Somewhere between boom and bust lies NATPE 2003, say organizers and attendees of last month’s annual TV trade show in New Orleans. Attendance was down for the second straight year but business in The Big Easy was up, albeit sporadically.

‘It was not as busy as some years,’ admits senior VP of marketing Beth Braen, on the phone from the remains of her booth, as the four-day show wrapped up Jan. 23. ‘There was certainly business being done… but the old days of packed corridors between the booths that you could barely walk through, that wasn’t the case.’

Some 10,000 people turned out, about the same as NATPE 2002 and half that of previous shows.

Many major companies, most notably from the U.K. and the rest of Europe, did not show. Others, as in previous years, did all their business in nearby hotel suites – continuing a trend that has left NATPE trade floors underpopulated and small companies frustrated by fewer meetings and meaningful contacts.

Efforts to boost activity on this year’s floor – daily cocktail hours for one – helped a little. ‘The floor worked as well as could be hoped for under the circumstances,’ says Braen. ‘It wasn’t a perfect solution, but this was a nice, transitional year.’

‘It was a bit slow, but we did make some new contacts from Japan and Brazil,’ says Max Oliveras, director of distribution for Muse Distribution International in Montreal. Muse sold both of its Chasing Cain MOWs in eastern Europe and expects to announce a U.S. distribution deal for Deadly Friends: The Nancy Eaton Story within the month.

But despite the shrinking floor, business was brisk for many under the Canadian Pavilion. ‘Canada looked great,’ says Jamie Brown, CEO and executive producer of Winnipeg’s Frantic Films, one of 48 companies housed in the red and white, leaf-spangled mega-booth. ‘When people came to the pavilion they saw a lot of action, a lot of meetings, a lot of what NATPE was missing.’

Frantic made progress on several projects, says Brown, but has not yet finalized any deals.

Ira Levy, executive producer of Toronto’s Breakthrough Films, also had a good year, closing sales for the series I Love Mummy, Real Men and Family Dance in Israel and the Mideast. Breakthrough also sold its doc series Med Students to Belgium, firmed up additional financing for its 13 x 30 cartoon Atomic Betty, and inked a worldwide deal for the doc series Little Miracles.

‘The silver lining to the somewhat dark cloud of NATPE,’ says Levy, ‘is we get better quality meetings.’ Many small and midsize companies report that, thanks to the overall lack of business and extra free time, they are able to take longer, more meaningful powwows with would-be clients and decision-makers. Based on those meetings, Levy plans to close additional deals for Swap TV and Kidsworld Sports by spring.

Helene White of Calgary’s HBW Films reports stronger than usual interest in Canadian shows, and got nods from Australia, New Zealand and educational broadcasters in the U.S. for her 26 x 52 series Hidden History. A major U.S. broadcaster is also reportedly keen on The Sheriff from Knottingham, a developing 13 x 60 drama about an English police inspector working in Alberta.

The consensus among Canadians is that NATPE still has a niche in the TV trade, but it’s much smaller than in the heydays of the early ’90s. Buyers and sellers alike have to adjust to the bear market.

‘You can still use NATPE for a variety of purposes,’ says Joy Tashjian, VP of worldwide sales and marketing at Mainframe Entertainment in Vancouver, again citing ‘quality time’ and the chance to get more creative feedback on developing projects. Mainframe went to New Orleans trumpeting its new animated series Maxine 5 and Alien Legion and came back, says Tashjian, with a lot of new ideas. Prospective buyers want a male character added to the girl-ish Maxine 5, and Alien Legion, adapted from the Marvel comic book, needs to ‘brighten up’ to reach its planned six- to 12-year-old audience.

Mainframe also advanced and will soon announce deals for its Scary Godmother and Tony Hawk series. A ‘major distribution deal’ including Asia and Latin America, in the works since MIPCOM, took shape last month in the Crescent City and will likely be announced by spring, says Tashjian.