NATPE Budapest, Streaming Plus Rescheduled to Summer Amid Coronavirus Uncertainty

By Manori Ravindran

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – While January’s NATPE conference and market is one of the few events to have been spared by the coronavirus pandemic, organizers have rescheduled their summer editions as the global coronavirus pandemic wears on.

NATPE Budapest International, which was set to take place June 30-July 3 in the Hungarian capital, will now run from Aug. 25-27. The event will remain at the InterContinental Hotel, which last year drew 470 buyers and attendees from more than 70 countries.

Meanwhile, the second edition of NATPE Streaming Plus, originally set for Los Angeles on July 28, has been moved to September 15. Last year’s inaugural event drew streamers including Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Pluto TV and CBS All Access. The confab will again take place at the W Hollywood.

Looking ahead, NATPE Miami will run as planned from Jan. 19-21, 2021, at the Fontainebleau Resort in Miami, Florida.

Commenting on the new dates for the Budapest and Los Angeles events, NATPE president and CEO JP Bommel said: “Our first thoughts and prayers go to the NATPE community of those affected by this devastating crisis. From a business perspective, NATPE recognizes that the industry faces unprecedented marketplace challenges; we want to be part of the solution and bring to bear experiences that will help our constituency continue to do business to their fullest potential.”

NATPE Miami, which ran from January 21-23, along with the Realscreen Summit, Sundance Film Festival, U.K. Screenings and the Berlinale are among the few markets and festivals that managed to eke through this calendar year before the COVID-19 outbreak became a global crisis.