V I D E O • A G E Se p t e m b e r/ Oc t o b e r 2 0 0 9 18 a worldwide success are involved and this series pretty much picks up where it left off. With digital technology, a whole new world of possibilities have opened up.” Keenleyside also touched on the adjustments CCI has been making in the face of our current economy, saying, “We’re making local versions [of Artzooka] as well, which really plays into the economic struggles of the past year, as we can have [those versions] at a fraction of usual production costs.” For all those involved, MIPCOM holds a lot of promise, despite the bleak attitude some have. “Attendance is looking good,” commented Laurine Garaude of Reed MIDEM. “Currently we have 3,000 buyers signed up for MIPCOM and some 400 for MIPJUNIOR. We should have close to 4,000 buyers at MIPCOM. The overall projected attendance is in the region or are focusing their energies, and their dollars, on defining series that have great playability. We are actually seeing a more aggressive and competitive environment for these types of programs.” Are there any particular territories that seem enticing to the MIPCOM crowd? “The key countries in Europe are critical for us, and we have worked hard to build strong alliances in many territories including the UK, France and Spain,” said George. “We also see continued growth in Eastern Europe and Latin America while we still find Japan to be a very challenging marketplace.” Italy’s Mondo TV has its sights set elsewhere, as representative Matteo Corradi explained, “We are looking into a future co-production with Al Jazeera Children Channel in the Middle East region. This is a region that interests us a lot at the moment, as it is truly growing fast.” Corradi then added, “The buying and selling market nowadays is interesting. The economic meltdown affected many unexpected countries, but this will have an end very soon. We need to be optimistic and work on producing better titles to suit what all the channels are looking for.” Studio 100 Media’s Elmendorff summed it all up neatly by stating, “In times of the global economic crisis, it’s a buyers’ market. Of course the territories which didn’t suffer as much from the crisis are more enticing than others, but we keep our good business relationships with all our clients and try to adapt to the possibilities they have.” That seems to be the story for MIPCOM 2009 overall – working towards a positive outlook, adapting to new possibilities, and, mainly, rethinking the television industry as we all know it. M I P C O M ( C O N T I N U E D ) out relevant conferences in this space.” Patrick Elmendorff of Germany’s Studio 100 Media highlighted two particular seminars of interest to his company. “Being involved with international co-productions, we are of course interested in all ways of financing, which often is the most delicate stage of a television series project, so we will be at the October 5 seminar, ‘New Funding for Producers from Around the World,’” he said. “Also, we appreciate that there is a seminar [‘What is the Impact of Connected Entertainment on the Television Industry?’] that deals with the relationship of television and crossmedia platforms, which are also a vital part of our business activities.” The distributors also have memorable events of their own to contribute to the assembly. “We’re excited to be bringing a truly original series, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, to MIPCOM,” said Gene George. “The series is set to premiere on our Starz premium channel in the U.S. in January 2010, but it will have its world premiere at a highly anticipated buyersonly screening [at MIPCOM]…. Starz is also co-sponsor of the Opening Night cocktail party, where we’ll be giving many other MIPCOM attendees their first real look at the show.” Jill Keenleyside of Toronto’s CCI Entertainment added, “We have several special things planned for the launch of Artzooka, our very exciting new Canada/German, multi-million dollar art series for kids. Many of the principals who helped make Art Attack Venevision International announced a special venture in China at MIP (Continued from Page 16) 12,000 of more participants.” Keenleyside should be pleased with those projections, as she had said, “CCI always likes MIPCOM because of the kids’ buyers who attend JUNIOR. It also looks as if we’re seeing more people back who took a break from MIP because of the economy.” Gene George noted a similar trend, saying, “Our meeting schedules for our sales team are filling up fast and already pacing way ahead of last MIPCOM.” Patrick Elmendorff echoed the CCI sentiment on behalf of Studio 100, pointing out, “Since MIPCOM is connected to MIPJUNIOR, we expect to see more buyers related to the kids’ segment [than there were at MIP].” VideoAgeclosed the various interviews by asking these industry participants how they view the buying/selling market overall. “Hmm, that’s an interesting question,” Keenleyside mused. “We’ve seen the challenges of the last year, but we’re also seeing more multi-territory broadcasters starting up, broadcasters coming back for more episodes or renewals of successful series. There are some great co-production opportunities out there, more than ever before. We’re seeing some significant signs of recovery, which is the best news. Let’s just hope it continues.” George expressed a similar view, commenting, “There is no question that we’re currently in a very challenging economic climate. Many broadcasters have slashed acquisition budgets to adapt to declining ad revenue. We have seen broadcasters digging deep into their current libraries and recycling their content to a greater degree. Having said that, broadcasters “ There are some great co-production opportunities out there, more than ever before. We’re seeing some significant signs of recovery, which is the best news. Let’s just hope it continues.
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