Los Angeles, CA – May 24, 2021 – After 10 successful days, LA Virtual Screenings (LAVS) has completed the official market days on Friday, May 21, however the platform will stay open for two more weeks, closing on June 4th. The platform includes the marketplace, educational conference sessions on-demand, and other networking tools.

LAVS was very well attended, as with the previous VS events, (4000 people, 8400 screenings), but the difference from previous VS events was a more intense usage of the platform: the buyers entered more times and viewed more screenings; many of those viewings being binge-watching. This reaction underlines how the VS format, which makes a focus on content and has no commitments for buyers, is strongly preferred by buyers.

The behavior graphics further shows the favorability of the platform by the buyers: more than 50% of them visited 50% or more of the booths, with many visiting 75% or more. On average, buyers visited 12 booths (60 pieces of content).

It is also interesting to analyze how the buyers spent time not only at the VS Market, but also in the other sections of the event. VS Billboard was one section seeing the largest amount of growth. Buyers often opened four to five of the 10 recommended pieces of content per visit. With the VS Figures rankings and the content lines at VS Market, 3,000 screenings were generated outside the booths, while 4,000 inside. In previous VS events these synergies were much weaker.

The Top 15 countries of attending buyers illustrates that LAVS is a fully global event. It generated amazing interest not only in America, but also in the major territories of Europe and Asia. Germany, France and Japan surpassed their previous buyer delegations.

VS Next, the educational conference portion of the events, was again a great success and provided insight into market trends beyond the content screenings. The conference covered a variety of topics including big OTTs, the streaming business, and eSports as one of the new topics.

During the first week, there was a very strong desire for Latin American content suppliers, following the tradition of LA Screenings. On the second week, European distributors (Germany, France, Spain and Turkey) placed behind the leaders (big US brands and big Latins). Platinum exhibitors are always on top, because they get more screenings per buyer visit.

In regards to the content demand, the last day ViacomCBS International Studios’ Parot took the lead, in a close race with Once we were six from Globo (Brazil). And after them, there were many contents from Gold and Bronze’ booths. The binge-watching buyers first visited the big brands, then second tier options and third, entered as many booths as they can.

Regarding genres, drama was clearly the leader, but with the pandemic it was notice a bigger demand for thrillers/suspense, as well as documentaries/factual and kids programming, which are easier to produce with safe protocols. Docs are the new trend in OTTs.

To conclude, LAVS 2021 has proven that virtual events can be a good experience, if companies make focus on what works in digital: screenings, panels, and ‘inbound’ marketing: the interaction with buyers surges from their preferences and requests, not before.

About Prensario International

With almost 50 years in business, Prensario International is a leading trade publication for the global content market. Traditionally focused on the music industry, it quickly transformed into an entertainment media powerhouse covering the different business segments: first, the booming Pay TV in the ’80, then the programming and content business at the beginning of the ’90 with the big expansion of Latin telenovela all across the world, and now as a referent of the digital and 360-degree businesses in all genres and territories.

About NATPE

NATPE is a global content association and professional membership organization dedicated to shaping the future of content through global marketplaces and conferences, screenings, awards, and networking events; all specially curated for the content industry. Representing every facet of the content business, NATPE’s rich history, spanning nearly six decades, cements its roots as the largest U.S.-based global content association. NATPE is committed to representing the needs of our evolving members and constituents across all platforms and to bringing them together to shape the future of the business of content. It organizes three trade shows: NATPE Miami, the #1 global content show in the Americas; NATPE Streaming Plus, NATPE Virtual sessions including the Business of Black TV, News and Sports, LA Screenings Independents, with focus in Latin America and US Hispanic; and NATPE Budapest, the ultimate destination for companies targeting CEE and CIS. 

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Media Contacts:
Kevin Broderick
The Lippin Group (LA)
kevin@lippingroup.com