28-06-2009

DISCOP weathers recession year

By FNE Staff
    Despite a drop in the number of participants, 1,542 compared with 1,729 in 2008, DISCOP East managing director Patrick Jucaud put a positive spin on the business results.

    In a press release Jucaud said, "The market this year took place in one of the worst economic environments ever, and despite this terrible climate, enough business was done by enough participants during the 3-day market to ensure that Central and Eastern Europe are considered a resilient marketplace."

    The economic downturn in Latvia and Estonia, along with Russia and the Ukraine, was blamed for the lower turn-out this year.

    At the event, which ran June , 33 Central and East European countries and 588 companies were represented. In a new pre-DISCOP day offering, some 200 TV programmes not yet licensed in the CEE region were screened in partnership with the EU MEDIA Programme, with 1,100 viewings during the one-day event.

    Among the deals sealed at DISCOP East, Bavaria Media reported strong sales to Romania's TVR (over 100 hours of programmes) and HBO Central Europe (Heinrich Breloer's Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family), and was a sponsor of the pitching forum DISCOPRO.