Buyer Attendance Ticks Up at MIPCOM

There are about 100 more buyers in Cannes this MIPCOM than last year, RX France’s Lucy Smith told reporters at a wrap press conference, with that number ticking up to 3,340 out of a total of about 10,600 delegates.

Per Smith, overall attendance was up marginally, from 10,500, with the U.K. leading the charge, followed by the U.S., France, Germany, Türkiye, Canada, Spain, Italy, Japan and South Korea.

The creator economy played a huge role at MIPCOM this year, with Smith referring to that evolution as “the biggest shift in a generation for MIPCOM. We’ve brought the creator economy into the heart of the market. We staged our first brand-funded content summit in BrandStorytelling. And all of that is alongside the ongoing resurgence of sales and distribution, with everyone you would expect to be here, here.”

The raft of deals announced this week between the “traditional” and creator economies “feels like a tipping point for the industry,” Smith noted. “From change comes opportunity. I genuinely do believe that the industry is resilient, it regenerates, and the fact that this definitive global market has been held here every year for the past four decades is a testament to that. And we’ve evolved with it.”

Smith added, “The relationship between the creator and mainstream [economies] isn’t a binary one. The opportunities come from collaboration, not from working in isolation. As the biggest B2B global market for the content industry, the pitch to the creator economy was, Come and meet everyone here at MIPCOM in one go at one time to network, to work on those new models and figure out who you could be working with.”

YouTube had a significant presence that included a packed keynote address with Pedro Pina, the platform’s EMEA chief, media cartographer Evan Shapiro and BBC Studios’ Jasmine Dawson, which Smith billed as the “definitive playbook on partnerships, showing how new audiences can be reached and fandoms built.”

Networking opportunities and workshops throughout the week put the emphasis on fostering collaboration. “When the traditional and creative worlds do come together, there’s a growing respect. But it’s not just talk now. Deals are being done.”

Branded entertainment was another key focus, with MIPCOM bringing in agencies and brands to connect with the global production and distribution world. “The feedback has been hugely encouraging. We’re already having conversations about how we can develop this further and do believe that MIPCOM is the place to host this. It’s an area that we’re fully committed to.”

Sales and distribution “will always be the engine of MIPCOM,” Smith continued, “and for those looking for signs of optimism, sales and distribution are unequivocally back. Every major U.S. studio was here this week. We saw three big international advance screenings staged with major talent from all around the world. The ring fencing of rights has given way to flexibility—windowing is again more common, if more complex.”

There were 350 exhibitors at the market, including YouTube, one of 88 new names on the market floor.

Attendance at MIPJunior slipped to 940 from 1,000, Smith said, reflecting the challenges of that sector.

MIPCOM Cannes returns in 2026, running from October 12 to 15.