The mood was surprisingly upbeat at MIPCOM 2009, and it wasn’t just because of the spectacular weather. Over 12,000 delegates from the international television industry were present in Cannes. Buyers were also out in full force, with over 4,000 in town compared to the 3,500 at MIP-TV. Despite the fact that the numbers were lower than the 13,500 recorded in 2008, the relatively high figures still provided a good boost to the international TV business. MIPCOM was fertile ground for new companies, as well. As reported in VideoAge Daily, some 10 new companies were announced, including former NBC Universal and Power exec Chris Philip’s Engine Entertainment, Ken DuBow’s Imageworks, and D3Telefilm from Cord Douglas and Douglas Price. While they failed to make front cover news individually, cumulatively they represented a significant development considering the still-recuperating world economy. There was also a surprise visit from Mediaset boss Pier Silvio Berlusconi, who arrived in Cannes the day before the opening of MIPJunior — the children’s TV market that preceded MIPCOM — to check on Endemol, his recent investment. MIPJunior saw a massive presence from Middle East-based Al Jazeera Children’s Channel, which prefers the abbreviation JCC in order to not be confused with Qatar-based Al Jazeera News Channel. At MIPJunior, JCC launched its new co-production children’s animation series Saladin. “At MIP-TV in April, a lot of people were taking stock of the economic crisis and wondering when things would get better,” said Laurine Garaude, acting Television Division director at Reed MIDEM. “At MIPCOM, conversations [were] about re-thinking business strategies. People [were] talking about new alliances to finance production, new channel strategies to consolidate their brand position in the international market and how they are thinking about monetizing the multi-platform potential of their content at the start of the creative process.” In fact, the concept of “Rethinking” was so popular that it was the official MIPCOM theme, a topic also used by the Advertising Research Foundation’s March 2009 conference in New York City. MIPCOM 2009 also recorded a good showing from U.S., Australian and Latin American buyers. With some 150 Latin buyers, MIPCOM is fast becoming Latin America’s third major TV trade show after NATPE and the L.A. Screenings. Following Disney’s lead, all other U.S. studios have increased the number of Latin representatives at their stands. Among the U.S. buyers, there was Comcast International Networks’ Gracia Waverly looking to acquire lifestyle programs from international sellers. From Australia, there was WIN boss Bruce Gordon and his evp, John Hatcher. Bernard Majani, director of Acquisitions for France’s M6, commented: “It was a very active market this year, but the crisis was still there and we were more than ever extremely cautious about our acquisitions.” But, he added, “That doesn’t mean that we are not continuing to take risks.” However, judging from the outstanding crop of new shows, both from the studios and the independents, there weren’t many risks to take this time around. Starz Media launched its series Spartacus to much acclaim. Canada’s CCI went all out with Artzooka!, a dynamic children’s art series. FremantleMedia was in Cannes with an array of new product, including Atomic Wedgie, a new product line featuring comedy clips. One sign of the improving global economic environment was the presence of Hasbro CEO/president, Brian Goldner. Last May, Goldner announced that Hasbro was partnering with Discovery Communications to launch a children’s channel in 2010. The company had recently announced the creation of Hasbro Studios, which is set to produce television programming and films for the U.S. and international markets, as well as online and digital elements. Fellow toy and games manufacturer Mattel is also dabbling in television. On day two of MIPCOM, U.K.-based ITV Studios and Mattel announced that ITV Studios will begin developing several Mattel board-game brands into international television formats and multi-platform properties. The emphasis on potential new business models was prevalent. Day one at MIPCOM featured seminars on both new funding methods and the gaming business boom. The former offered examples of location incentives designed by the governments of Canada, France and the U.K., among others. The gaming seminar was well attended by executives and developers interested in tapping into the whopping 50 percent of the world’s population that currently plays video games — the combination of console games, online games and mobile apps generated roughly $40 billion in worldwide revenue in 2008. Despite the optimism displayed by the gaming industry representatives, there was a palpable sense of hesitation from television veterans concerned with their bottom lines. This was made particularly evident by day three’s standing-roomonly seminar on monetizing online content. Nobody seemed to be quite sure how to get around the treacherous questions of licensing rights and piracy, but with major players such as the BBC and Comcast actively developing multiplatform technologies, changes are most definitely on the horizon. One existing sector of the television business that appeared to be keeping its pace was the format business. MidMIPCOM, the Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA) presented its latest report on formats covering the period of 2006-2008. According to the report, which covered 14 major territories, production volume generated by traded formats was worth 9.3 billion euro, a 45 percent increase over the 2002-2004 period. The continued success of formats seems to be a direct result of the economic crisis and the evolution of digital broadcasting. International companies are being forced to rethink their production and purchasing trends. Christiane Wittich of Germany’s Studio Hamburg said, “Popular genres like nature and wildlife documentaries will continue to be sold successfully all over. That kind of genre is versatile and longlasting.” And, added The Fremantle Corporation’s Irv Holender, “Acquiring content is still significantly cheaper than producing programs in-house.” More than 1,600 companies exhibited in Cannes and more than 4,120 business entities from over 100 countries participated at this year’s event, thus maintaining MIPCOM’s status as a highly effective forum for connecting with both established and potential international partners. KR V I D E O • A G E DE C E M B E R 2 0 0 9 12 M I P C O M R e v i ew A Good Market Needed To Reinforce Spirits & Wallets JCC launched its new series Saladin The CCI team launchedArtzooka! FME’s David Ellender, Rob Clark, Tony Cohen at a press conference WIN’s John Hatcher and Bruce Gordon
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