NBCU’s Zucker to Keynote NATPE 2008

Theme of National Association of Television Programming Executives’ Gathering: ‘Where Now Meets Next’

By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 11/13/2007 5:47:00 PM

NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker will keynote NATPE 2008, to be held Jan. 28-31 at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

Last year, NATPE’s keynoter was Chris Anderson, editor of Wired magazine and author of best-selling book The Long Tail.

This year, National Association of Television Programming Executives president Rick Feldman said, “There’s no more old world and new world: It’s all digital. It represents every single aspect of our business. You have to figure out where you put your content, where it’s going to be exclusive, where it’s not, how you cut it all up and so forth. As the head of NBC, Zucker’s dealing with all of it.”

Overall, NATPE 2008 will focus on the convergence of programming, advertising and emerging media, with a theme of “Where Now Meets Next.”

“The theme is really to reflect the business in its totality,” Feldman said. “We really try to create under one roof a three-ring circus where we’re dealing with all aspects of our business.”

According to Feldman, where NATPE’s business once precisely focused on programming developed for syndication to television stations, it now covers all video “whether it’s created for a two-inch, 15-inch or 45-inch screen.”

Feldman thinks the ongoing writers’ strike will affect the conference, although he’s not sure how yet. “Everyone is trying to figure out what’s going to be happening in December or January,” he said. “If the strike is still on, people don’t want to get up and talk or say anything. It’s certainly created a lot of uncertainty.”