Divine Restoration could also be the name of a series about the rebound of NATPE, and not just one of the hotter-selling titles at this year’s market from Ellis Entertainment.

President Stephen Ellis won’t talk about specific deals until they’re signed, but he says Divine Restoration, a 26 x 30 renovation show for churches, garnered a lot of interest from international buyers at the once-struggling North American TV market that wrapped Jan. 27 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Convention Center in Las Vegas. The series is in production currently in Canada and the U.S. under Ellis Entertainment’s joint venture with VisionTV, called Vision Television International.

‘It has caught the wave of remodeling shows with a little more social value,’ says Ellis.

‘We’ve been a longtime supporter of NATPE,’ says Ellis, explaining that he has attended every year since 1977. ‘It’s changed a lot over that time, had its ups and downs, but it has worked well for us. [The event] seemed to bottom out a couple of years ago, but it’s steadily climbing out of that and is on the rebound.’

He says Ellis Entertainment did more business this year over last. Another joint-venture production, the 6 x 30 series The Lost Gods (a treaty coproduction with Ireland), was also reportedly selling well.

Before NATPE, Telefilm Canada expressed concerns about the event’s organization and relevance – going so far as to put the trade show on probation and wondering aloud whether it would attend in 2006. Telefilm sounds more upbeat now, although its plans remain in doubt.

‘Actually, it was a very good market,’ says Lise Corriveau, director of festivals and markets, pointing to the increased participation and attendance year-over-year. ‘Our clients were busy.’

She says Telefilm and TV France International, the only other international pavilion on the main floor, shared concerns and shared meetings with NATPE organizers during the event. ‘They wanted to hear what we had to say,’ she explains. ‘They are coming back with solutions about how they can make life easier. We’ll see what they come back with.’

Telefilm, as part of its evaluation of trade shows like NATPE, has a survey out to participants. Results are not expected back for a couple of months.

‘If we continue to go, maybe we will have to revise our formula,’ says Corriveau, citing budget constraints and rising costs. ‘Is it worth it financially? Can the industry absorb more [cost]? We may look at new financing and partnerships.’

Moving the event to the Mandalay may eventually work out for NATPE, but this year there was still a distinct gap between the trade floor and the hotel where many delegates continue to work. The hotel and exhibition floor are in the same facility, but separated by a 15-minute walk – enough distance for some buyers to miss meetings, says Corriveau.

Rick Feldman, president and CEO of NATPE, says the 2005 market attracted 375 exhibitors, a 10% jump over 2004. He doesn’t have a solid attendance figure, but estimates that there were 8,000 delegates, up about 14% from 2004.

‘I don’t judge the show,’ says Feldman. ‘That’s up to the attendees, but anecdotes have been very positive.’ Among this year’s achievements, he cites the market’s broader perspective, a more bustling trade floor, and ‘no more talk about ‘Why NATPE?”

NATPE also showcased the return of the Internet as a viable distribution model, after a lengthy absence following the dot-bomb crash.

‘That whole extension of the business is coming back,’ says Ellis, who is negotiating a couple of Internet deals in the post-NATPE period. ‘That business model is improving.’

He says a number of productive meetings have also helped him track market shifts in the U.K. Distributors in that country now retain rights that used to get signed over to broadcasters. Ellis buys a lot of British product for distribution in Canada.

– www.natpe.org