DISCOP EAST 2009 Ends On A Positive Mood

Organisers of the 17th edition of the international content market DISCOP EAST announced a very positive and vibrant market as the three-day event came to a close at the Sofitel Hotel recently.
A total of 1542 participants took part and the general consensus amongst attendees was that, despite the global economic downturn and its affect on the Central and European regions, buyers had indeed come to Budapest to spend money and close deals.
Numbers were marginally down on 2008 with 187 less attendees, but still up on the 2007 market, indicating a continued growth in its importance in the TV industry calendar.
732 of the 1542 participants attended the 3-day market as audiovisual content buyers (271 less than in 2008 when 1003 buyers were in attendance), representing 588 TV stations, Thematic TV channels, DVD distributors, theatrical distributors, territorial agents and production companies, satellite, cable and IPTV operators, from 33 Central and Eastern Europe countries. This decline was attributed mainly to the current difficulties encountered by the television industry in countries such as Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia and Russia.
509 of these participants attended DISCOP EAST 09 as audiovisual content buyers, representing 320 international sales organisations, down from 596 sales executives representing 421 companies in 2008.
In a brand new initiative, on the day prior to DISCOP EAST 09, around 200 television programs not yet licensed in the CEE region were screened in partnership with the EU-funded MEDIA PROGRAMME and a total of 1100 viewings took place over the course of the day.
The 3rd edition of the DISCOPRO training and pitching program before the opening of the 3-day market brought together almost 100 participants. Ten CEE television projects were pitched to a panel of international commissioning editors including representatives from Bavaria Media Television, Mediaset, TVP and France Television. The two winning DISCOPRO projects will be presented during the Roma Fiction Festival which will take place from July 6 to 11 in the Italian capital.
Patrick Jucaud, Managing Director at DISCOP EAST commented: "The market this year took place in one of the worst economic environments ever, and despite this terrible climate, enough business was done by enough participants during the 3-day market to ensure that Central and Eastern Europe are considered a resilient marketplace. We look forward to a strong and vibrant 2010 edition of DISCOP EAST."
Founded in 1991, DISCOP is the only television content market strictly targeted at Central and Eastern Europe. After 15 years of operating independently, the DISCOP organisation has partnered since 2005 with the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE). NATPE is a global non-profit organisation dedicated to the creation, development and distribution of televised programming in all forms, across all mature and emerging media platforms.
(KMcA/BMcC)