V I D E O A G E December 2022 14 MIP Cancun Report (Continued from Cover) From l. to r.: ATV’s Mustafa Keyvan, Merve Dogan, Emre Gorentas, with Tania Porras Cossani of Medcom Panama (WAWA) in attendance. They made up an astonishing nine percent of the market’s attendees. It is now clear that MIP Cancun has become the premier market for LatAm television, forcing DISCOP Miami to turn its attention to the global market, with LatAm relegated to just one of its components (see DISCOP Miami story on page 10). Marta Ezpeleta, director of Distribution, International Offices, and Co-productions at Spain-based Mediapro Studio, had ten people from her company in Cancun. “MIP Cancun is crucial for our sales and finding opportunities for new projects”, she said. Mediapro also sponsored the opening party. If there was some grumbling at MIP Cancun, it was related to the event’s calendar dates, as it was close to the end of the AFM in Santa Monica (which concluded on November 6, 2022), and just 25 days after MIPCOM. Some content distributors simply did not have the time to jump frommarket to market, and a few of them had to forgo Cancun. Similarly, because of how close it was to MIP Cancun, companies like Mediapro had to skip this year’s AFM, which is a market they normally attended in the past. MIP Cancun also changed its management structure — it’s now headed by Maria PerezBelliere — and in the process it became more structured and formal. For example, there were no less than 20 e-mail exchanges between panelists and organizers (with up to 12 people cc’ed each time) in order to schedule a single seminar. This was not something that ever happened before. Despiteitsskyrocketingsuccess,MIPCancun is not one of trade media’s top advertisinggenerating markets, like NATPE Miami used to be. This element brought some aspects of the market to light, as illustrated below. Traditionally, sales companies invest heavily in promotion when expectations are high for a market. In the case of MIP Cancun, it could be that the nature of the market — which offers pre-scheduled appointments with buyers — makes the need for promotion less necessary. But it could also be that the focus of the market (which also caters to LatAm regions strongly affected by economic problems) is what actually reduces the sellers’ potential revenue, and thus their promotional budgets. It might also be that the market is simply reaching maturity, even though it’s still technically in its infancy, and further growth will be hard to achieve. But MIP Cancun has a winning card that can be played in the future — the growing production and co-production section of the market. Taking a cue from previous American Film Market (AFM) events, market organizers can encourage producers who are looking for coproduction partners to run teaser ads based on artistic renditions of the scripts (or treatments) and even list the potential talents that could be featured (prefaced with “credits not contractual”). This was a very effective strategy at AFM to find film co-production partners, or to pre-sell projects. This strategy was discontinued at the AFM after the demise of large independent production companies that could afford such marketing costs, but it could be revitalized at MIP Cancun. The event is seeing an increase in the participation of production companies, which have meeting tables on the ground floor of the Moon Palace Convention Center. Distribution companies typically have meeting tables on the first floor, which is always buzzing with activity — very different from the quiet surroundings of the production quarters. The Convention Center is adjacent to one of the three hotel complexes that make up the Moon Palace Resort, where all participants are housed. Buyers’ expenses are paid by the MIP Cancun organization, while sellers are offered packages that include meeting tables and flat fee accommodations. Once registered, guests are not required to pay extra for drinks and food. With themeeting table packages, organizers guarantee meetings with 35 buyers over the course of two-and-half days. “It’s a good value”, said Emilia Nuccio, VP, International Content Sales for New York City-based FilmRise. This was the second time since 2016 that Nuccio attended MIP Cancun, and this time she “was very impressed by the organization.” Not all the invited acquisition executives are actually “buying”, though. “I’m here to connect with friends and partners, but not buying”, confided one major Mexican buyer, who wished to remain anonymous. “The budget is gone!” There are also cases where first-timers are teamed up with buyers who deal with different genres than those offered by the meeting’s seller. In cases like that the 25-minute slot is used for friendly chit-chat. Naturally, both sellers and buyers can reject some pre-arranged meetings, but if it is not requested, the time together is used to just re-connect, regardless of whether any business will get done. One complex aspect of the complimentary offerings iswhen the seller is also amajor buyer. In this case, if a company is buying for his/her distribution pipe, company representatives are only offered free registration badges, but are required to pay the table package fees. If, on the other hand, the seller also functions as a buying agent for a TV network (which qualifies for a fully-paid invitation), one member of the company is invited all-expenses-paid, and another is required to buy the table package, or the registration badges. Those participants who just buy the market badges have access to the buyers’ list, but not their e-mail addresses. In order to secure appointments, such sellers have to request a meeting through the MIP Cancun website. In addition to the sales aspect, the market features seminars, screenings, showcases, themed group breakfasts, group luncheons, and plenty of parties. These include a preopening party, an opening party, and a closing party. Naturally, all are dutifully sponsored — with the exception of this year’s “Breakfast with buyers” event, and the market’s closing day, which had no sponsor. At traditional markets, seminars are viewed as a distraction from the buying and selling aspects, but with the pre-arranged meetings at MIPCancun, buyers have a pre-set schedule and can fill holes in their schedules by attending some of the many conferences on offer. The seminars consisted of panels of experts that touched on some of the industry’s most relevant topics and issues that supposedly were on attendees’ minds. This year, MIP Cancun featured a total of 18 sessions, which started on Sunday, November 13, 2022. A total of 70 speakers made their respective ways to the podiums at the Cancun Theater in the Moon Palace Arena complex during the event. On Monday, November 14, the market’s first day, one of the sessions featured VideoAge’sDom Serafini, who moderated a panel with Cecilia Mendonca, head of Content Development for the Walt Disney Company; Tiago Mello, executive producer and partner at São Paulo’s Boutique Filmes; and Pablo Ghiglione, who is in charge of Content Distribution & Partnerships at Globo. The theme of the discussion was “Spotlight on Brazil: A View to its Voices, Content, and Evolution of the Sector.” Next year, MIP Cancun is scheduled to take place on November 13-16, 2023. The WAWA contintigent counted 70 participants Meeting tables in the MIP Cancun exhibition area at the Moon Palace Hotel
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