Attendance, Star Power Set to Rise at MIPCOM

PARIS: Reed MIDEM is forecasting a boost in attendance at MIPCOM, with more than 13,500 sellers, buyers and producers set to participate, according to Laurine Garaude, director of the television division, alongside a host of on-screen talent from across the globe.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, MIPCOM is expecting attendees from more than 100 countries. According to Garaude, about 4,600 buyers will be on site, a number boosted by acquisitions execs from VOD and digital platforms. The number of exhibitors is also up—there are some 60 companies that are taking stands at MIPCOM for the first time, among them Korea’s RAPA, dick clark productions, the Writers Guild of America and Twitter.

As part of the Mexico Country of Honour focus, meanwhile, Mexican producers will be showcasing their content and services in two separate areas: one inside the Palais and one right outside, dubbed “Casa Mexico.” “We have 100 new companies from Mexico, which is a very large increase,” Garaude says. Particular emphasis is being placed on matchmaking opportunities “to help Mexican companies do business, and the rest of the world do business with Mexico,” Garaude says. Highlights of the focus on Mexico include a Fresh TV session, a Snack and Screen at MIP Junior, a host of panels and a session in which World Screen’s Anna Carugati will interview Televisa’s Emilio Azcárraga.

The overall theme of the conference schedule is “The Global Quest for Original Content,” addressing the booming demand for (and supply of) top-quality content across the globe, and the M&A activity taking place in the business as companies clamor for access to that content. On the agenda are CBS’s Armando Nuñez and David Stapf and Disney’s Anne Sweeney—both sessions with World Screen’s Anna Carugati—plus 21st Century Fox’s James Murdoch, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Maker Studios’ Ynon Kreiz, Sohu’s Charles Zhang and more. Simon Cowell, meanwhile, will be in Cannes to accept the MIPCOM Personality of the Year award. “He is a creative icon, a true visionary producer,” Garaude says of the hit-maker behind Got Talent and The X Factor.

Some of the wave of new shows being launched at MIPCOM will be screened for attendees. In addition to the World Premiere Screening of The Book of Negroes, there will be sessions for MIPCOM participants to see the first episodes of The Librarians and The Missing, among others. And there will be plenty of talent, on-screen and off, on the Croisette, including Donald Sutherland for Pirate’s Passage, Richard Dormer for Fortitude, Cuba Gooding Jr. for The Book of Negroes, M. Night Shyamalan for Wayward Pines and Roberto Orci for Matador.

A new element at this year’s MIPCOM is the Global Channel Distribution Day. “We’ve always had companies doing carriage deals at MIPTV and MIPCOM,” Garaude says. “We’ve had requests from clients to provide a more structured environment to make new contacts, so we set up this day. It’ll be in one area where people can meet, network and listen to the sessions. To-date, we have over 200 ‘carriage deal’ buyers, which is much more than we’ve had in the past.”

Also taking on an expanded role in the MIPCOM conference schedule is factual programming, with sessions under the Future of Factual strand. Morgan Spurlock will be hosting a “mega session,” Garaude says, about factual digital content that will feature a conversation with Aamir Khan, the Bollywood star who fronts the STAR Plus India series Satyamev Jayate.