Videoage International October 2021

22 V I D E O A G E October 2021 T he international TV distribution sector will soon complete four in- person “tours of duty”: Sportel Monaco in Monte Carlo (October 5-7), MIPCOM in Cannes (October 11-14), the MIA Market in Rome, Italy (October 13-17), and Focus 2021 in London, England (December 7-8). And this is only the beginning. MIP Cancun will also be held in person. It’s scheduled for November 16-19. It looks like the industry has finally turned the corner and the in-person markets are back. Having already experienced successful in-per- son trade events since the start of the pandemic (the Cannes Film Festival, which took place July 6-17; Series Mania in Lille, whichwas held August 26-September 2; the Venice Film Festival, which took place September 1-11; NEM Dubrovnik, which happened September 6-9; and the Toronto Film Festival, which took place September 9-18), by now the international film and TV executives are well versed with all the requirements, precautions, and protocols necessary to prevent COVID spread during these gatherings. Until late August the AFM in Santa Monica, California was to be an in-person event, but it’s been reported that the execs in charge elected to switch to a virtual format due to an unmet occupancy quota at the Loews Hotel (the event’s official venue) that called for a guarantee of $170,000 per night. The in-person NAB Show in Las Vegas was rescheduled in mid-September, and now it is offering only “virtual options” for the original October 9-13 dates. New dates for the in-person event are set for April 23-27, 2022, in Las Vegas. ATF reps have also recently announced that their Singapore event, set for December 1-3, 2021, will be virtual, as well, except for the opening day’s activities, which are scheduled to take place at the Marina Bay Sands on December 1. Attendance at the ATF’s Opening Day (which will be streamed live on ATF Online Plus) will be by invitation only. There will be a free, on- site COVID-19 testing facility at the Marina Bay Sands, but foreign participants will also have to abide by Singapore’s quarantine requirements. Organizers are expecting some 200 in-person participants, primarily from Singapore, who will basically be attending speeches that day. Hairol Salim of RX Singapore (formerly Reed Exhibitions) further explained: “Apart from speeches and the opening ceremony, there will be conference sessions lined up during ATF Opening Day Plus at the Marina Bay Sands on December 1 — all of which will be streamed live via ATF Online Plus. The agenda will be released in due course.” These days, the question is no longer how to attend an in-person TV trade show, but why. And to answer that question VideoAge quizzed a number of potential participants at bothMIPCOM and MIP Cancun. For MIPCOM, the verdict is mixed. Few Americans will attend as exhibitors, but their participation is nevertheless expected, including some studio executives. The British contingent will also be light, but is expected to include Tim Mutimer, CEO of Cineflix Rights. As of mid-September MIPCOM had 130 par- ticipating companies, mostly from France and the U.S. (both with 23), followed by the U.K. (with 22). But cumulatively, the market is going to be an overwhelmingly European event, with 71.5 percent of participants hailing from European countries. Turkey will also be represented at MIPCOM, with five companies scheduled to attend: ATV, InterMedya, Kanal D, Madd Entertainment, and Raya Group. From Italy, Mediaset will be sending acquisition executives, while the RaiCom contingent will be headed by sales executive Margherita Zocaro, who will also be present at the MIA Market in Rome. From Germany, expect to see Reiner Moritz with his Poorhouse International, as well as eight other distributors, including Herbert Kloiber Sr., who’ll be there “as in the past 50 years, excluding 2020,” he said. But this time around, he’ll be representing his new company, High End Production. “It seems that most German companies will be [at MIPCOM]. Not at the usual scale, but at least they plan to be around,” said German media analyst Dieter Brockmeyer. “This does not necessarily apply to the German offices of international companies (some of which haveU.S. offices). I know of cases in which [those in charge at] headquarters requested that [their workers] cancel their presence at MIPCOM. However, it is still a very fluid situation and people are waiting for their final decisions. Depending on how Europeans take on post-pandemic leadership roles The Upcoming In-Person Trade Show Question. No Longer How, But Why? From Cannes To Cancun (Continued on Page 24) Participants at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the first industry events to be held live this past summer. “We all agree that the Cannes markets are important. If we have no in-person MIPCOM for two years, I’m afraid we might never have one again.” Reiner Moritz