MIP Cancun’s Inaugural Formats Pitch Competition Judges Unveiled

Reed MIDEM and all3media international have revealed the lineup of judges for the inaugural Formats Pitch Competition that will be held at MIP Cancun 2019, which takes place this November.

Jury members for the panel include Michela Giorelli, VP of production and development at Discovery; Francisco Cordero, CEO of BTF Media; and Frank Scheuermann, director of non-scripted formats at Televisa. Janel Downing, VP of sales for Latin America, will chair the panel for all3media international.

The Formats Pitch Competition is a regional contest in which creators and producers of new non-scripted entertainment format concepts in Latin America bid for support for the development of their projects. The winning format will receive a prize package including £5,000, a value-added coaching package with a key executive and the opportunity to partner with all3media international in developing the format for pitching to global broadcasters.

Calls for entry have opened and the deadline for submissions is September 13, 2019. The shortlist will be announced on September 27, 2019.

The Latin American-focused Formats Pitch builds on all3media international’s previous partnerships with Reed MIDEM on the Asia Television Forum Formats Pitch and MIPTV Pitch. The announcement follows the first commission of XTREME Media’s sports-themed format Hit It, which won the 2016 ATF Formats Pitch, and will be produced for Mediacorp Suria in Singapore.

Laurine Garaude, director of Reed MIDEM’s television division, said, “We’re excited to partner with all3media international on the newly launched MIP Cancun Formats Pitch. Their support and expertise are a real prize and offer an enormous opportunity for format creators and producers to kick-start their format ideas.”

Sally Habbershaw, executive VP for the Americas at all3media international, said, “We’re delighted to partner with MIP Cancun on the MIP Cancun Formats Pitch and to have Janel Downing leading such a knowledgeable lineup of professionals; this builds on the great inroads she has been making in the region.”

Downing added, “I’m excited to be chairing such an esteemed panel made up of industry leaders that have so much knowledge and experience; we’re really looking forward to hearing the fresh ideas from across Latin America.”