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Television Exhibitions, Conferences & Conventions
Every year, the television industry holds a large number of events where it unveils its new shows to the media, hypes upcoming projects, gets the press talking, and generally wines and dines anyone who can help them over the next business year. Getting into these conventions is quite a feat, but once you’re in, you’ll have access to many people you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get near.
Some conventions require nothing more than a registration fee and are open to the general public, but those that are for industry only, which most of them are, can sometimes be costly to register. Of course, there is always a way around that! The first way is to become a member of the organization running a convention. For example, the NATPE (National Association of Television Programming Executives) has a convention each year that attracts a few headliners, and members receive a discount on their registration. Another way is to fake your credentials by passing yourself off as a member of the media, although this takes a little more planning and patience. The most important thing to remember when attending a TV convention is to do it the right way--don’t gush over stars and don’t run around like a maniac grabbing every autograph you can. If a security guard sees the panic of an autograph hound in your eyes and starts asking questions, you could be on your way out the door. Chill out, act like an executive, and know your story. There are literally dozens of TV conventions every year that attract celebrities, but more often than not they won’t tell you ahead of time who is going to be there. However, if Jessica Biel is headlining a new series on NBC, chances are she’ll show up at the next big television convention to hype the series, but there are no guarantees. Some conventions to keep an eye out for include: MIFED (International Film & Multimedia Market) -- Milan, Italy. This festival is a great international expo of TV, film, and multimedia where hundreds of celebrities from around the world appear. MIFED Palazzina FMI Largo Domodossola 1 Milan, 20145 ITALY firstinitiallatname@fmi.it http://www.mifed.com MIPTV (International Audiovisual Content Trade Show) -- Cannes, France. This one takes place during the Cannes Film Festival, which makes it prime ground for celebrity spotting. Nearly every television station and distributor in the world will be represented by their buyers, development execs, and, of course, celebrities. MIPTV 11 rue du Colonel Pierre Avia BP 572 Cedex 15 Paris 7526 FRANCE 33-1-4190-4580 (Phone) 33-1-4190-4570 (Fax) firstname.lastname@reedmidem.com http://www.miptv.com NATPE (National Association of Television Programming Executives) -- Las Vegas. Though the location of the convention changes often, the National Association of Television Programming Executives is an important meeting for those in the biz. NATPE 5757 Wilshire Blvd., PH 10 Los Angeles, CA 90036 310-453-4440 (Phone) 310-453-5258 (Fax) info@natpe.org http://www.natpe.org |