"There's Never A Cop Around When You Need One"

As a sales executive, I have participated in markets where television programs are bought and sold since attending the NAB in 1962 through, most recently, the 2002 NATPE in Las Vegas. I have also attended in that period MIP-TV, MIPCOM, Monte Carlo, the London Film Market, VSDA, MILIA, MIFED, Streaming Media, and others that I'm sure I have forgotten.

The goal in each of these market spaces is to bring together buyers and sellers in order to create commercial transactions of one sort or another. Many of these markets deal with "new" technologies and I have watched as some of these technologies have gone away, while others like DVD, Broadband, and Interactive Television have grown dramatically, and will grow more.

Now the good news, NATPE has been around for approximately forty years. Since its inception, it has been the fulcrum of programming decisions in the business of buying and selling syndicated programs. I have watched both domestic and international television revenues in syndication climb from the tens of millions to the billions.

The business of television has evolved enormously since NATPE has been around. When it started there were three commercial television networks in the United States and now there are six. There were no cable networks and now there are a gazillion of them. There were no satellite networks and now the satellite networks are everywhere. International program sales have increased enormously, from limited over the air potential to a marketplace where programs are delivered to broadcast networks, cable systems, and satellite networks throughout the world.

At some point there will be another revolution in the delivery of content into the home by a variety of Broadband deliverers. Interactive Television will certainly be a factor, as will wireless delivery systems.

During these years the industry owned, non-profit, trade association, NATPE, has been around to tell us all what's going on, to allow executives and companies from all parts of the world to come together once a year to buy, to sell, to co-produce, to co-venture, to meet and greet, to attend panels, to have parties, to go to breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, to have drinks, and to generally "hang out" with one another.

I have always been a big supporter of NATPE and believe that Bruce Johansen and his predecessor, Phil Corvo, have done an outstanding job of growing NATPE to serve the interests of the vast majority of its members.

Certainly, the 2002 NATPE presented several challenges not experienced previously. The ad market has been down significantly. The aftermath of September 11th, has had an enormous effect on the media business (and other businesses, as well) throughout the world. Corporations, particularly, the new generation of merged media companies, are squeezing their operating divisions to cut overhead in order to make up for unfulfilled promises made to Wall Street concerning these mergers. Has NATPE been guilty of significant excesses? Most certainly. As a participant in the NATPE conventions at Columbia Pictures, Polygram, and MGM, was it necessary for me to bring lox, bagels, etc. from New York and provide brunch to significant portion of the attendees? Probably not. Was it necessary for Disney, Paramount, FOX, etc. to build enormous and expensive exhibition space? Probably not. Was it necessary for King World and others to have a party for 7,000 of their closest friends and clients? Probably not. Has it been necessary for companies to bring fifty or more executive to the convention? Probably not.

NATPE has been, and is about the business of television and technology worldwide. It is a place where Castle Hill Production of New York, Douglas Entertainment of California, System TV of France, or Oasis Pictures of Canada can come together and meet the worldwide community of buyers, sellers, and producers, and participate in the business activity that they, the independents, have chosen to pursue.

Does NATPE fulfill all of the wishes of all the participants all of the time? No, but does it satisfy, up until 2002, most of the people, most of the time? Most certainly, yes.

Unfortunately, one day after NATPE began, Dick Robertson described as the "de-facto leader of the renegade syndicators, forcefully told reporters that in the future, his studio will host its own showcase events separate from NATPE's, and it appears at least some of the studios are ready to join him". Robertson went on to say " with consolidation, there are only a few buyers, hardly enough justify the estimated two million dollars Warner Bros. has spent gearing up for NATPE's past". It is obvious that Warner Bros. itself represents one of the larger media consolidations, along with Viacom, Disney, and NewsCorp. At one time there was only Warner Bros., with Lorimar, Telepictures, and Turner being separate, independent companies. Today, they are one company.

I see nothing wrong with Warner Bros. "blowing away" NATPE and saying "it doesn't serve us any longer to be on the floor at NATPE". Robertson, one of the truly outstanding syndicators in the business, did not need to do what he did. Similarly, 20th Century FOX, Buena Vista, King World, MGM, Paramount, and Universal could have individually decided not to participate with NATPE on the convention floor. In my opinion, the "wrong doers" at the studios could have individually decided "to do whatever it is they chose to do", but apparently none of them had the courage of their convictions to "go at it alone" and probably said to each other "let's all go to the same hotel this year and not go on the convention floor".

NATPE is an American institution that speaks to the world of 21st century media systems which is not limited to speaking to the program director of a station in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Potential 2003 NATPE participants are attempting to determine what is in fact in their best interests. Are the larger exhibitors (the studios and a few others) actually holding meetings (or dare I say, conspiring with one another) to determine the fate of the 2003 NATPE? Are they again this year, while stating that NATPE has lost its relevance, planning to once again be in New Orleans in January 2003, meeting, greeting, and selling? It would occur to me that it would require a certain amount of character and integrity to not go to NATPE and not sell out of hotel suites. Does anyone at the Justice Department care even a "teeny-weeny bit" that the conspiratorial studios are destroying the remnants of what had once been a vibrant U.S. production and distribution community? The big continue to get bigger and the small continue to go away.

I am sure that NATPE will continue to exist no matter what the studio companies do. It is the only American content marketplace that serves the worldwide community of those who make, produce, or sell content, and those who buy and use content. NATPE will perhaps have to reconfigure itself, while under threat of Dick Robertson and his cohorts. They will continue to be a force in the coming decade.

Having been involved in this process for well over forty years, I am as astounded at what's happening to NATPE as I am astounded by what's happening to the television media in general. Probably less than a dozen people have set out to harm or destroy the vestiges of the independent community, not because they "had" to do this, but because they "could" do this.

While it wouldn't have thrilled me, I could respect and honor a position of unilaterally abandoning NATPE. I cannot respect those individuals who could not honor their convictions and leave NATPE one at a time. These companies found safety in numbers, which is possibly illegal and more importantly, cowardly.

I wish it weren't so.

Back to Articles