BY LEAH HOCHBAUMROSNER Now that the U.S. writers’ strike is finally, thankfully a thing of the past, the U.S. and international TV industry is ready to get back to business in a big way. The 45th annual MIP-TV, which will be held April 7-11 in Cannes, France, will be the first television market of the year to benefit from the end of the work stoppage. VideoAge checked in with a who’s who of MIP-TV participants to find out how the nowdefunct strike affected them and why MIP-TV continues to be one of the most important markets in the biz. “April is critical for us,” said Mark Cranwell, director of Content Acquisition for Babelgum, a nextgeneration global Internet TV network headquartered in Ireland, which plans to launch its site not long after MIP-TV. “So we’re going to be on a buying frenzy at MIP.” Babelgum will focus on acquiring programming relating to four main topics: nature and wildlife, travel, film and participation sports. “We have a mandate to have a lot of content on our system when we launch and there’s no better venue than MIP-TV to get that done,” said Cranwell. As for worries about the effects of the strike: “Maybe big studios will scale back their goodie bags, but since we’re looking to license product that’s already been produced, it won’t affect us.” Oliver Kreuter of Germany’s Bavaria Media feels that MIP-TV is one of the most important markets he attends each year. “MIP-TV is the big kickoff market for Europeans,” said Kreuter. “As a TV producer, 2007 was the best year in the history of Bavaria Film. We were able to expand in large markets like Italy.” In addition, Kreuter is excited to announce at MIP that Bavaria’s Storm of Love , which he terms “the little Bavarian telenovela that could,” has been picked up for an additional 200 episodes. Stormairs in 20 territories, including Italy, Austria and Finland. Munich-based Studio 100’s Patrick Elmendorff concurred with Kreuter that MIP-TV (as well as MIPCOM in October) are “the most important” markets for Germans. “There’s no other place where you can meet with that amount of international producers, coproducers and buyers in one spot.” Studio 100 is coming to Cannes with a number of productions, including Big & Small , a puppetry co-production with the BBC and Canada’s YTV and Balloontoons , an animated series from Russia. “We’re interested in meeting cofinancing and co-producing partners,” said Elmendorff. Marielle Zuccarelli, senior vp, International Distribution at California-based GRB Entertainment, which launched an acquisitions department last year, said she’ll be at MIP in search of shows to acquire. “Right now I want to use our budget to invest in more product,” said Zuccarelli. And while she won’t have the time to attend any of the many conferences offered by Reed Midem at MIP-TV, Zuccarelli said she’d like to get better educated on new media and mobile rights if she can. “But mostly, I’m looking forward to sales.” So is Andrea Stokes of Canadian firm Canamedia, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. “We’re bringing several new HD series and documentaries to MIP,” she said, adding that MIP-TV is as important as ever since “it’s imperative for us to keep in close contact with our international broadcasters. There’s no better way than personal meetings at the market.” Personal meetings are the lifeblood of a market, after all. Mathieu Bejot of TV France International, said his company will once again organize its umbrella stand of French companies, and estimated that approximately 50 firms will participate. “Coming to the market with us gives companies more visibility,” said Bejot matter-of-factly. “There’s always traffic at our booth, so it’s much easier to meet people.” Mark Gray, vp, Programming for FremantleMedia Enterprises in the U.K., said he’s looking forward to a slew of one-on-one meetings. “MIP-TV is always going to be important for us as long as buyers go there,” he said. “It’s well organized and many countries are well represented, although there will probably be fewer Asians there than at other markets.” Regardless of this, Japan will be the country of honor at MIP-TV 2008. “Japan has always played an important role in our markets and more importantly, is a key player in the global entertainment industry, particularly in digital delivery,” said Paul Johnson, director of Reed Midem’s Television division. “The Japanese have also been some of our most loyal clients with their attendance at MIP-TV dating back over 40 years.” Johnson went on to cite the fact that in 2012 the country will be the second-largest market for mobile television services behind the U.S. and ahead of Italy. Plus, nearly 60 percent of the world’s animation is made in Japan. In addition, Japanese public broadcaster NHK will receive the Green World Award at MIP. The prize will be given in recognition of the network’s continued commitment to raising public awareness on environmental issues. This year’s MIP-TV will feature a slew of seminars and conferences, including a keynote from Elisabeth Murdoch, chairman and CEO of Shine Group; “Fresh TV Around the World,” wherein attendees can see clips from the world’s most talked-about new TV shows; “Advertising & Media Seminar,” in which advertisers explain how they communicate with an increasingly fractionalized audience, and more. But for many, the conferences are viewed as a waste since they pluck buyers V I D E O • A G E AP R I L 2 0 0 8 44 M I P - T V P r e v i e w An Affair Pour Les Affaires, Full of Action and Reaction Inside the Palais Studio 100’s Patrick Elmendorff (Continued on Page 46) MIP-TV and MIPCOM are the most important markets of the year. Some of the smaller, more targeted ones are great for specific clients, but MIP-TV and MIPCOM are still the granddaddies of markets.
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