SE P T E M B E R/ OC T O B E R 2 0 1 2 V I D E O • A G E 38 This is set to be a MIPCOM full of firsts, with first-time attendees, premieres and conference topics. But even with all those firsts on tap, some things — like positive expectations for the market — remain the same. According to Cesar Diaz, VP of Sales at Miami, Florida-based Venevision International, “We always approach MIPCOM with a positive outlook, and we project this year’s edition to be a total success. We truly believe this year will surpass MIPCOM 2011.” FromToronto,Canada,CharlesFalzon, co-chairman of CCI Entertainment, was also enthusiastic. “We’re pretty positive about MIPCOM because things have been on an upswing over the last couple of years. Last year was great, but we’re quite positive this year will be better.” Jon Rutherford, VP of International Sales and Acquisitions for Canada’s Tricon Films and Television, predicted that attendance would be higher, adding that he’s “noticed MIPCOM [is] a productive market with more people than MIP-TV.” Also from Canada, Breakthrough is particularly excited about the market this year because the company has “expanded on both [their] factual and lifestyle genres with some distinctive new travel and culinary programming,” according to president of Distribution, Nat Abraham. For its part, A+E is “launching approximately 500 new hours of content across all [its] channels,” and from New York, Marielle Zuccarelli, managing director of International Content Distribution, said she hopes to “raise awareness for [A+E Networks’] format catalog…We want broadcasters to look at us as a one-stop shop for all genres of programming,” she said. “We believe MIPCOM 2012 will be excellent,” said Tomas Darcyl, president of Argentina’s Telefilms. He predicted that this year “attendance of buyers and sellers [would] be very high, and that makes the market very productive for all.” Although MIPCOM is a top international market that draws attendees from all over the world, the ease of communicating over the Internet could pose a challenge to the value and necessity of trekking to Cannes each October. When asked about this potential hurdle for MIPCOM, Laurine Garaude, director of the TV Division for market organizer ReemMIDEM responded. “The Internet is changing the business all the time, but actually we’re finding that it makes it even more necessary and meaningful to have face-to-face meetings. “One doesn’t substitute the other, but the Internet might change the things people do at meetings. Because of the quantity that you can access online, it makes it more important to cultivate personal relationships, and personal relationships are so important in building trust and doing good business.” MIPCOM will offer a particularly good opportunity for face-to-face meetings. As of press time, organizers saw an increase in attendance from countries such as the U.S., the U.K., China, Turkey and the Ukraine, as well as the Latin American region. Garaude noted that Reed MIDEM is expecting more than 4,400 buyers, an increase from last year. “This is looking to be a real blockbuster MIPCOM because the exhibition is almost all sold out already. We’re expecting over 500 buyers specifically fromVoD and new platforms. We have lots of new companies, too.” For Andy Weir of New York Citybased Estrella TV, which is attending MIPCOM for the very first time, “It is critically important for us to have a presence at this market.” According to Garaude, Weir’s faith is not amiss, as “MIPCOM’s strength is that the world is together in one place with all the buyers and sellers, and there’s the cost saving aspect — because you can’t possibly travel to every territory. You can also meet new companies from countries you may not visit.” Lisette Osorio, senior director International for Colombia’s Caracol Television, concurred, “MIPCOM allows [companies] to reach different buyers.” “We will not limit ourselves by focusing on a particular territory,” saidVenevision’s Diaz. However, we do expect a good amount of interest from Asia, a region [where] we have had recent success by offering special editions of some of our most notable telenovelas.” From Canada, Entertainment One Television International’s (eOne) SVP of Worldwide Sales and Acquisitions, Prentiss Fraser said, “We truly do have a global focus when it comes to sales meetings,” adding, “From an acquisitions perspective we’re definitely interested in a number of territories: the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Turkey, Israel, Scandinavia, [and] Benelux to name a few.” From Germany, Patrick Elmendorff, managing director of Studio 100 Media, added that “The market itself enables us to contact potential new and existing partners for future co-productions. MIPCOM is definitively one of the most important markets for us.” “MIPCOM is the last major market of the year, and the time when broadcasters are motivated to allocate the remainder of their acquisitions budget. At MIPCOM, we’ll primarily be targeting Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Pac Rim and Canada,” said A+E Networks’ Zuccarelli. Though he noted that worldwide sales are important, 9 Story Entertainment’s president and CEO Vince Commisso commented from Toronto, “Along with our continued focus on Western Europe, we’d like to do more in Central Europe and Asia.” Breakthrough’s Abraham also noted that “Turkey is red hot right now economically and culturally and has one of the largest TV markets in Europe… Even during these times of economic downturn in the European market, Turkey is showing impressive growth,” he said. However, he stressed, “We meet with buyers of all program types.” “We focus on the mid-size and smaller territories because we tend to not have as many in-person trips there. I suppose we tend to focus less on North America because it’s so close,” said Falzon of CCI. Abraham of Breakthrough said that MIPCOM has “always been our most productive market and with the attendance numbers recently dropping at MIP-TV, perhaps due to it being so close to the [L.A.] Screenings, MIPCOM is now more important than ever.” eOne’s Fraser was short and sweet, saying the October market is “Number one!” From London, Power’s CEO, Susan Waddell, agreed, underscoring MIPCOM’simportanceasthecompany’s “biggest market where [Power] aim[s] for maximum international impact.” Additionally, Venevision’s Diaz noted he could “safely state that MIPCOM has definitely earned the No. 1 ranking among international markets. Its sister market, MIP-TV, has been suffering the consequences of buyers and programmers, faced with economic setbacks, having to choose between the two. And MIPCOM has the advantage and added benefits of taking place during the second semester of the year when fewer markets take place.” For Los Angeles-based Gene George, EVP of Worldwide Distribution for Starz Media, “Strictly based on the timing of our content, MIPCOM has tended to be a bit more relevant [than MIP-TV],” but he cautioned that such determinations always come down to the timing of new program releases. A Bazaar That Closes The TV Buying Season With a Bang M I P C O M P r e v i e w (Continued on Page 40) Tomas Darcyl, president of Argentina’s Telefilms Vince Commisso, president and CEO of 9 Story Entertainment
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