DISCOP ISTANBUL EXPANDS FOR 2012, AS IT PARTNERS WITH 
TEDx DIGITAL SILK ROAD EVENT AND SEES GROWTH IN BUYER ATTENDANCE

Los Angeles / Paris, 17 February 2012 – Basic Lead, the organizer of DISCOP ISTANBUL, can today announce that it has partnered with the TEDxSilkRoad event to present an enhanced conference and business networking programme.  The company also reports that DISCOP ISTANBUL has surpassed its previous edition, with 30 more buying companies – 168 in total – registered for the upcoming content market.

DISCOP ISTANBUL, which takes place at the Intercontinental Ceylan Hotel from 28 February to 1 March, has teamed with Any Screen Productions, organizer of the TEDxSilkRoad event, to present a day dedicated to “Decoding the Future”.

Chaired by Ferhan Cook, TEDxSilkRoad’s curator and a digital industry and mobile content veteran, the “Decoding the Future” sessions will focus on the proliferation of digital content and the redefinition of distribution models, featuring the latest content monetization, distribution and engagement case studies.  The sessions will feature industry renowned speakers such as cross media expert Daniel Ravner of Screenz UK; Guillaume Gerard of LimeLight France; Allan McLennan of the Padem Group and Vladimir Nabatov of X-Media Online Solutions.

The full three-day conference and business networking agenda at DISCOP ISTANBUL will feature a host of speakers, including Zeynel Koc, Deputy Director General, TRT Turkish Radio and Television Corporation; Farrell Meisel, CEO, GroupOne and 1TV Media, Afghanistan; Bakytjan Amanov, Director General, NTS New Television Network, Kyrgyzstan; Akhmadjon Umarov, Head of National Cinema Fund, Uzbekistan; Fadi Ismail, Director, O3 MBC Group TV / O3 Productions, UAE; Badih Fattouh, Director General, CBC TV, Egypt and Atef Dalgamouni, Office of the Deputy Director General, Aljazeera Network, Qatar.

The sessions and panels will be moderated by market specialists including Nick Holdsworth, Variety’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Bureau Chief; Nabil Kazan, President, K&P Partners TV Services and Mohammed Moesa, Variety Arabia’s Film and Media Journalist.

With attendance already tracking 15% above the 2011 edition, DISCOP ISTANBUL will now bring together representatives from 168 buying companies from Central Asia, the Middle East and Northern Africa with 118 companies supplying international content.

Patrick Jucaud, General Manager of Basic Lead commented today, “Teaming with organisations such as TEDxSilkRoad enables us to provide an agenda packed with extended opportunities to gather vital information and insight on the rapidly evolving content market in the Middle East and Central Asia, which we are confident our attendees – both local and international – will find hugely relevant.  We are delighted to reach and surpass our targets for this second edition of DISCOP ISTANBUL and look forward to a very successful market and conference program.”

Ferhan Cook, CEO of Any Screen Productions / Digital Silk Road, added, “I am very excited about the opportunity to be chairing a vital seminar at DISCOP ISTANBUL, regarding ‘Future of Media Distribution and Digital Storytelling’, and discussing ‘Borderless Creativity and Commerce’ which is the theme of our upcoming TEDxSilkRoad event on April 11 in Istanbul.”

Exhibitors selling content include Zodiak Rights, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, Turner Broadcasting System, A+E Networks, Telemundo, Televisa, Discovery, Venevision, NBC Universal, Viacom, Sparks, Zee Telefilms, Mondo TV, TRT, Global Agency, MBC and Mediaset.  These companies join France’s program export arm TV France International, in attendance with a contingent of 23 companies including Arte, AB International Distribution and Mediatoon.

The “Decoding the Future” track adds to a vibrant program of informative sessions and briefings, including a “Spotlight on Central Asia”, focusing on the region’s booming television industry and “The renaissance of Arabic content”, focusing on why home-grown tales do so well at home and abroad.  DISCOP ISTANBUL will also feature a generous agenda of social functions and networking opportunities.

For further information contact:

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Press Contacts:

Cassy Salyer
The Lippin Group/LA
csalyer@lippingroup.com
323.965.1990

Debbie Lawrence
The Lippin Group/London
dlawrence@lippingroup.com
+44 203 008 5406