The 42^nd annual National Association of Television Program Executives, held in Las Vegas Jan. 25-27 at the Mandalay Bay, was a circus of stars, program hawkers, deal making and more, attracting hundreds of television executives from all over the world. 

    NATPE is working hard to say “Global R Us,” and so this year’s event saw record high international participation. Of the 366 companies on the exhibition floor, 132 were based outside the U.S. While NATPE was once viewed as primarily a domestic TV syndication market, that is no longer true as organizers have successfully begun an international mission. As Stephen Davis, NATPE co-chair, explained, “The atmosphere at NATPE is conducive to exploring these new opportunities as it is the only environment where domestic and international interests are aligned.”

            I was there in part to take advantage of that internationalism, working to pitch several shows, including some involving a European setting. NATPE is not the kind of place where you want to waste your time hoping the cell phone will sing, so I had set up several appointments prior to almost missing my flight because of Boston’s cursed weather patterns. Sweet fate had set my departure time from Logan at 11:30 a.m. the morning after The Mother of all January Snowstorms, which turned out to be the exact time the airport reopened to regularly scheduled flights. Hallelujah!

            As I worked to make progress with my own projects, I was also soon caught up in the whirlwind of excitement that is television programming, with so many fresh ideas in every direction. It takes actually being at such a major conference as NATPE to really understand the power of television and media to influence almost all of our conscious associations on how we view the world and the people who reside in countries other than our own. 

            It’s only in walking the aisles of the Mandalay Bay Hotel Convention Center that one realizes the extraordinary difficulty of getting a show on the air, the number of hurdles that one must jump over, and most of all the competition – the enormous proliferation of network and off-network offerings that international broadcasters are pitching in the U.S. and their American counterparts are selling back at them. It is vitally important to view the variety and quality of the competition; in order to best position your product and most effectively make your pitch. In addition, it is critical to who you should be working with. The question to be answered at NATPE is: Who should your partner be, under ideal circumstances, and what is your Plan B?

            As NATPE co-chair John Weiser put it, “NATPE has become an ideal venue for learning more about new ideas and new opportunities that everyone can take advantage of.”

            The seminars were particularly beneficial this year, such as: “Reshaping your television career in the evolving digital world;” “Where TV programming meets the bottom line;” “From concept to network to home video: How to maximize products in secondary markets;” and “Producing for interactive television.”  A who’s who of industry professionals drawn from the worlds of cable, networks, film studios and independent producers highlighted each of these panels. 

            As could be predicted, there was a rush to make contact with panelists following their presentations. But that’s the idea of NATPE; making contacts with people who can make your project move forward and, by the way, do great things for your career.

            NATPE provides a catalyst for the industry, and also serves as a platform for two kinds of programs – first run programming designed for syndication and off-network sales, or programs that have had prime time success and are now available for international sales. 

            Among first run offerings, the buzz was over Martha Stewart, who Universal is hoping to march straight from prison to production success. She is planning to launch “Martha,” a live audience celebrity guest show. “America likes a good comeback,” NBC Universal’s Barry Wallach told the Hollywood Reporter. “And they’re very forgiving.”

            Not so forgiving was Ted Turner. The CNN founder gave the opening keynote address Tuesday morning to an audience of over 700 delegates and took potshots at media consolidation, which he said makes breaking into the business virtually impossible today. In response to questioning from the audience on how one can most effectively get started in the television industry, Turner said that you should think about the restaurant industry instead, which he is now doing, selling bison burgers in a chain of restaurants he has started. Bison burgers, he added, are the wave of the future. You can get your at any Ted’s Montana Grill.

  In response to a question from your noble correspondent, when he was asked if he had any advice for CNN since the ratings of Fox News have surpassed the collective rating of CNN, MSNBC and CNBC, Turner replied that Fox News is a propaganda voice of the government no different from Hitler’s Nazi machine and noted that “just because you’re bigger doesn’t make you better.” You might say that Ted Turner, the man who changed the way the world presents and consumes news, does not shrink from shooting from the hip.

            Here are the six trends and developments that all producers and writers and those who want a crack of the television business need to know:

1. The competition is ferocious for new reality shows, though the genre remains a tricky business. At a seminar on the topic Tuesday, Jan. 26, speakers stressed that casting is key.  “For reality shows, casting is everything,” said Andrea Wong of ABC.  “If you can’t understand and identify with the characters, people tune out immediately.”  Increasing costs are also a concern for producers, with a primetime series at a price tag of $750,000 to $1.5 million, a sharp increase from just three years ago. “Get rid of the formula and stick with the story,” said Tom Guthridge.

2. Independent television producers are not exactly strolling down Easy Street these days.  “There’s been a rapid shrinkage of independents in this business,” said Variety columnist Brian Lowry at a panel on the current state of television. Consolidation and vertical integration of the networks means that if you’re not in the company, you’re out to lunch. The major production companies and networks are not thrilled to hear of new ideas that they cannot do on their own. They don’t want to share the increasingly shrinking licensing fees and creative fees with outsiders. This is a fact of life

3. NATPE started this year with a special focus on how mobile phones are shaping the broadcast industry. (“American Idol” processed 2.5 million votes cast via text messages last season.) “Mobile is the next great medium,” said Jim Ryan of Cingular Wireless.  Producers should be aware of licensing fees associate with distribution and re-distribution of original programming on the stupid little screens of hand-held telephones that the other under 25-year-old market segment seems to be so infatuated with. This is a fast growing and at present time underserved distribution outlet – and allows sponsors to target a very hard-to-reach market segment.

4. Product integration.  Almost every panel featured a presentation on the importance of product integration into your television show. Sponsors are looking for developing brand consciousness apart from 30-second commercials. The Tivo-ing of America is a major concern of advertisers. They know that at least 15 percent of today’s audience is fast-forwarding through commercials, and they expect this trend to increase to 40 percent by 2010 – thus, they are taking a lead investment working with producers such as Mark Burnett in developing programming that will feature their products on an exclusive basis within the content of the show. Secondly, they are willing to provide producers with separate revenue streams associated with the placing of their products within the dramatic structure of a show. 

5. Kids programming. The sub teen kids programming market is exploding. As these programs, even in English, are demonstrating far more international appeal. The good news is that it’s an exploding market, the bad news is that there’s an incredible amount of product already chasing it. It’s absolutely critical for independent producers to think about how their product will play not only in Peoria, but also in Prague.

6. Video on demand (VOD). This is presently a $5 billion per year business and is expected to double in the next three years. Independent producers are now attempting to aggressively seek out cable operators like Comcast and Time Warner and, in essence, hold out this distribution format from deals they are making with networks and other distributor types. This can be increasingly lucrative and producers should be well aware of the tremendous upside and negotiate their back-end participation accordingly.

            You can’t be serious about entering the television market and working in this mad, mad industry without trekking to Las Vegas and gambling your time and money on understanding where you fit in and how you can succeed.

 

Next year’s NATPE is Jan. 24-26, 2006 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

 

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Paul Boghosian is a veteran film and television executive, who as president of HarborSide Films in Boston, is always pitching new products to television networks and film studios.