By: Victoria Ahearn

Toronto-based B2B publishing and events producer Brunico Communications, the parent company of brands such as Kidscreen, Playback and Realscreen, has acquired the assets of the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE).

The sale includes the US-based trade body’s international content markets, conferences and events—NATPE Global, NATPE Budapest, NATPE Streaming+ and the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Awards. And it comes a few months after NATPE announced plans to restructure and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The United States Bankruptcy Court has approved the acquisition, which is expected to close before the end of January.

Brunico, which produces international events including Kidscreen Summit, Realscreen Summit and the Banff World Media Festival, became the stalking-horse bidder for certain NATPE assets and the assumption of select liabilities in November with an offer of US$150,000 (approximately C$200,000).

NATPE said it was filing for bankruptcy in October due to significant revenue loss from pandemic-related event cancellations. The global content association and professional membership organization is known for its large-scale TV trade shows and has a history spanning six decades.

Brunico plans to launch a full-scale return of NATPE’s annual slate of events, starting with NATPE Budapest from June 26 to 28. The company also intends to invest significant resources in building up the NATPE brand, in particular NATPE Global. This flagship US-based content marketplace is set to take place again in early 2024.

In a statement, Brunico Communications president and CEO Russell Goldstein said the company “will be reaching out to all NATPE partners in short order to discuss the transition and our plans for the future.”

Andy Kaplan, chair of NATPE’s board of directors, said they “could not be more pleased with this outcome,” adding that “with the board’s full support, Brunico is ideally positioned to elevate NATPE to new heights.”

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen’s sister publication Playback.

Image courtesy of Getty Images