Central Euro tv mart sets sked

'Happening Group' sees growth for Discop '98

By ERIC OLSON

Discop 1998, the Central and Eastern European television market, has been set for June 25-27 at the Hyatt Hotel in Budapest, Hungary. The event is expected to attract 800 participants, according to the Happening Group, the confab's organizers.

The anticipated success of this year's Discop stems from the recent growth in the number of product-hungry commercial broadcasters in the region brought on by the abolition of state broadcasting monopolies.

Discop 1997 attracted more than 550 participants, which included 350 buyers from 27 Central and Eastern European countries and over 150 international sales companies including program distributors and cable networks.

Special programs at Discop 1998 include "Doc at Discop," a one-day meet exploring co-productions between Central Euro TV documentary acquisition executives and producers with partially funded projects looking for additional coin.

"How Much Is Your Cable System Worth?" is another one-day sesh that includes workshops aimed at Central and Eastern European cable networks interested in evaluating the worth of their cable systems.

A two-hour presentation titled "Focus on Central Asia" will spotlight selling programs and cable networks to Central Asian countries such as Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.