(Continued From Cover) 16 ready paying for airfare and hotels to attend the London Screenings and the concurrent BBC Showcase, the offer of two or three days of free accommodations from RX would likely entice some of them to come a little early and also attend MIP London. Meanwhile, executives at the IET Building — where most of MIP London was held (in addition to the adjacent Savoy Hotel) — are hoping that reps for RX will soon confirm the same approximate dates for next year’s MIP London with the proviso that the event begin at least two days earlier than the London Screenings (as soon as that event’s dates are announced). But back to the event’s success as a conference. Indeed, MIP London had as many conferences (40, plus screenings and presentations) as there were exhibitors (51 versus 79 in 2025) during the three-day event that concluded Tuesday, February 24, 2026. And while the conferences were overflowing with participants, the sales floors (located on three floors of the IET building and one floor of the adjacent Savoy Hotel) were sparsely trafficked. The widely held belief is that MIP London was meant to leverage the 700 international buyers who flock to attend both the London Screenings and the BBC Showcase. RX had positioned MIP London as a notto-be-missed conference with a line-up of interesting seminar topics, but it avoided highlighting the TV market by downplaying the 51 exhibiting companies in its press releases. Originally, the strategy did make sense, especially considering that the event runs parallel to the established TV events at the London Screenings and the BBC Showcase. Although technically separate events, those screenings provide the market portion, while MIP London brings in the conference portion that seems to be a fixture of all modern TV events (as it tends to increase participation). In terms of participation at MIP London, the largest contingent (376 people) was from the U.K. Other large contingents included Spain with 43 delegates, Italy with 33, Turkey with 28, and the U.S. with 152 participants. Nevertheless, “it is not a sales market,” said Bomanbridge’s Sonia Fleck, who flew in from her home base in Singapore. Fleck, who was at MIP London with a table (like all other exhibiting distribution companies), explained: “I’m at MIP London to reconnect with a spectrum of clients.” And, since she also attended the London Screenings, she added: “The Screenings are important for our producers.” The London Screenings are also important to international buyers, many of whom were enticed to attend MIP London with the promise of free hotel accommodations if they registered on site at the IET building. RTE Ireland buyer Dermot Horan did not take advantage of this offer, but he still managed to attend MIP London on Sunday, opening day, and held six meetings. However, he said, starting on Monday he’d be super busy with the London Screenings and the BBC Showcase. Equally busy at MIP London was Javier Quevedo Pérez, from the Content Distribution arm of Spain’s RTVE, who was spotted running to meetings at the Savoy, while his exhibition table was at the IET Building. Also attending MIP London but not exhibiting were Sabrina Eleuteri from Italy’s Rai Com and Darrin Holender, president of the Los Angeles-based Multicom Group, who said: “MIP in Cannes was always worth the trip as a destination. That said, I am hopeful MIP London will be more compact and effective in getting decision-makers together, especially in a central city like London.” Also paying a quick visit to MIP London was All3Media’s Rachel Glaister before preparing for her company’s own Screenings. YLE Finland TV buyer Johanna Salmela was also spotted at the Savoy Hotel. She managed to participate at MIP London even though she was mainly in the city for the London Screenings events, which feature the BBC plus 36 other content distribution companies scattered about London. The Screenings, which ended on Friday, February 27, attracted a large number of buyers from all over Europe. Most of the Screenings offered drinks or a party at the end of the screening day, like Boat Rocker did at The Wigmore bar. Cathy Payne, CEO of Banijay Rights, noted that buyers are extremely busy during the London Screenings, leading to Banijay’s decision not to throw a party. “But we offer drinks at the end of the day, for those who can remain. It’s more practical,” she said. In addition, she said that she’d been careful to avoid scheduling conflicts with the 26 other companies that were also screening. VideoAge spoke with Payne for the point of view of one participating London Screenings TV distribution company. She noted that in 2022, Banijay was one of the co-founders of the first London Screenings event (together with ITV Studios, Fremantle, and All3Media), and that it has now become Payne’s “major market of the year.” She continued: “With the success of MIPCOM [in Cannes in October], the April MIP in Cannes became less relevant.” For this year’s London Screenings, Banijay hawked its wares on February 25 at the BAFTA location on Piccadilly. There was a morning session for scripted and non-scripted and an afternoon session for formats. She said she expected each session to draw in 400 buyers, who, she stressed, were personally invited. “We license directly, and don’t invite middlemen/agents,” Payne concluded. Bomanbridge’s Sonia Fleck Global Agency’s Izzet Pinto during a presentation Boat Rocker’s Mellany Welsh and Jon Rutherford at their London Screenings’ party Multicom Entertainment’s Darrin Holender VIDEOAGE April 2026 MIP London
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