The international financial crisis was not “exhibiting” at MIPCOM, but the summerlike weather couldn’t dispel the dark cloud of a recession compounded by the Wall St. meltdown. Overall, the “real economy” was showing off really well in Cannes, with restaurants and shops buzzing with customers and five-star hotels fully booked as usual. More than the economy, on some people’s minds was the imminent closing of the Carlton Hotel for renovations. It will reopen in May 2009, but many toplevel executives are left scrambling for some 300 luxury rooms and suites for next year’s late March MIP-TV. It is expected that Cannes’ other five-star hotels will chip in some rooms for the displaced, vacated by those who will opt for apartment accommodations. The organizers are also touting the exclusive Four Seasons Resort, which, however, is in Tourrettes, some 46 km. (a 40minute ride) west of Cannes. The party circuit was also busy as usual, if not more so than last year. The many big bashes included shindigs thrown by Dori Media, RAI Trade, Disney, Flor Latina, Televisa (who called in a Mariachi band), Ukrainian media players and the grand Telemundo celebration, among others. For Americans, the dollar’s newfound strength helped to get 18 percent more buck for their money, compared to MIPTV in April. At times, it seems the U.S. exporting economic turmoil can be good for the entertainment business. For example, the possibility of a Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike –– which could have meant another rocky winter for the U.S. entertainment industry (after the debilitating writers’ strike) –– was averted in light of the economic crisis in the U.S. and worldwide. And so, at MIPCOM, business proceeded at full speed, aided by several factors, one of which was the screening of pilots not ready during the L.A. Screenings, and the expected cuts by television outlets of their local production budgets. It was said that, ultimately, the financial crisis will help distributors, but not traditional local producers. Networks will be producing less and buying more to fill their schedules with quality programming. Commercial TV networks lowered their 2009 advertising revenue projections from the expected nine percent drop to up to 15 percent lower. Public broadcasters will not suffer as much since they rely mostly on compulsory license fees. In Cannes, RHI Entertainment’s president and CEO Robert Halmi Jr. said that he was “anxious to see how everyone is reacting to the world economical crisis.” He noted that the entertainment industry has proven to be a “bullet-proof ” sector in the past, because in times of recession people turn on the TV for a bit of escapism. Halmi was confident that RHI will not fare too badly despite the economy’s downward spiral, because, as he put it, “Fantasy tends to be a big theme when people are a little down about the world.” Appropriately, at MIPCOM, RHI premiered its new event miniseries, Meteor, an action-packed four-hour miniseries about a massive, worldwide meteor shower. Halmi remarked that this is a unique MIPCOM for his team, as they have sold three back-door pilots, including one to NBC. According to Halmi, producing a four-hour miniseries in lieu of a traditional pilot is a much more effective system for RHI than the halfhour pilot process. “With four hours you can show people much more than with an hour or a half-hour,” he said, “Especially because you have a higher budget.” RDF Rights’ COO Jane Millichip commented that, “There is a lag between commissioning and delivery and a lot of the shows that we are offering [here at MIPCOM] were commissioned before the current economic crisis really took hold, so maybe in the immediate future, programming becomes more expensive for distributors to acquire as producers find they have larger deficits to finance.” According to Millichip, “If broadcasters do start feeling the pinch and cut back on commissioning, they will still have schedules to fill and if they are not filling them with original production then they will have to fill them with acquisitions.” Herb Lazarus, president of CarseyWerner Distribution, said: “There is no precedent I can think of, but generally when the economy is crappy, inexpensive entertainment (such as television) and entertainment that takes your mind off your problems (such as movies) should be okay.” The consensus of the panelists at the “Entertainment, Media and Advertising” seminar was that advertising needs to adjust to changing media challenges. The discussion was led by Saul Berman of IBM Global Business Services and focused on where TV advertising is headed in the era of the Internet. In his introductory remarks, Berman pointed out that with network television garnering smaller audiences, TV advertisers are getting less bang for their buck. The question Berman posed to the panel was: What can be done to get through to audiences who are watching fewer and fewer commercials? Robert Friedman of Radical Media, Joe Michaels of MSN, Douglas Scott of Ogilvy Entertainment and Benjamin Faes of Google’s YouTube arm responded to Berman’s question by recommending collaboration between the various sectors of the media. Additionally, the participants noted that advertisers “need to acknowledge the conversation the Internet is causing,” and not dismiss usergenerated content as an altogether bad thing. In final analysis, Berman suggested that the solution for advertising in the future has yet to be found. Remaining on the keynote circuit, V I D E O • A G E NO V E M B E R/ DE C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 8 M I P C O M R E V I E W Latins, Economy, Fantasy Shows: Mart’s Biz Buzz Dori Media’s Jose Escalante and Nadav Palti Action Concept's Herman Joha, RTL's Tom Sänger, FME's David Ellender with the cast of 112 DMNLA’s Diego Lerner and Fernando Barbosa Telefe International’s Nancy Rolon, Diana Coifman, Michelle Wasserman and Guillermo Henrich (Continued on page 10)
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