Brunico Shuts Down TV Events: NAPTE and Realscreen Summit Closing

Brunico Communications has decided to shut down its U.S. television events business, including NAPTE and the Kidscreen and Realscreen Summits. Russell Goldstein, president and CEO of Toronto-based Brunico, stated that this decision was deeply considered and stemmed from the market consolidation that continues to progress and have structural impacts on the content production business. The move follows NATPE, a onetime storied trade show, and the Realscreen TV conferences and markets being combined into one Miami event in February 2026 for one last time.

Kidscreen and Realscreen will continue as kids and unscripted content publications, respectively. With the closure of the U.S. events, Claire Macdonald, NATPE’s executive director, and Jocelyn Christie, Kidscreen’s publisher, will leave Brunico.

NAPTE in Miami returned in 2024 after the assets of The National Association of Television Program Executives were acquired by Brunico, which also operates the Banff World Media Festival. The acquisition followed NAPTE filing for bankruptcy protection in October 2022 after running into a financial wall due to the forced cancellations of the 2021 and 2022 U.S. TV markets amid the pandemic. The return of NAPTE Global, the flagship U.S. TV market, in 2024 also coincided with the TV industry being upended by the 2023 dual Hollywood strikes, emerging streaming platforms and accelerating cord-cutting.

That disruption unleashed another round of industry consolidation as major studios balanced expensive streaming platforms with offsetting linear TV losses. Before picking up the operating rights to the Banff World Media Festival in 2016, Brunico ran the Realscreen Summit and Kidscreen Summit conferences as it operated markets and conferences in the U.S. and elsewhere internationally.

Brunico's decision to close its U.S. television events is due to market consolidation and structural changes in content production. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2021 and 2022 TV markets, leading NAPTE to file for bankruptcy in October 2022. The television industry was impacted by the 2023 Hollywood strikes, the emergence of streaming platforms, and the acceleration of cord-cutting.

These factors created a situation where studios had to balance expensive streaming platforms with offsetting linear TV losses. Brunico, which also operates the Banff World Media Festival, was affected by these changes and decided to close its U.S. television events.