12 VIDEOAGE April 2024 A 61-Year-Old Event Struggles Amidst Successful Markets MIPTV Preview MIP-TV, or MIPTV as it is now called (sans hyphen), is set to take place in Cannes, April 8-10, 2024, in the same month that it has been staged for the past 61 years. But this edition will mark the end of its run. About two weeks prior to the start of this year’s MIPTV, organizer RX France announced the shutting down of the Cannes April event and the creation of MIP London, to run February 24-27, 2025 during the same week as the London TV Screenings. This year, all markets leading up to and following MIPTV showed signs of renewed vigor and growth. Starting with the two Miami TV trade shows (see separate story on page 14), trailed by Berlin’s EFM (which had some 12,000 participants, 614 companies with stands, and 1,263 buyers), the London Screenings (which welcomed an estimated 700 executives, of which 500 were buyers), and Series Mania (see separate story on page 8), which registered over 4,000 participants. After MIPTV, NAB Las Vegas is also expected to have a banner year (see story on page 4). Lucy Smith, Entertainment Division director of MIPTV organizer RX France, had previously said: “We enjoyed an early, very encouraging response to the plans for both market and pre-opening weekend this April. That response has been borne out with an expected 130-strong international line-up of exhibitors on the shop floor, including major studios and distributors, FAST, and tech companies, in addition to hundreds more exhibiting companies operating from within pavilions covering 11 countries, and we are again looking to welcome representatives from over 80 countries to Cannes overall.” Right now London is the venue for the successful London Screenings, which took place between February 26 and March 1, and next year will run February 24-28, 2025. The move will solve the calendar date problem that has been afflicting MIPTV since the L.A. Screenings first took flight in May of 1964, but became increasingly problematic in the 1990s. In the past, the month of February had proven to be good for content markets such as Monte Carlo, NATPE, and even the AFM. A London Screenings observer reported to VideoAge that MIPTV organizers “had approached key [London] players a few months back [in late 2023], but [that] they run their own event, not for profit.” MIP London will be staged at the Savoy Hotel and the adjacent IET London: Savoy Place event venue in London’s West End. The new market will have a comprehensive invitation program that gives free access to qualified buyers. “The creation of MIP London is a direct result of clear and evidenced market factors,” said Smith after the new market was announced. “There is a continued appetite for a global content market in the first half of the year. MIP London will not only alleviate a busy events calendar but will provide an additional entry point for international companies to gather in London at the same time.” She added: “Staging markets that provide clients with the best possible solutions for showcasing their content and facilitating deal-making is what we do best at MIP and take huge pride in, as proven over decades in Cannes and more recently Cancun… We have consulted with many of those already hosting events in London as well as with international companies looking to do so. Our vision is a market that complements, not competes with, the established screenings program, that provides further options for the widest range of international distributors, studios, and buyers to take part, and can bring even more business to London in February for the benefit of all. Leading RX France’s first MIP market in London is an opportunity I’m very grateful for.” As to this year’s MIPTV, one positive element of the market is actually being perceived as a minus by many: The absence of a massive U.S. studio presence at the Cannes market — coupled with a dearth of new shows — make content distribution companies with new product highly sought after. This is because MIPTV’s main attraction will be its business aspects. Executives don’t travel that far just to hear people talk at conferences. However, there might be some seminars that attract the market-oriented crowd. Indeed, trade markets should leverage conference sessions to bring content sellers and buyers together in meaningful, practical ways. Back on the market floor, Anil Khera of India’s One Take Media, commented: “MIPCOM and MIPTV are losing the footfall for walk-in buyers because of very high entry fees. The exhibitors also think twice before taking a booth in both exhibitions as costs of booth rental, fabrication, decoration, and rental of furniture are highest in the world in Cannes. The entry fee for buyers should not exceed 100 euro. The number of exhibitors and visitors is getting smaller every year because of above cost factors.” Johanna Salmela, Acquisitions executive at Finland’s YLE Television, expressed a similar view, but with a different take, “I’m sure there will be some people from YLE, but I have felt that some big companies have decided to skip MIPTV. After London Screenings, MIPTV is not that important. It is also quite expensive to travel to Cannes. Flights and accommodations are very expensive. I feel that the venue is not the best one. The Palais should be renovated. It is just too old.” Lucy Smith, RX France’s Entertainment Division director
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