NATPE lines up expanded studios screenings

Hungary will play host to an expanded US studio screenings as part of the 2017 NATPE Budapest event.

Warner Bros., NBCUniversal, CBS, 20^th Century Fox, Lionsgate Entertainment and MGM Television will all screen their latest wares at the event next month.

NATPE president and CEO J.P. Bommel (pictured) last year moved to host studio screenings in conjunction with the industry conference and market.

The US studios will next week debut their new programming to international buyers at the LA Screenings, but NATPE is targeting those execs not planning on a trip out West.

“Some buyers do not have the time or finance to go to LA, and we are ensuring they see fresh content by making sure the studios come and do their screenings,” Bommel told TBI.

NATPE is lining up several new initiatives for the Budapest event, which takes place at the Intercontinental Hotel from June 19-22.

Ahead of the main conference programme, which begins on Tuesday, June 20, two business intelligence sessions are planned to set the tone the previous afternoon.

These are ‘Opening the window on CEE’ and ‘CEE market overview: regional breakout hits, trends and data’.

Bommel told TBI that buyer participation was up ahead of the event, with more than 415 exes confirmed to date. The organisation is launching a proprietary networking and match-making platform, My NATPE, to facilitate buyer and seller introductions.

“It’s shaping up to be the best Budapest ever,” Bommel told TBI. “We have got more than 415 buyers, and many of them are new.”

“NATPE is proud to offer new initiatives designed to ensure delegates get the most from the event – from setting the scene with our opening business intelligence sessions to offering local producers the chance to discover more about the international market,” he added in a statement.

NATPE Europe returned to Budapest last year after two years in Prague, the Czech Republic.

In related NATPE news, Turkish distributor Global Agency has acquired five telenovelas from Portuguese channel SIC for international distribution, and plans to debut them at the market.