Over 1,000 Buyers Set To Attend NATPE

In addition to double-digit overall gains in attendance, NATPE will welcome more than 1,000 domestic and international buyers to its 50th Anniversary NATPE||Content First Market and Conference — the highest number in more than five years, NATPE President-CEO Rod Perth announced today.

With the theme of moving “Beyond Disruption,” the 2013 market and conference will convene television, technology and advertising leaders at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami Beach Jan. 28-30. As part of the agenda, it will celebrate NATPE’s history and role during the past 50 years in the content business.

“These numbers signify a much greater opportunity for meaningful business to take place in Miami,” Perth said. “We are pleased and gratified to see such enthusiasm from buyers, sellers and attendees, and we are looking forward to a diverse and provocative conference lineup that can help steer us into the future of this ever-changing industry.”

Top executives representing more than 30 station groups and independent station owners will be on hand in Miami, in addition to the long list of prominent independent distributors, producers, networks and program representation firms covering all platforms.

Perth also announced new additions to the conference lineup, noting that more than 40% of speakers at NATPE 2013 represent the world of digital content. This year’s slate of speakers include keynote speaker Mark Cuban, co-founder/chairman, AXS TV; Ross Levinsohn, CEO, Guggenheim Digital Media; Alex Carloss, global head of entertainment partnerships, YouTube; Howard Stein, head of entertainment strategy, Facebook; Rob Barnett, founder/CEO, My Damn Channel; Jordan Levin, CEO, Generate and president, AlloyDigital; Eric E. Anderson, VP content and product solutions, Samsung Electronics; Michael Kassan, chairman-CEO, MediaLink LLC; Neil Bedwell, global head of digital, Coca-Cola Co.; Janet Balis, publisher, The Huffington Post Media Group; Larry Tanz, CEO, Vuguru; Adam Besserman, director, West coast development, Yahoo; Chet Kanojia, founder-CEO, Aereo Inc.; Mark Ghuneim, CEO, Trendrr, and others.

The Storytellers track welcomes Pam Veasey, Executive Producer, “CSI: NY”/Green Eggs & Pam Productions, Inc., and Wendy West, Executive Producer of “Dexter” for a conversation moderated by Brian Seth Hurst, CEO, The Opportunity Management Company.

Also in the Storytellers track, Elvis Duran, host of Clear Channel Media & Entertainment’s “Elvis Duran & The Morning Show,” will moderate a panel, “Music that Drives TV…. and TV that Drives Music: Multi-Talented Artists in a Multi-Platform World,” featuring Brian Lambert, EVP/Head of Film & Television Music, Universal Music Group;  Scott Sternberg, President, Scott Sternberg Productions;  John Sykes, Clear Channel Media Holdings;  and Leonard Richardson, SVP, Music, CW Television Network.

In the Global Navigators track Rodrigo Ros, editor-in-chief of TODOTVMEDIA, will moderate a panel titled “Transitioning to a New World of Online Entertainment: International Markets for Non-Linear Platforms,” whose lineup now includes Enrique R. Martinez, Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic and Canada, in addition to Antonio Barreto, DLA; and Victor Kong, Cisneros Group.

A new panel in the Game Changers track, “Executive Outlook: Broadcast CEOs on the Big Picture,” features Emily Barr, Post-Newsweek Stations; Bill Hoffman, Cox Media Group; Brian Lawlor, E.W. Scripps Co.; and Deborah McDermott, Young Broadcasting,, in a conversation moderated by Harry Jessell, editor of TVNewsCheck.

Much of NATPE||Content First 2013 will be available via live stream, including key presentations from tracks including Game Changers, Masters of Messaging, Storytellers that Shaped the Face of Pop Culture, Technologies that Fuel Multi-Platform Content, Visionaries and Global Navigators. The sessions will be available on either the NATPE 2013 home page or the Streaming Schedule page. Please see www.natpemarket.com for more details.

Additionally, for the first time, NATPE will feature an interactive companion experience for the sessions, powered by interactive TV company TVplus. During each session, event attendees can use their laptops, mobile handsets and tablet devices to access additional real-time content, participate in and receive real-time poll results and contribute to a real-time social feed. This companion experience is accessible via the official NATPE Miami 2013 app or through www.natpemarket.com.

“Our objective is to replicate how viewers engage with second-screen interactivity by facilitating a cool attendee experience that represents the future,” Perth noted.

The official NATPE Miami 2013 app lets attendees connect with colleagues, find exhibitors, navigate the market floor, suites and meeting rooms and keep up with everything that’s happening at the market and conference.

Finally, a series of special events will take place each night to provide attendees with additional networking opportunities, as well as to celebrate NATPE’s 50th Anniversary. Scheduled events include:

Sunday:  Welcome Party — 6-8 p.m. at the Eden Roc Hotel, sponsored by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau and its partners.

Monday: Opening Night Party — 6-8 p.m. at the Fontainebleau pool, sponsored by DLA, Venevision and People Television, Inc.

Tuesday: NATPE’s Official 50th Anniversary Birthday Party — 10 p.m. at LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau, and featuring Fitz and the Tantrums, named by Rolling Stone as a 2011 “Band to Watch” and dubbed “one of the hottest new bands” by KCRW Radio. Their first album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.