V I D E O • A G E MA R C H/ AP R I L 2 0 1 2 14 The big question is: When will TV program buyers arrive in Cannes for MIP-TV? Will they come on Saturday for the official opening on Sunday, or will they arrive on Sunday for Monday meetings, rendering the opening day useless? Plus, will the drastically reduced presence of the major U.S. studios have an adverse affect on the number of program buyers attending the market? These and other questions were on market-goers’ minds as they prepared for the annual spring trek to MIP-TV, which returns to the Palais des Festivals — this year a week early — kicking off April 1 to accommodate the Easter and Passover holidays. TomasDarcyl, president of Argentinabased Telefilms was adamant that the change “will not affect anything, and everyone will arrive between Friday and Saturday to start the market with great energy on Sunday.” Despite feeling that the Sunday start is “going to be interesting,” A+E Network’s SVP International Sean Cohan expected the market to be well attended. He added that his company is “super committed to the market. We’ve invested in a brand new booth that promotes the brand, and we’re bringing a lot of new content, so our hopes for MIP are very high. We think it will be our biggest MIP market yet due to our content and our investment.” Indeed, “MIP is really important and people try to maximize their investment in it. It’s going to continue to be an important market,” said a diplomatic Reess Kennedy, managing partner at Cable U, a sister company of CABLEready. But Claudia Sahab, director, Europe at Televisa Internacional “didn’t like the change [of dates] at all because it’s also a holy week.” She explained that “MIP-TV is always a slower market than MIPCOM, but this year for sure we think it will be slower than usual” due to the change in dates. Gavin Reardon, head of International Sales and Co-Productions at Canada’s Incendo concurred: “Starting on Sunday will only help continue the trend of MIP-TV being a more poorly attended market than MIPCOM. Who wants to work on a Sunday? And with the L.A. Screenings coming so quickly after MIP-TV, and the majors seeming to be less supportive, it’s in danger of becoming the red-haired, left-handed stepchild of the TV markets (a title recently held by NATPE).” President of Rive Gauche Television, David Auerbach, echoed Sahab’s and Reardon’s apprehension: “It’s confusing and many of my early meeting requests [came] from people who [weren’t] even aware of the change.” CCI Entertainment’s co-chairman Charles Falzon expressed a viewpoint on the opposite end of the spectrum. “I don’t think it’s a big deal,” he said of the change. “It’s not a business that’s time-sensitive. From our end, it hasn’t affected much.” Felipe Herz Boclin, Marketing coordinator at Globo TV Internacional agreed, predicting that the change would not affect turnout. He felt that ultimately “The financial crisis may have more of an impact” than the calendar shift. Date change or no date change, once again the U.S. studios will have a very light presence at the Palais. As of press time, only CBS Studios and NBC Universal had registered with a booth. It was that absence of the studios that fazed Nat Abraham, president of Distribution at Breakthrough Entertainment in Canada. “Those studios are the main draw for most senior buyers who may decide to only attend the L.A. Screenings instead” of making the trip to Cannes for MIP-TV. The final verdict for this MIP will come before the market starts, and will be based on whether distributors’ schedules are filled with appointments on Sunday. If indeed appointments are scheduled on Sunday, the market will not be much different from the others. However, the new start day could be problematic for exhibitors since MIP is now one day shorter. A quiet Sunday could make MIP, in effect, a two-day market rather than a four-day event. As always, MIP will be preceded by MIPDoc, which will hold court March 30-31. MIPDoc will feature over 1,400 of the most recent factual programs from around the globe, offering participants a number of conferences, matchmaking events, keynotes and case studies to choose from. Participants can also look forward to the MIPDoc International Pitch, the annual competition for creators and producers searching for financing partners to develop their documentary projects. For Lou Occhicone, SVP of Operations at CABLEready in Norwalk, Connecticut, “Since MIPDoc is ahead of MIP, MIP-TV is probably our most important market next to MIPCOM.” CABLEready planned to submit eight to 10 programs at MIPDoc, and will use meetings at MIP-TV to follow up with buyers that express interest in those programs. He elaborated, “As a small company, we need to be very strategic about how we spend our money and promote our shows,” so MIPDoc’s proximity to MIP-TV makes both markets all the more valuable. Other companies seem to have the same idea. Over 930 factual program exhibitorswillattendMIP-TV,including: Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, Arte, A+E Networks, BBC Worldwide, Discovery Communications, FCCE Distribution, Frances Televisions, ITV Studios Global Entertainment, National Film Boards of Canada, National Geographic, PBS International, Scripps Networks and ZDF Enterprises. The Drama CoProXchange, a program for commissioners, producers and deal-brokers involved in international co-production, features the Co-production Summit. There will also be case studies of some of the most significant international co-productions. MIPCube is a two-day event running simultaneously with MIPDoc featuring showcases, visionary talks, workshops, networking events and competitions, including Content 360. This competition gives digital creatives the chance to pitch new ideas in crossmedia content. Running alongside MIPDoc and MIPCube, MIPFormats is billed as the largest international gathering of the world’s leading producers, commissioners, buyers, distributors and creators of formats. It features screenings, networking sessions and interactive workshops, among other events. Plus, MIP-TV will continue the Fiction Screenings, including the red carpet World Premiere Television Screenings and the International Fiction Screenings. There will also be a two-day Branded Entertainment program featuring talks and case studies showcasing innovative branded content. Plus, the Brand of the Year Award will honor an international consumer brand for its outstanding contribution to the development and production of branded content. Participants can also take part in a four-day program of sessions and debates about digital trends. They can screen the latest 3D titles and discuss the latest developments. Additionally, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ 2012 International Digital Emmy Awards will recognize the best content created and designed for viewer interaction and/or delivery on a digital platform. To keep people extra busy, there will be Mastermind keynotes delivered by: Jonathan Miller of News Corporation, Joanna Shields of Facebook, Miles Young of Ogilvy & Mather, producer Tim Kring, Chris Albrecht of Starz, Jeremy Darroch of Sky, David Frank of Zodiak Media Group, Hans Vestberg of Ericsson and Rodolphe Belmer of Canal+ Group. Presentations will cover a wide variety of topics, including connected devices and connected audiences, the global animation marketplace and 3D TV. Intermsofparties,besidesthetraditional media breakfast and luncheons, there will be two anniversary celebrations: one for the U.S.’s CABLEready and another for Turkey’s ITV. As far as attendance goes, organizer Reed MIDEM expects 11,500 professionals from 100 countries and over 4,000 buyers. SA M I P - T V P r e v i e w Market’s New Dates Bring Uncertainty “ “MIP is really important and people try to maximize their investment in it. It’s going to continue to be an important market.” -Reess Kennedy
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