MIPFormats Pitch Finalists Unveiled

MIPTV and FOX Alternative Entertainment (FAE) have revealed the five finalists of the 2023 MIPFormats Pitch, selected from a record 89 submissions.

The chosen projects are The Connected Set’s Eyes on the Prize (U.K.), Format Espresso’s Gold (Italy), formatworkshop’s Show Must Go On (Turkey), Select TV Formats’ The Love Pitch (U.K.) and Heroes Creative Studio’s Weekend Without Parents (Ukraine).

The winner will be awarded $5,000 for development by FAE, along with the opportunity to have the concept pitched as part of FOX’s $100 million International Unscripted Format Fund.

The jury for the MIPFormats Pitch will be chaired by Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at FOX Entertainment, and include Yasmin Rawji, executive VP of unscripted for network at FOX Entertainment and Nathalie Wogue, consultant and international format strategist at FAE). The session will be moderated by Maria Chiara Duranti, chief editor of Formatbiz.

The MIPFormats Pitch will take place on day one of MIPTV 2023, which is running from April 17 to 19.

“As expected, year two of our teaming with RX Global on the MIPFormats Pitch has resulted with even more exciting entries my team and I have thoroughly enjoyed reviewing,” Wallach said. “The broad and diverse pool of concepts from which we selected this year’s five finalists sparked a number of meaningful conversations, which is always a great sign of a strong pitch. It will be fun to be in the room with each finalist and see which entry we think has the greatest potential and rises to the top in Cannes.”

Lucy Smith, entertainment division director and director of MIPTV at RX France, said, “MIP markets provide the global stage for formats from all countries, and in FOX we have partners on the MIPFormats Pitch with both an exceptional track record, and an ongoing commitment to, discovering and championing innovative formats globally. It makes for a truly game-changing opportunity for the finalists.”