VideoAge International November 2018

November 2018 MIPCOM Review A t the start of MIPCOM, the buzz was that fewer people were in attendance than at last year’s event because market participants were able to get bargain rates at top Cannes hotels with last-minute reservations. The reality turned out to be much less dire —more people than ever chose residential apartments instead of hotel rooms. However, one buzzworthy tidbit that didn’t turn out to be fake news was the rumored shocker that, next year, one of the studios plans to skip bothMIP-TV (in April) andMIPCOM (in October). Another development was the trend towards shorter stays for top-level executives, many of whom departed on Wednesday morning after having barely been present for two of the four days of the market, which ended Thursday, October 18. As for MIPCOM itself, the market seemed to be experiencing some issues, including the fact that it was only able to appoint a Country of Honor at the last minute, when China entered the picture at a (reportedly) heavily discounted fee. Another decision — which was also late in coming — was the selection of a Personality of the Year who is a complete unknown outside the U.S., even though Issa Rae turned out to be a timely choice. Some grumbling about the scarcity of pedestrians was heard from companies exhibiting on the basement level. While the bunker, as the basement is affectionately called, eventually became busy on Tuesday during a torrential rainstorm, all other areas of the Palais seemed constantly on the go. Unchanged was the large number of re- creational events, which, onMonday, the market’s first day, saw a whopping 10 concurrent late afternoon parties, stretching the endurance of even the biggest party lovers in Cannes. Turkey’s ATV celebrated with a lavish dinner in honor of its 25th anniversary, and the U.K.’s Banijay held a cocktail reception to commemorate its 10th year. On the U.S. studios’ side, CBS opened with a screening of Ben Stiller’s Escape at Dannemora, with Stiller engaging in after- screening conversation. Matteo Renzi, the former Italian Prime Minister, and now Senator, made an appearance to showcase his TV documentary, Florence , with only VideoAge Daily reporting on the event. As usual, the U.S. studios, the large U.K. companies, and the Turkish distributors took the lion’s share of attention and, most likely, program sales. One rainy day and some ill-timed beach repairs west of the Carlton Hotel caused some “digital” disruption, since one side of the road and the walkway were closed. Next MIPCOM, the beach repairs will affect the other side of the Croisette, east of the Carlton, closer to the Palais itself. Finally, Disney Media Distribution Latin America gave a press luncheon to announce the co-production of Cazadores de Milagros, a series of 13 one-hour episodes available for worldwide distribution, as well as the co-development of Americana, a 10-episode drama series set in late 19th century Brazil. There, Disney producer Leonardo Aranguibel and senior vice president Fernando Barbosa were practically mobbed by members of the LATAM press. The final tally, according to market organizers, was 13,800 delegates, including 4,800 buyers from over 110 countries. Last year’s event drew 13,900 participants. The number of buyers was the same. Cannes TV Market Is a Mix Of (Very) Good and Bad News Pictured on this page, from bottom left: 1. AMC Studios’ Rick Olshansky, Hulu’s Lisa Holme, AMC Studios’ Valerie Cabrera, Amazon’s Martin Backlund 2. Dogan TV’s Yeliz Kalafat and Kanal D’s Kerim Emrah Turna 3. A+E’s Sean Cohan (l.) with former Vodafone exec Florian Landgraf 4. Viacom International Studios’ Ant Ward, David Lynn, Kat Graham, Pierluigi Gazzolo, Andy Suriano 5. ATV’s Müge Akar, Emre Görentas, Emir Duzel 6. Multicom Entertainment’s Darrin Holender, Fantawild’s Daniel Bort and Kristina Razmerova, Multicom’s Jesse Baritz 7. GMA Worldwide inked an exclusive distribution deal with China’s FZ Entertainment. Pictured (l. to r.): the Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Ling Li, with Joshua Jiang of FZ Entertainment, Roxanne J. Barcelona of GMA Worldwide, and Reed Midem’s Paul Barbaro. (Photo by Romina Rodriguez) 10