"The networking is amazing! In the time it took to get from the hotel lobby to conference floor, I met at least 3 broadcasters and was pitched a few great story ideas from producers. Later, over coffee with the head of a top Euro broadcaster - I pitched and funded our biggest production for the year."

The "30 Minutes" sessions are my favorite. They're a great opportunity to meet new producers, talk about the latest ideas, and connect with the production community in ways that are unique to the traditional markets.

"The opportunities to present our latest projects, acquire good titles and close distribution deals - increase every year! In 2004, we finalized a deal with National Geographic to coproduce our upcoming project "King Tut Uncovered"."

The Summit is a great venue to exchange story ideas with smart, enthusiastic producers and broadcast execs. Some pitches were perfect and some weren't but what I appreciated most was the conviction and passion behind the ideas.

The Summit is a great venue for me to meet with North American based as well as U.K. producers of non-fiction. It's so well attended - I've been able to use it to really spread the word about HGTV's programming needs and our brand.

There may be other conventions at which to buy or sell programs, but there's really only one to rub elbows with the movers and shakers in the reality and documentary programming business...If you're not there [at the Summit], believe me, you are NOT THERE!