MUMBAI: The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE), a US based association for content professionals, announced yesterday that it has entered into an alliance with France-based Discop organisation, a major facilitator of Central and East European TV business.
The announcement was made by NATPE president Rick Feldman. An official release stated that the arrangement is designed to provide television production and distribution companies, based in the region and represented by the Discop organisation, with a foothold in the US via NATPE's annual conference to develop business relationships throughout North and South America.
According to the terms set by the agreement, the NATPE 2005 exhibition floor will house the Discop village from 25 to 27 January in Las Vegas, a dedicated pavilion for up to 20 Central and East European content distributors.
NATPE and Discop will promote this new initiative at Discop's annual market in Budapest, the Hungarian capital, from 24 to 26 June this year.
According to Feldman, "Central and Eastern Europe is one of the world's fastest growing regions in the television industry and it is NATPE's mandate to provide the global business with opportunities to succeed. By entering into this exciting alliance with Discop, we are opening the door for companies in this part of the world to gain valuable exposure to North and South American companies and vice versa."
Discop founding manager Patrick Jucaud noted, "The Eastern European television production industry is growing fast, and is now ready to bring high-quality programming to international marketplaces. That's why we think that the timing is right for Central and Eastern European companies to be given a cost-effective opportunity to access North and South American markets through NATPE, regarded by many as the most powerful networking business event for the industry."
NATPE, a global, non-profit organization is dedicated to the creation, development and distribution of televised programming in all forms, across all platforms.
