand services has raised the conference’s international profile. What is the future of TV? Will linear be replaced by on-demand content?

JPB: This is the age where every screen is a delivery point for television content and in that respect the lines between linear and digital/OTT are blurred. In the end it’s about storytelling and how the consumers choose to experience the content. I think TV, however and wherever it is delivered, has a terrific future as there is no shortage of great content being produced

CEETV: How did you address during the event one of the hottest topics of 2016 – Virtual Reality?

JPB: Ah! “The next big thing” according to Time Magazine. For our 2016 Market and Conference, NATPE partnered with CEA to produce in-depth research, with the findings presented by us at CES a week before our event. Our shared ability to discuss both key data and real-world application was then spotlighted by a thought provoking kickoff session in Miami moderated by Brian Seth Hurst, and including Conal Byrne of Discovery, David Stern of Create Advertising Group, Jim Gedulick of GoPro, Matthew Gratzner and Shannon Gans of New Deal Studios, Paul Beddoe-Stephens of Facebook and Steve Koenig of CEA. Those panelists represent the entire VR spectrum.

CEETV: For a second year you held NATPE’s Reality Breakthrough Awards. Have you planned similar awards, maybe related to the Latino market, for future market events?

JPB: At this point we are considering a number of new activities but it is premature to discuss them until they are more fully developed.

CEETV: NATPE also organizes a TV market and conference event in Central and Eastern Europe. You announced that the market is returning to Budapest. What prompted this decision? What are your plans for this year’s market?

JPB: We are indeed very excited to be returning to Budapest, the thriving hub of the CEE, for NATPE Budapest 2016 – which will take place at the end of June. It has been designed as a brand new market and conference summit with exclusive opportunities to discover fresh local content, new and exclusive formats, and to foster cross regional co-production opportunities. This is an opportunity for local producers to showcase their content on a global stage. The Studios will be holding exclusive first screenings of new shows, previously presented before only at LA screenings. In other words, NATPE Budapest will deliver what the CEE region wants the most: a timely event, exclusive to the CEE region which creates global opportunities for all attendees.