MIPCOM Wraps with Attendance of 10,500

Some 10,500 delegates from 110 countries attended MIPCOM in Cannes this week, organizer RX France says, including 3,240 buyers, down from last year’s attendance of 11,000.

Speaking to reporters, Lucy Smith, director of MIPCOM Cannes and MIP London at RX, said that decline was due to exhibitors reducing the size of their teams attending. There were 347 exhibitors at the market, up from 320 last year, including 34 country pavilions, ten of which were new. The 3,240-strong buyer contingent was led by U.S. programmers, followed by U.K., France, Germany and Spain.

The market marked its 40th anniversary this year. “The very first edition of MIPCOM Cannes promised to stage the world’s biggest annual marketplace for television that would be unmissable,” Smith said. “That’s a promise that is as true and relevant today as it was 40 years ago. It’s one that feels particularly important this year, not just because it is an anniversary, but also because for months the single phrase that people have been sharing with me regardless really of region or genre is, we really need this one.”

Smith continued, “The industry does have its challenges at the moment. The economic challenges faced are real and lasting. Audience behaviors don’t revert; they do evolve. But the industry is resilient, it regenerates. There are 72 companies taking stands for the first time. Sales and distribution will always be the core of the market. We continue to enjoy their renaissance. Content makers are keen to monetize and find new revenue streams, and there is a new open-mindedness when it comes to windowing. Flexibility feels like a new market buzzword. It’s all about finding new ways of working and new opportunities. It’s about adapting, and it’s what we’ve been hearing again and again from around all the stages this week.”

Smith highlighted MIPCOM’s own evolutions, including the addition of the MIP Innovation Lab in the level of the Palais long described as the “bunker.” Smith noted that it was a “big investment. It was somewhere we wanted to place the more tech-led area that is shaping the future of the industry and make it really at the heart of the market. We saw more than 60 companies speaking and chairing roundtables across summits ranging from FAST to AI, streaming and connected TV. It’s brought a host of new exhibitors and companies to the market. We will be continuing to build that out further next year.”

MIPCOM also doubled down on the Producers Hub, Smith explained. “It had a bigger, back-to-back conference program going. It’s all about finding new partners and it did seem to be buzzing all week.”

Spanish attendance overall was up as that country was celebrated as the Country of Honour, with 172 companies accredited. The opening party sponsored by Spain was the biggest ever, Smith explained, with attendance of more than 3,500.

MIPJunior attendance was just over 1,000 from 62 countries.

“Having 10,500 registered participants at MIPCOM underlines the need for one definitive annual global market, which takes place here in Cannes each year,” Smith said.

MIPCOM returns to Cannes October 13 to 16, 2025, with MIPJunior set for October 11 to 12.