Fewer parties (but an abundance of celebs), the rise of African television, and an attempt at honest-to-goodness ecofriendliness in the Palais des Festivals. This could summarize MIP-TV 2008, which took place in Cannes, France in April. Many companies, including Lionsgate and U.K.-based Fireworks, opted to ditch the confines of the convention center’s “bunker,” instead choosing outdoor terrace areas alongside such luminaries as Disney-ABC and FremantleMedia. On some executives’ minds were Webbased TV series — in fact, a keynote delivered by Hulu CEO Jason Kilar was one of the best attended at the market, on par with a keynote given by Shine Group’s Elisabeth Murdoch. Execs were also talking about the ever-increasing price of oil, and whether or not these petrodollars from the Middle East will soon be making their way to Hollywood, as predicted by The New York Times . Since the L.A. Screenings were right around the corner, the U.S. pilots with early buzz attached to them also had buyers talking. Yet unsurprisingly, it was those people who couldn’t get to Cannes who really had tongues wagging. A number of (former) industry bigwigs, including Drew Levin and Noel Cronin of Team Communications Group and Harel Goldstein of Hilltop Entertainment, were arrested prior to the market for various white-collar infractions. But while these many topics kept people entertained and informed at the conference, it was business as usual for most companies, with deals a-plenty announced throughout the event. Comcast International Media Group announced that its E! Entertainment Television will debut an observational documentary series about Hollywood icon Pamela Anderson. Produced by World of Wonder Productions, the halfhour series, Pamela (working title), will debut summer 2008. The series will focus on Anderson and will not feature her children with ex-husband Tommy Lee. “Pamela Anderson is one of the most captivating personalities in pop culture today,” said Lisa Berger, executive vice president, Original Programming and Series Development for E! “It’s going to be a wild ride.” Duccio Donati, senior vice president, Comcast International Media Group, concurred. “This MIP-TV has been a big show for us. Because of the strike, a lot of programmers have holes in their schedules,” he said. “And it’s a bit of a perfect storm for us that we have programming to fill those schedules.” In addition to Pamela, Comcast was also promoting its previously announced docu-series Living Lohan, which chronicles Lindsay Lohan’s mom Dina as she grooms younger daughter Ali for super stardom, and Denise Richards: It’s Complicated, which follows the actress as she navigates Hollywood. Other deals also made at the market included Starz Media and Tandem Communications’ announcement that, beginning immediately and continuing through 2009, Tandem will handle worldwide TV sales of several key Starz series and collections, including the Fantasy/Adventure Collection and the new Ladies Out Collection; Germanybased Bavaria Media Television’s announcement that it sold three 90minute episodes of international crime series Aspeto German public broadcaster ZDF, and Italy-based RAI Trade’s sales of its Viceroys to Russia’s Film Depot, Bulgaria’s BNT, Benelux’s AMedia, Czech TV, Romania’s TVR and Sweden’s NoStop. MGM Networks said that it would soon launch a high-definition version of The MGM Channel to subscribers in Israel. Like the standard definition channel, it will be subtitled in Hebrew. Argentina’s Telefe and Colombia’s RCN were at MIP fresh off of celebrating the opening of their joint office in Russia. Through the Moscow office, run by Russian specialist Anastasia Korchagina, both companies are seeking to increase their presences in the region through the distribution of programs, telenovelas and formats. “Being in Russia allows us to closely monitor the needs of such a competitive market,” said Alejandro Parra, director of Telefe International, adding that “the Russian market has grown 15 to 20 percent over the last two years.” RCN’s Maria Lucia Hernandez Frieri echoed Parra’s sentiments. “The possibilities are endless,” she said. Nigerian TV companies had planned to be at the market in full force, but unfortunately, things went awry when the majority of the delegation from the three exhibiting companies was held at the border due to visa problems. Despite this, the delegates who did manage to make it to Cannes made an impact. With DISCOP Africa premiering in February 2009 in Senegal, the continent is being hailed as an emerging market. Toyin Subair of Nigeria’s HiTV, one of Africa’s first commercial payTV companies, said: “Africa is the only market now that needs to be expanded,” pointing out that TV has taken off throughout Eastern Europe and Asia, regions which were previously assumed to be barren wastelands of television. This year’s MIP-TV was a more ecofriendly affair than previous incarnations of the international television market. “All of the carpeting in the main areas [in the Palais] is recyclable,” said Paul Johnson of ReedMidem, which organizes MIP-TV, before adding that all of Reed’s print production was also on recycled paper.” Japanese broadcaster NHK was the recipient of the Green World Award, which recognized the network’s V I D E O • A G E MAY 2 0 0 8 12 M I P - T V R e v i e w Few Parties, Many Deals. Eco-Friendliness A Plus (Continued on Page 16) Comcast’s Duccio Donati and Leilani Farinas Power’s Chris Philip and Eloise Tooke Dori Media’s Nadav Palti This MIP-TV has been a big show for us. Because of the strike, a lot of programmers have holes in their schedules,” he said. “And it’s a bit of a perfect storm for us that we have programming to fill those schedules. — Comcast’s Duccio Donati
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