Anna Carugati to Lead Acquisition Superpanel, Trendsetter Awards

On Wednesday, October 18, during MIPCOM, World Screen‘s Anna Carugati will lead the Acquisition Superpanel: What Do Programmers Want? session in the Grand Auditorium, to be followed by the presentation of this year’s Trendsetter Awards.

For the seventh consecutive year, World Screen is teaming up with Reed MIDEM at MIPCOM to present the Trendsetter Awards to four programming executives to honor their contributions to the television industry. This year’s winners, RTÉ’s Dermot Horan, SBS Broadcasting’s Rozan Hamaker, Walter Presents’ Jason Thorp and AMC Networks’ Aurelie de Troyer, reflect today’s varied and ever-evolving media landscape.

RTÉ, the Irish public broadcaster, fulfills its remit to serve several segments of the audience and in the process has created the country’s market-leading channel. SBS Broadcasting operates a portfolio of channels in the Netherlands, a market known for its creativity and where viewers crave what’s new and different. The streaming service Walter Presents features the best non-English-language drama from around the world. And AMC Networks, known for groundbreaking and award-winning programming on its linear channels, has extended its offering on two streaming services, Shudder and Sundance Now.

As viewers have more and more entertainment options and an increasing number of devices from which to enjoy films and TV programs, the challenge to all broadcasters, channel groups and streaming services today is to extend their offerings in order to reach viewers wherever they may be and on whatever screen they prefer. As a consequence, network schedules and on-demand menus must be rich in variety. It is the main responsibility of the four Trendsetter Award winners to source must-watch programming that will draw viewers and brand their networks or services.

They will be presented their awards at the end of the Acquisition Superpanel: What Do Programmers Want? session, which will take place on Wednesday, October 18, in the Grand Auditorium in the Palais des Festivals from 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. The discussion, moderated by World Screen’s group editorial director, Anna Carugati, will range from spotting properties that will work with local audiences to negotiating the complex maze of rights required to provide shows on multiple platforms.

“We are thrilled to be working with our friends at Reed MIDEM for the seventh consecutive year to honor these leading programmers with the World Screen Trendsetter Awards,” says Ricardo Guise, the president and publisher of World Screen. “With the experience they have built up working for services in many of the most competitive and dynamic markets in the world, these executives have developed keen eyes for spotting top-notch, on-brand imports to satisfy their demanding audiences. At the Acquisition Superpanel at MIPCOM, we’ll hear them share insights into their approaches to finding the best the global market has to offer. The must-attend session will surely provide plenty of useful information for anyone in the business of producing, buying or selling content in the new golden age of television. We are delighted to be honoring their achievements at MIPCOM.”