Event Review: MIPTV

Cannes, France

The economic downturn was certainly hanging over the heads of MIPTV attendees this week, a situation compounded by cloudy skies and heavy rain. According to preliminary numbers from Reed MIDEM, the 46th edition of MIPTV had 11,500 participants from 105 countries, about 14-percent lower than last year. The total includes some 3,800 buyers, down from the 4,414 registered as of the Wednesday last year.

However, the sentiment from several distributors is that while there was less floor traffic and fewer walk-ins, the overall quality of the client base was generally high. "There’s not a lot of guys walking around kicking the tires," the head of international sales at one major U.S. distributor told World Screen Weekly today.

The numbers released by Reed MIDEM this morning also explained the pockets of exhibition space where Internet kiosks and meeting places took the spots previously home to stands. The number of exhibiting companies, according to Reed MIDEM, was 1,672—down from the 1,716 reported last year.

"These are good numbers in this climate," said Laurine Garaude, the acting director of the television division at Reed MIDEM, at a press conference this morning. She added: "Everyone is intent on doing business…Television delivers huge audiences and the buying and selling of programs is still the main part of business activity at MIPTV."

"We’ve all been humbled by the economic situation,” Endemol’s chairman and CEO, Ynon Kreiz, told delegates in his keynote. “However, we’re feeling optimistic. If we are bold and imaginative, there is no limit. Those who can supply to all platforms will prevail.”

Sir Martin Sorrell, WPP’s chief executive, touched on a similar sentiment in his address. "The recession is changing the basis of the industry we are operating in…Free-to-air television will not die. It will still be the most effective way of reaching the largest number of people in the shortest possible time at the lowest cost per thousand, but it will not have the [advertising] domination it once had."

Advertising, branded entertainment and digital media were all topics of discussion this week, as content owners seek out new revenue streams. Indeed, the week’s first big announcement was that from Paramount Digital Entertainment and Gaumont for an interactive web series for MySpace called Section 8. Endemol is on board to handle worldwide distribution, product integration and brand partnerships for the online thriller short-form series, which will be compiled into a feature film at the end of its run.

In the traditional TV space, meanwhile, FremantleMedia kicked things off on Monday on a positive note. Its FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) business has sealed a raft of deals to bolster its drama slate. "We’re starting to work with producers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia in acquiring drama that complements the shows that FremantleMedia is already producing," said David Ellender, the CEO of FME.

ITV Global, meanwhile, announced several sales, among them 100 hours to NBC Universal Italy and 500 hours to broadcasters across Southeast Asia.

While the consensus among many distributors is that broadcasters will buy more as their original production budgets fall, formats remained in the news throughout the week. Lionsgate and Mark Burnett Productions are teaming for an U.S. version of the Italian family talent show Parenti Talenti. SevenOne International sealed a deal with France 2 for Clever!, while Bavaria Media Television licensed the remake rights to 180 episodes of its French telenovela Second Chance for a version for the Middle East and North Africa.

The Middle East is certainly a consideration for many distributors looking to crack into new markets. According to Reed MIDEM’s Garaude, attendance from the Middle East to MIPTV was up this year, as was participation from China. "We had over 300 delegates from China," she said, the biggest ever contingent from this huge television market.

The delegation included Tian Jin, the vice minister of the State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SARFT), who told World Screen that the organization is keen to expand the reach of Chinese content globally, while also learning from the worldwide TV market.

Other markets to show a bump in attendance, Garaude said, include Spain and the Netherlands. The U.K., meanwhile, is among the territories where attendance fell.

Looking ahead to MIPCOM, which celebrates its 25th anniversary October 5 to 9, Garaude noted that 70-percent of the show floor has been already taken.