NATPE organizers see show attendance slide

Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

The National Association of Television Program Executives trade show has always been a place for TV show developers to catch the eye of network execs and strike deals to get their programs on the air.

But what happens when the network moguls don't show up?

NATPE, which ends its four-day run at the Las Vegas Convention Center today, is searching for answers as exhibitors detected a noticeable downturn in attendance and dozens of companies shunned the 39th annual show in favor of setting up hospitality suites at the Venetian hotel-casino.

NAPTE leaders knew trouble was on the horizon last fall when nine key exhibitors announced they would not return to the trade show as a cost-cutting measure. Organizers said Wednesday about 9,600 people registered for the show this year, down from the 13,913 that attended last year. There were 550 exhibitors at the event, down from 870 a year ago.

Meanwhile, 80 companies set up hospitality suites in rooms at the Venetian. Among the big names there: Twentieth Century Fox Television, Buena Vista Television, Paramount Domestic Television, Universal Worldwide Television, King World, Warner Bros. Telepictures and CBS Broadcast International.

The downturn in attendance was most noticeable in the NATPE seminars where meeting rooms capable of holding hundreds of people were less than half full. Only about 100 people turned out to hear a question-and-answer session with Federal Communications Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy and an award presentation to "Law and Order" television series creator Dick Wolf.

Exhibitors on the trade show floor offered a number of theories as to why attendance was off and why there were fewer exhibitors:

In response to some of the defections, NATPE leaders decided to create a task force to study how it could refocus the organization's goals and keep the membership unified.

NATPE President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Johansen said the task force met for the first time in December and is expected to make recommendations to the association's board of directors in April. The task force is comprised of executives from several member companies.

The group will rely on information provided in an online membership survey being developed by E-poll/Bridge Entertainment.

E-poll.com, Encino, Calif., conducts industry research and reports on a variety of entertainment topics, from the viewing public's thoughts on reality television to how much consumers pay attention to TV ads.

Michelle Waxman of E-poll, which had a display at the trade show -- one that was smaller than what the company had last year -- said NATPE was caught in a "perfect storm" of events that hurt the association and there was no single cause for this year's downturn.

"The 9-11 tragedy was a one-time body blow," added her boss, Gerry Philpott, president and chief executive officer of E-poll. "There were a lot of people who had to make decisions then on, 'Do we go or do we not go?' "

Among the companies that decided to go were several European film companies that had massive displays on the show floor.

Lynn Chadwick, vice president of Greenlight International B.V., a company from the Netherlands that specializes in animated features and documentaries, said she was happy with the show because there were more serious customers at this year's show and not as many people who attend only to gawk at celebrities.

"I had a full diary," Chadwick said of her appointment book. "And all of (her appointments) were on time and there were no cancellations. That's almost unheard of. But I really think the reason why is that the people who came to see me really were interested in learning about what we had to offer and weren't running off to see some glitzy movie star who was making an appearance at another booth."

Another exhibitor, Tom Jikomes of Ultimate Productions, had no point of reference, since this was his first NATPE show. But he planned to turn his booth over to colleagues so he could pay a visit to executives in hospitality suites at the Venetian.

Jikomes is marketing "Four Play," which he describes as "an extreme double-dating TV show" that is a cross between "Blind Date" and "Fear Factor." The concept, which he and a friend developed while vacationing in Las Vegas, features two sets of best friends who double date and participate in a variety of activities, from jumping out of a helicopter to wine-tasting.com