“Full-Strength” MIPCOM Returns to Cannes

Almost 11,000 delegates were in Cannes this week for MIPCOM, RX France’s Lucy Smith revealed at a wrap press conference while also unveiling plans for MIPTV in April.

“It’s been great to be back with a full-strength MIPCOM Cannes,” said Smith, director of MIPCOM Cannes and MIPJunior. “Our ambition was to come back with a bang and live up to the true billing of this being the mother of all entertainment content markets, which I believe we have delivered.”

The process of reinventing the market this year included the new Seaview Producers Hub. “It’s been simply amazing to see this was standing room only for sessions focusing on co-production financing, which we know has never been more important.”

As of the end of day Tuesday, 10,896 participants had collected their badges for the market, Smith said, attending from 108 countries. There were 3,100 buyers on site, with the biggest numbers coming from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Spain. The market hosted 321 stands—“tents, double deckers, anything from small structures to hundreds of square meters.”

MIPJunior was back at the JW Marriott the weekend before MIPCOM Cannes. As was the case with MIPCOM—with RX France previously anticipating 10,000 delegates—attendance beat expectations. “We expected 800 or 900 participants,” Smith said. “We actually had 1,311 participants.”

Smith noted that over the last few years, “the importance of the markets has sometimes been questioned.” The return of MIPCOM, she noted, proved the value of these events.

RX France is set to host MIPTV from April 17 to 19, 2023, marking the event’s 60th birthday. “MIPTV is not about being the biggest market of the year. It really is about being the most relevant at the right time in the industry calendar.”

As was the case with the market’s return this year, MIPDoc and MIPFormats will run parallel to MIPTV. “I promised in 2019 that we would transform MIPTV,” Smith said. “Last April, we did deliver on that promise of a more productive and concentrated market. We’re growing again. Doc and factual will lead that growth. We’ve heard the message from the industry. We’ve rethought MIPDoc, which will be at the heart of MIPTV to become the annual international platform in Cannes for documentary and factual programming launches.”

MIPDoc will feature “an even more comprehensive program, incorporating kids’ factual as well as the new international factual and documentary showcase, a producers hub and screenings library,” Smith said.

Canneseries, again running alongside MIPTV, will feature an international documentary series competition.

“In scripted, we’ll work even closer with Canneseries,” Smith added. “It’s really important to build on the synergies of the market.”

MIPTV will also play host to MIPDrama, “a special buyer preview of the Canneseries official selection,” Smith explained.

MIPFormats will run across the three days of MIPTV, delivering workshops, showcases and talks.

“Also returning will be the Future of Kids TV summit that we launched a few years ago. It brings a chance for the kids’ TV community to come back together and focus on future trends.”

Smith added: “One badge, four markets—MIPDoc, MIPFormats, MIPDrama and Kids.”

MIPCOM 2023 is set to run from October 16 to 19.