Inaugural MIP China Hangzhou Wrapped with 400-Plus Participants

The first-ever MIP China Hangzhou International Content Summit, which ran from May 23 to 25, drew some 480 attendees, and organizer Reed MIDEM is planning a follow-up event in 2018.

MIP China Hangzhou encouraged international and Chinese collaborations and featured the Partnership Forum, a matchmaking event focused on Sino-international content development. Some 80 companies from across the globe attended, including Sony, Warner Bros., Viacom, all3media and Fuji Creative. Major national and regional Chinese broadcasters also took part, including CCTV/CITVC and Beijing TV, along with online giants Tencent and Alibaba Media Entertainment Group. There were also approximately 40 local journalists in attendance.

The event also featured a two-day training conference for local executives aspiring to take their content to the international marketplace, as well as a series of keynote speeches from top industry players.

“I loved being at the inaugural MIP China Hangzhou,” said Ben Silverman, chairman and co-CEO of Propagate Content in the U.S., who delivered a keynote at the event. “It was everything a market should be; new and old friends together making diplomacy happen through business and shared opportunity. Hangzhou, the city by the lake, welcomed our community with open arms.”

“Lion Television was thrilled to be able to be part of the inaugural MIP China,” commented Richard Bradley, the managing director of Lion Television in the U.K. “It was a chance to have real quality face time with some of the leading players in Chinese TV and media, against the backdrop of a beautiful city that is a world leader in innovation. I am confident the seeds of some really great future collaborations have been sown.”

“The Chinese market is growing very fast, and our collaboration with Thunder Studio (formed at MIP China Hangzhou) will give us a great opportunity to enter this market,” added Grace Lee, the group commercial director at France’s Millimages. “I think MIP China was held at the right moment, as I know it is time for the Chinese Dream!”

“MIP China has broken a lot of the myths about the Chinese market,” remarked Kalyana Subramanian of Studio 56/Broadvision in India. “We discovered a lot of opportunity for Indian drama, scripts and formats in China, and were delighted to be part of this new event. For sure we will be getting business from being here.”

“MIP China is an excellent venue to develop content partnerships between the Philippines and China,” added Pia Laurel, the head of sales at ABS-CBN Corporation in the Philippines. “The format allows delegates to network and interact in a more informal and efficient way than other markets I have attended.”

Josh Selig, the president of Little Airplane Production, said, “This is the most professionally run media event I have attended in China. Great job, Reed MIDEM.”

“It was gratifying to have so many delegates say how much they appreciated the format of MIP China and its good level of organization,” commented Ted Baracos, the director of MIP China. “Relationship-building is key to doing business between Chinese and overseas companies. From this perspective alone, MIP China brought TV professionals from 16 countries together with Chinese executives for an unprecedented two and a half days of pre-scheduled matched and informal meetings.”