Videoage International November-December 2024

10 MIPCOM: Hollywood in Cannes, Where the Excesses Are Never Enough So, what about MIPCOM 2024 has changed since pre-pandemic days? Well, this time around the C exhibition area — outdoor, along the Croisette — was not carpeted. And these days there were fewer participants. In addition, some of the tents that were historically located along the Palais (like that of Fremantle) are now missing. And a few spaces on the P-1 level (aka “the bunker”) were now empty (although part of it was taken over by the Innovation Lab Stage, which held standing-room only conferences). Other than that, the market was an allaround success, with the recreational portion on par with the pre-COVID period, which is fitting since MIPCOM remains the world’s largest content market for international television business. It was back to Hollywood in Cannes, with the excesses that only Hollywood traditionally offers: a large number of parties; invites to (often overlapping) breakfast, lunch, and dinner meetings; top-level executives making presentations; premier screening showcases; and a post-pandemic record number of exhibitors and content buyers. To Verdiana Bixio of Italy’s Publispei, this MIPCOM “was surprisingly nice. I saw a very proactive market,” she said. Iginio Straffi, CEO of Italy-based animation company Rainbow, said that he did not see the buyers he was hoping to meet with at the preceding MIPJUNIOR children’s TV market, but he was still bullish on MIPCOM. Straffi, who recently acquired Viacom’s (now Paramount’s) shares of Rainbow, was in Cannes with Colorado Films, the Italian film company that also owns The Movement, a Hollywood-based talent agency. “We are in Cannes with a Colorado team,” explained Straffi, “and with a Rainbow team, ready to buy IP rights and to sell our content.” He also added that, “since 2022 Rainbow is 100 percent Italian.” Miami-based Loni Farhi was at MIPCOM to introduce CosmoBlue Media, a company he co-founded last October after selling SPI. “MIPCOM is extremely important to us,” stated Farhi, who was also there to acquire content for YouTube channels and other OTT platforms. “We’re also announcing a collaboration with FZ Sports, a Miami-based media company for distribution of LatAm football (soccer) games to the Americas.” CosmoBlue recently acquired Da Vinci, a U.K. education and entertainment production and distribution company, and it is on the lookout for other acquisitions. Istanbulbased Berk Uziyel, CosmoBlue’s co-founder and CEO, added that the company was at MIPCOM with three divisions, including Cosmo’s telenovela linear and SVoD channels. At a luncheon for arts program buyers, held on Sunday, the day prior to MIPCOM’s opening day, Reiner Moritz, president of U.K.- based Poorhouse International, declared that he was expecting this MIPCOM to be successful. This was a view shared by all his guests, including Jesper Petersson of Sweden’s SVT, Kaye Warren of Australia’s SBS, Heike Connolly of Poorhouse, and Rita Lombardi of Italy’s RaiCom. Sean Cohan, president of the Toronto-based Bell Media, was back at MIPCOM after a sixyear absence. Cohan expected it to be a good market even though he said that the industry “is under pressure,” and that he was in Cannes with six associates, all of whom were buying and selling. As usual, this year’s MIPCOM was dominated by Turkish companies, whose presence was felt inside and outside the Palais, starting on Sunday with a special Global Agency event in Saint-Tropez for new format Celebrity Dreams. On Monday, Calinos held an elaborate press luncheon followed by a spectacular party to celebrate its 25th anniversary with the stars, producer, and director of new drama series Hidden Garden. Tuesday saw cocktails hosted by Inter Medya, attended by the producers of Valley of the Hearts and Loveberry. Plus, Global Agency held a party at its stand, and multiple press events were hosted by Kanal D International — at its stand and at the Majestic hotel — in the presence of the stars of series Secrets of Pearls and My Mother’s Tale. On Wednesday, ATV gave an elegant dinner for its new series The Nightfall with the drama’s stars in attendance. On the buying side, FilmRise’s head of Content, Jonitha Keymoore, was there to look for scripted and unscripted content — especially from the U.S., U.K., and Canada, for digital and possibly for all rights. “Even though the U.S. is our primary target, we’re also focusing on Canada,” said Keymoore, adding that, “we were looking for not widely distributed content,” including sports. At the MIP London presentation held on October 23, the market’s third day, at the Producers’ Hub — on the waterfront outside the Palais — Lucy Smith of RX France, director of both MIPCOM and MIP London, gave details about the cost to exhibit at the inaugural British event. A table is £3,500 (U.S. $4,550), which includes a registration badge; while £250 (U.S. $325) is the cost for a preregistered participant badge. Smith also said that over 200 companies from 36 countries have already registered. At MIP London “we believe in unscripted” explained Smith, who was backed by a monitor behind the podium that declared: “The biggest week in unscripted is now in London.” She also added that the goal of MIP London is to offer a centralized organization for executives who wish to attend the London Screenings, which this year attracted 750 buyers, and combine those with the buyers who participated at MIPTV (now discontinued) in Cannes. Smith also announced that MIP London’s opening party is set to take place on Sunday, February 23, 2025. The market dates are February 24-27, 2025. Finally, a few official MIPCOM figures: There were 10,500 total participants from 110 countries. Of these, 3,200 were content buyers. The number of stands was 347, including an unusually large number of dubbing studios and AI technology companies. The calendar dates for next year’s edition of MIPCOM Cannes are October 13-16. MIPCOM celebrated its 40th anniversary with fireworks at the opening night party VIDEOAGE November 2024 Market Review

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