Any market that happens in the midst of a worldwide economic recession is bound to feel some pain, but organizers of the 46th annual MIP-TV market hope that the event will serve as a stimulus package (á lá Barack Obama) for both international content providers and TV outlets around the world. Reed MIDEM, organizers of the market, which will be held March 30 to April 3, 2009 in Cannes, France, are counting on the fact that MIP-TV can show the entertainment industry’s immunity to hardship with an event that doesn’t seem to be holding back on anything. VideoAge checked in with a who’s who of MIP-TV participants and insiders to find out the how, the what, the if and the but of the market: howthe economy will affect the market; what the market can do to further stimulate the business; if MIP-TV will continue to thrive; and the types of buts to be expected. Commented Jene Elzie, vp, International Sales and Strategic Planning for Los Angeles-based Comcast International Media Group: “With our offices as far away as Los Angeles, London and Hong Kong, it’s important that we are able to gather in one place to tend to our business. In today’s world of Blackberries, laptops and text messaging, the art of human interaction can sometimes get lost, so it helps to have an event like MIP to bring it back into focus.” Nevertheless — and here’s the first but — Elzie is a realist. As such, her company, which will be on hand must make intelligent decisions on programming as budgets across the board have been cut. [But] GRB sits in a good position with quality reality programming that delivers ratings for broadcasters.” In fact, Zuccarelli will be in Cannes with a wide range of non-fiction series, including Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men. For Lynn Chadwick of Canada-based Nelvana Enterprises, the economic climate is a definite concern. “It’s a challenge for producers and broadcasters alike,” she said. “Budgets are restricted and that often means making tough choices on which markets you can attend.” She noted that because of this, would-be market attendees will have to carefully select which shows are the most productive for them. “And MIPCOM,” she noted, “having a stronger kids’ focus, may well be the more successful of the two for animation-focused companies [like us].” Therefore, she’s somewhat worried that MIP-TV will see reduced attendance. Regardless, she’s hopeful that since MIP-TV is slightly smaller in scope than October’s MIPCOM, she’ll get more time to spend with individual buyers to discuss their programming needs in more detail. Another Canadian rep who’s worried about attendance is Andrea Stokes, International Sales and Acquisitions manager for Toronto-based Canamedia. “The combination of the poor worldwide economy, reduced marketing budgets and heightened registration fees will deter some independents from attending,” she said. “This in turn limits the diversity of new programming and secondary broadcast markets to partner with.” Ann Austen from the Burbank, California offices of Toronto’s Cookie Jar said that although she’s certain that the Palais will be emptier than it’s been in years past, she’s convinced that the shared fiscal storm will force companies to work in tandem in order to find solutions. “In a weird way, we’re all in the same boat so we’ll have to work together,” she said. Austen, who will be in Cannes promoting a diverse slate consisting of a new animatedDoodlebops property and a teen movie of the week, Tales From Cryptville, noted that due to the hardships inherent in financing new productions in this market, she and her colleagues will be on the lookout for coproduction partners to help minimize monetary risks for everyone. Jon Helmrich of Los Angeles-based IBC also had some concerns about V I D E O • A G E MA R C H/ AP R I L 2 0 0 9 20 M I P - T V P r e v i e w Spring Stimulus Package For Int’l TV Companies overall numbers. “The big question is how attendance can be kept up with companies cutting back and cutting costs.” Helmrich, who plans to continue to push the VOOM and Rush channels, specifically in Japan and India, said that he’s lately picked up on a trend in which it seems as though many buyers are choosing to attend either MIP-TV or MIPCOM — but not both. “A lot of us will be going into the market with our fingers crossed,” he said. Unlike most of the executives VideoAge spoke with for this article, Claudia Sahab, director of Europe for Mexico-based Televisa, seemed almost unconcerned about the economy, noting that her company’s vast supply of content, including typical and teenfocused telenovelas as well as entertainment and reality formats, should give it a leg up at MIP. “With the economic crisis in full swing, Televisa can be a very good partner for nearly everyone because we have a lot of finished content,” she said. “If a telenovela works for a given channel, it’s the best thing that could ever happen to that channel since you have three months of continuous programming and can therefore forget about a timeslot for three whole months.” Sahab, who said that she and her colleagues, who will be focused on closing volume deals in all areas of Europe at the market, view the world’s financial meltdown as “an opportunity for us.” Brazil-based TV Globo’s Raphael Ann Austen of Cookie Jar FremantleMedia’s David Ellender (Continued on Page 22) GRB’s Marielle Zuccarelli promoting such shows as Style Network docu-series Running in Heels and Versus network’s Sports Soup, won’t be doing anything special such as a cocktail party this year. “We are being mindful of the economic climate like everyone else,” she said. “This year is just not the time for a big, splashy event in our view.” But she’s still hopeful that things will pick up for the industry. “It has been shown that the greatest creative booms in the history of entertainment have come during times of economic hardship,” she said. Like Elzie, Mathieu Bejot of TV France International (TVFI) said that he too believed that MIP-TV would still be large and in charge. “MIP and MIPCOM are simply the only two mainstream markets targeting the whole world,” he said. As usual, TVFI will be at the Palais des Festivals with an umbrella stand housing over 50 French member companies. When asked how the downturn in the economy would affect the market, he said: “People might be staying home and watching more TV during hard economic times, but it’s more important to know whether advertisers still have money to spend. On the other hand, in a financial pinch, acquisition is certain to be more attractive than original production. It’s hard to see at this stage to what extent sales will be affected by the current state of the economy.” Marielle Zuccarelli, svp of International Distribution for Sherman Oaks, Californiabased GRB Entertainment, which focuses on reality programming, said that despite concerns over cost this year, she still feels confident that GRB will flourish at the market. “I fully expect that MIP-TV will be a market of caution,” she said. “Broadcasters Distraction’s Michel Rodrigue
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