42 Not that MIPCOM needs enhancements for its success — since its relevance is guaranteed by its fortunate place in the calendar year, when new TV shows are premiered throughout the world — but organizer Reed MIDEM is not taking any chances. The October 7-10 Cannes event is loaded with conferences, seminars, workshops, keynote speeches, general screenings, premieres, award ceremonies and even an honored country. Lest we forget that MIPCOM’s raison d’etre is the business of selling and buying film and TV programs, we’ll once again see army-style multimillion dollar barracks erected by the major U.S. TV studios with entrances protected by security guards, where buyers’ tight meeting schedules are met with military precision either in private rooms or in a large, crowded cafeteria with plenty of servers in place. While stands at the Palais des Festivals and the surrounding beach areas are being set up for MIPCOM, producers and distributors in the challenging business of children’s programming will meet with buyers at the Carlton Hotel from October 5-6 for MIPJunior, and will stay on throughout MIPCOM. For those who can take some time off from sales meetings, Reed MIDEM has prepared a daily MIPCOM schedule full of events — 70 to be exact — scattered across the four-day market. With 28 events, Tuesday is the busiest day, followed by Monday, which features keynotes by FremantleMedia’s Cécile Frot-Coutaz and Amazon Studios’ Roy Price, among others. Tuesday will feature Punit Goenka of India’s Zee Enterprises, while on Wednesday, DreamWorks’ CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will be honored at the Carlton Hotel with the MIPCOM 2013 Personality of the Year Award after his keynote presentation at the Palais. As the Country of Honor, Argentina will be in the spotlight on Monday and Tuesday with multiple seminars. Argentina is also the theme of the opening party. Over the years, MIPCOM has become a magnet not only for program buyers and sellers, but also for European organizers of television events that hope to attract Cannes-bound participants. The strength of the market is also measured by the number of film-TV trade shows held preMIPCOM, which begin in Venice in September, followed by Toronto, then Le Rendez-Vous in Biarritz, France; Prix Italia in Turin, Italy and the Jornadas in Buenos Aires. Post-MIPCOMwe have SPORTELMonaco in Monte Carlo and the AFM in Santa Monica, California. A busy travel calendar for buyers and sellers alike. In comparison, the only event orbiting around MIP-TV—MIPCOM’s companion market in April — is the L.A. Screenings in Los Angeles. “MIPCOMhas always been a strong market” for Breakthrough Entertainment, according to Nat Abraham, president of Distribution, especially due to the focus on kids’ programming that begins with MIPJunior. He added, “We imagine that there will be even more buyers in attendance as quite a few decided to forgo MIP-TV…and only attend MIPCOM. Also, by the time MIPCOM comes around, buyers have a better sense of what time-slots they need to fill for their 2014 and even 2015 slate.” MIPCOM is the “most important market of the year for our sales inEurope andAsia,” saidMelissa Pillow, Sales director, Europe for Telemundo Internacional. Indeed, Reed MIDEM is expecting this edition to be upbeat, with well over 13,000 attendees. Laurine Garaude, director of Reed MIDEM’s Television Division, noted, “all the trends are up, and the exhibition area is sold out, including a new exhibition space outside the Palais called Croisette Village.” In September, Garaude counted registration from “Over 4,500 buyers, of which we already have close to 800 digital buyers, including all the large platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, Yahoo!, Google and more from around the world.” She added that there is significant growth from Asia, especially China, Japan, India and Thailand, as well as Africa, with new pavilions from Nigeria and South Africa. Some companies said they will have a larger presence this time around. “Our team has expanded since the last market and we will be represented by our largest delegation to date,” said Tricon Films & Television’s Lia Dolente, director of International Sales. The same goes for 9 Story Entertainment, as the company’s distribution division “doubled in size since last year,” due to 9 Story’s acquisition of CCI Entertainment’s kids and family catalog, said managing director Natalie Osborne. Telemundo’sPillowalsonotedthatitsdelegation has grown: “In addition to the executives that manage Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, we will also have with us our new Formats manager as well as our Sales coordinator for Europe. Having a team member exclusively dedicated to formats is now essential with the upsurge of new business.” Starz Media’s EVP of Worldwide Distribution Gene George noted that “The sales team is the same count,” but in anticipation of strong interest in its newest original series, Black Sails, which is being presented for the first time at this market, “Starz will have several others in attendance from other parts of the company.” On Monday, October 7, the companywill host aworld premiere screening for select buyers. The overall theme of MIPCOM ’13 is “The New Golden Age of Television,” and according to Garaude, the theme has many dimensions, including “the increasing links between film and TV, which are showcased in the conference titled, ‘TV: Film’s New El Dorado,’” she said. The growing connection between TV and film will be highlighted through the presence of many AFM members and various keynotes, and is no more prominent than in this year’s Personality of theYear,JeffreyKatzenberg.“JeffreyKatzenberg’s outstandingimpactontheentertainmentindustry is internationally recognized and DreamWorks’ recent groundbreaking deals with companies including Netflix and Super RTL, and the studio’s continuing expansion into the television world, all demonstrate his clear vision of the future of entertainment. We’re very honored to welcome him to MIPCOM,” Garaude said. MIPCOM is hosting Argentina as the 2013 Country of Honor in partnership with the Argentine Film Board (INCAA) “to give delegates the chance to discover thewealth of creativity and talent from the country and to promote content from Argentina on the world stage,” she said. Argentinean companies are hoping to capitalize on the recognition their country is receiving, with Telefe International’s International Business director, Claudio Ipolitti, saying, “We have excellent expectations because Argentina was chosen as guest country, and it is a great added value compared to previous years.” Patrick Elmendorff, managing director of Germany’s Studio 100 Media, is enthusiastic about their stand, which is “themed specifically for a brand new show launching at MIPCOM,” so he’s “anticipating increased stand visitors including our loyal clients, potential new clients and interested parties.” Plus, Power’s head of Sales Planning and Operations, AndrewWhiteman, said the company is “unveiling a new look,” and is enthusiastic about its new period drama, New Worlds, as well as new factual titles. A+E Networks’ managing director of International Content Distribution, Marielle Zuccarelli, noted that the company will launch “32 new series, 20 returning hits and 24 films” in Cannes. She also noted that the company’s format business “has been a major focus this year” and will continue to be key at MIPCOM ’13. Buyer Kayo Washio, head of the L.A. office of Japan’s WOWOW, said she is looking for series, miniseries, documentaries, short content for websites and more. She typically looks for dramas, noting, “American comedies, as well as genres including zombies and vampires, have not caught on with the Japanese audience. WOWOW mainly buys from the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany.” SA Plenty of Programs For Sale, But Time is in Short Supply October 2013 MIPCOM Preview Reed MIDEM’s Laurine Garaude
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