Heading to @NATPE2017 in January? It’s going to be a bumpy ride!
Each year the National_Association_of_Television_Program_Executives or NATPE, hold the content market and conference equivalent of a high school reunion (if your high school is the TV business).
But the big party in Miami has been evolving and the “TV” business has become something more. (Actually, why do we still call it TV?)
Time was, the studios created shows and sold them to the station groups. Pretty simple.
But the internet changed all that.
Now we’ve got Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Netflix and YouTube.
Live streaming is coming on strong with Ustream, Facebook Live, Twitter and more. Snapchat and Instagram are content distributors, and other players like Crackle (think “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”) are really big deals.
The thousand plus channel universe is a real thing now, but the channels are URL’s or Apps, and the program guide is an operating system, or a notification or a bot that’s voice or motion controlled.
The digital revolution is in full swing.
Not so simple anymore!
This has become “The New Normal.”
And don’t get me started on other types of video storytelling. AR, VR, MR, and SM will create even more businesses for people to become expert at. They will be creating, marketing, and selling brand new kinds of content that will take brand new ways of thinking.
From January 17-19, all of these worlds will collide at the Fountainbleau.

The bars at the iconic hotel and its next door neighbor, The Eden Roc, will be the place to see and be seen at night, while the suites and poolside marquis will be the daytime haunts of the Networks, and the studios.

I’m looking forward to watching how all the on-line players and disrupters fit in with the old-school.
This will be a year of change for NATPE.
But will it be the year before the word “Televsion” changes in the title?
All will be revealed (probably not, but one can hope) at NATPE 2017.
I will be watching closely and blogging all about it.
If you have any specific things you’d like me to check out…just reach out @fradice or @def6 and I will investigate.
I hope its hot there!