Paul Johnson: MIPCOM 2006 is Biggest Ever TV Festival

CANNES, October 12: According to Paul Johnson, the director
of the television division at Reed MIDEM, this year’s MIPCOM was the biggest
television market ever, with an attendance of 12,429 as of yesterday, marking a
7-percent increase on the second-to-last day of MIPCOM 2005.

There were a total of 519 stands, an 8-percent increase, and
1,643 exhibiting companies, also an 8-percent growth rate. The number of
exhibiting countries rose 5 percent, with new participants including Angola,
Cambodia, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Macedonia and Sudan. Johnson, in a briefing with
reporters, noted the increase in exhibitors is “due to the fact we increased
the space in the Palais, with about 10-percent growth overall.”

The biggest area of growth was in program buyers, with new
media platforms heading to the market for their digital offerings. The total
number of program buyers was up to 3,835, as of yesterday, a 10-percent
increase. Johnson noted that buyers from Middle East, China and India, in
particular, showed healthy increases.

At MIPCOM Junior, registered companies were up 3 percent to
529, with 53 countries represented. Sellers were up 2 percent to 315, but
buyers were down 2 percent to 460, because of Reed MIDEM’s new policy of
charging a flat nominal fee for all buyers to participate in the kids’
programming event. The number of programs presented rose by 12 percent to 937,
and new programs were up 22 percent to 562. Screenings on site rose 9 percent
to 42,848. The most screened program at MIPCOM Junior was Aardman Animation’s Shaun
the Sheep. Other shows in the top five
screened programs were Amy’s Gang
from Ettamogah Entertainment in Australia, Angus and Cheryl from Spain’s BRB, Chaotic from 4Kids in the U.S. and Skunk Fu! from Cake in the U.K.

In his briefing today, Johnson also highlighted the success
of the conference schedule, with the Breakfast with Gurus strand, keynotes by
Disney’s Anne Sweeney and MGM’s Harry Sloan, among others, and a slate of
panels. Johnson also cited the large number of celebrities present at the
market, including Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell from Prison Break, plus Pierce Brosnan, Stephen Fry and Tracey Ullman.