V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 1 1 26 International television trade show preview stories have acquired a style of their own with reports about market figures, planned activities, new product, expected business and potential issues. MIPCOM 2011, its 27th iteration, won’t be very different from those before it. Already MIPCOM’s Laurine Garaude reported that the organizers, Paris-based Reed-Midem, project a total of 12,400 participants, including 4,200 buyers and 1,700 exhibitors from 100 countries. This is just slightly up from 2010’s 1,700 exhibitors and 4,000 buyers. A larger number of buyers are expected from Russia, India and Latin America: Three buoyant territories that, along with China and Brazil, make up the so-called BRIC nations. But good activity is also expected from the PIIGS nations (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain): A combination of the low euro-dollar exchange rate and the poor economy of those countries makes acquisition a better alternative to local production. However, there are rumbles of problems, especially from Greece, as explained by John M. Triantafyllis of Athens-based JTTVFilm International: “The stations that will attendMIPCOM will do so for the sake of being kept updated on what new [product] is available, regardless if it comes from the majors or independents. The general trend is that all acquisitions have generally been put on hold until a clearer picture will be available of the television market. It is safe to say that there will definitely be a decline of attendance from buyers from both Greece and Cyprus.” But, lost Greek sales could be replaced by those from Japan, where, even in the midst of a recession, the yen is strengthening against the U.S. dollar. This year MIPCOM’s theme is “Focus on Russia.” As of last year, Russia had 330 television channels, including 20 free-to-air networks, bringing in revenue equivalent of $4.3 billion in advertising. So it made sense for organizers to turn the spotlight on the country’s TV landscape with a number of Russia-centric events. Seminars include an overview of the Russian television industry, a co-production and matchmaking event to link producers with financers, a number of production case studies examining specific series and more. A similarly fortunate choice was the selection of Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney-ABC Television Group, to receive the MIPCOM 2011 Personality of the Year Award. Sweeney will also deliver a keynote speech on October 5, day three of the four-day market. With the Russian theme aside, MIPCOM 2011 boasts 45 sessions and keynotes addressing a variety of topics. Unsurprisingly, many of the conference topics are geared toward the affects of technology and social networking on the TV biz. To name a couple of note, on Tuesday (day two) there is “Tales From the Cloud: Here Comes Ultraviolet,” which will tackle “the cloud” as a content storage phenomenon, and “Redefining RealTime Engagement: What’s Next in Social TV.” Overall however, the most prevalent seminar topic seems to be financing, with a handful of panels addressing how and where to find funding. When it comes to the main event, the Media Mastermind series of speeches takes center stage on the agenda with three Media Mastermind keynotes: Miramax CEO Mike Lang and Robert M. Bakish, president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks will kick things off on the first day with one speech each. But with many worldwide regions in full-on rebound mode, it’s likely that some executives will be too busy to attend conference sessions. A+E Networks’ Ian Jones, expects a very busy market. “We’re doubling our booth size,” he said, elaborating that A+E has a lot of changes to debut at MIPCOM, not the least of which is a newly minted slogan and the company’s rebranding from AETN International to A+E. Added Jones, “Since we acquired Lifetime as a network, we’ve been increasing our programming and taking up an involvement in the international market.” In addition to A+E’s rebranding, it will be using the market to highlight some 650 hours of new programming, including around 11 TV movies, reality series Russian Dolls and a big event project investigating the sinking of the Titanic, just in time for the disaster’s 100th anniversary. Meanwhile, Los Angeles-based Rive Gauche will be maximizing its faceto-face time with clients at the market. Said president David Auerbach, “Our goal is not just to sell our product, but to really listen to our customers and understand their needs.” Starz Media’s Gene George emphasized that the company’s goal for the market is, “building the credibility of Starz as a supplier of premium content. We came out of the gate about 18 months ago when we launched Spartacus and we’ve continued to have a good flow since then.” He was confident that Starz will have “a steady flow of content for the long term.” Starz is taking a global approach this year, as he stated that the company is “dealing in all of the key territories.” Looking toward 2012, George noted that the company’s TV movie business is fairly stable. Therefore, Starz is “focused on continuing to flow the series side of the business.” To that end, Starz is excited about its new series Magic City, which the company expects will follow in the successful footsteps of Spartacus. George informed VideoAge that Starz would be “showing some never-beforeseen footage [from Magic City] at MIPCOM.” The company will also have an extended promo on the second season of Spartacus, titled Spartacus: Vengeance, and animated series Dan Vs., which is in its second season as well. Trish Kinane, acting president, Worldwide Entertainment of FremantleMedia, predicted a buoyant market. “MIP-TV proved that broadcasters are buying again,” she said, adding, “with the range of quality programming that we are bringing to MIPCOM, we’re sure that we’ll continue to see very strong demand.” Kinane and company are bringing a broad slate of proven hits and brand-new original formats in different genres, including titles such as Got Talent, The X Factorand Idol. “I am confident that this will be a very successful market for us,” she noted. Where trends are concerned, Kinane pointed to primetime entertainment shows as well as game shows. Marcel Vinay Jr., CEO of Mexicobased Comarex, explained his plans for the market: “It gives us the opportunity to meet face-to-face with clients from Europe, Asia and Africa. After a very successful year with our telenovelas, such as Cielo Rojo andEmperatriz, MIPCOM gives us the chance to present them to our clients and international buyers.” Like many distribution companies, Comarexwill be takingaglobal approach, rather than targeting specific territories. Said Vinay, “Each and every territory is important to us, but at MIPCOM it is very important for us to get together with our clients from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.” For those looking for a respite from buying and selling, a number of screenings will also be on offer. The now-traditional World Premiere TV Screening (which began two years ago) will take place on Monday and will feature ABC Studios’ action series Missing, which centers on a former CIA agent determined to track down her son. The screening will be followed by a question-and-answer segment with stars Ashley Judd, Cliff Curtis and Adriano Giannini, as well as members of the production team. After last year’s success, the Asian Content Exchange will also return to the Palais. Asia will be well-represented at the market with some 1,200 Asian participants and 451 Asian buyers occupying 53 stands. The biggest delegations are expected from Japan, Korea, China, India, and Singapore. A number of events on Wednesday will cater to the Asian crowd, and those looking to partner with them, such as the Networking Breakfast, the West Meets East Buyer Panel and the Asian Content Exchange Lunch Party. Also, in light of one of Asia’s fastest growing sectors, a dedicated session will introduce producers and distributors to animation financers. There will, of course, also be numerous parties. Monday promises a Russia-themed opening night bash and day three is the MIPCOM Personality of the Year Dinner at the Carlton Hotel. Not to mention all the customary private soirees hosted by companies at convention booths, hotels and yachts. MIPCOM events will kick off even before the official start day with kids mini-market MIPJunior taking place October 1-2 at the Martinez Hotel, a short walk from the Palais. Organizers expect 600 companies, including 500 buyers from 35 countries to participate in the screenings. Plus, with the Kids’ Jury Awards, the 8th annual Licensing Challenge, the world’s largest library of youth and children’s programming and a number of seminars and sessions for buyers and sellers, MIPJunior 2011 promises to be a lot more than child’s play. Rubles, Rupee And Real. Money Rumbles In Cannes M I P C O M P r e v i e w Trish Kinane is acting president, Worldwide Entertainment of FremantleMedia, filling Rob Clark’s role while he’s on sabbatical.
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