RX France’s Lucy Smith Provides Updates on MIPCOM Cannes

With fewer than three months before the start of MIPCOM Cannes, Lucy Smith, the director of MIPCOM and MIPJunior at RX France, tells World Screen Newsflash that its organizers are enthusiastic about client response and anticipation for the event.

“You can expect a truly supersized MIPCOM Cannes this year, with exhibitor responses beyond our expectations two-and-a-half months out,” says Smith. “We were confident that this would be the case given the strong international content market, the desire for in-person international meetings and the re-opening of travel versus last year. Momentum continues to build with new sign-ups daily. The response is overwhelming and genuinely exciting.”

In 2020, the pandemic forced RX France to cancel MIPTV and MIPCOM and pivot to virtual gatherings. In 2021, MIPTV was digital only but MIPCOM was back as an in-person market. Attendance, however, was much smaller than pre-pandemic levels because of continued concerns about Covid-19.

This October, Smith is expecting business as usual. “The industry is coming out on the other side of the pandemic transformed in ways we couldn’t have imagined, and it’s fair to say we have, too. MIPCOM Cannes will be the 38th International Co-Production and Entertainment Content Market. And what’s new in this supersized edition is our placing a new co-production market up front and center. We are launching the Seaview Producers Hub, a 1,000 square meters (10,600 square feet) event and networking space overlooking the Riviera. This fantastic venue will serve as the deal-making hive for creators, producers, commissioners and development executives. The client response has been exceptional since announcing these plans, with many from the business of co-production citing the new space as a key reason to attend.”

The tents outside the Palais des Festivals that attendees had become accustomed to seeing will also return. “The TV industry’s major global studios, platforms and groups are also back in force, be that Netflix, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, Banijay and ITV Studios,” explains Smith. “And in the past days, our exhibitor list continues to expand with Fremantle, Disney, MGM and eOne now also confirming their presence alongside many more from around the world.”

In addition, as Smith notes, “National pavilions are the bedrock of the global production community, and they are back in force this year, including from Europe, Korea, France, Canada, India, Quebec, Spain, Turkey, Germany, Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Ireland and Italy…and more.”

The international contingent of producers, distributors and buyers of children’s programming will also be flocking to Cannes, as Smith explains. “It’s a similar tale for MIPJunior, which is back at the newly renovated JW Marriott ahead of MIPCOM Cannes. That same appetite for content is evident in the kids’ TV community now, within acquisitions and co-production particularly. The Screenings Library is back, and buyers are citing this as a major factor in signing up.

“It’s fair to say,” she continues, “the mother of all entertainment content markets will not disappoint. Everyone can expect over 10,000 delegates at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes this October.”