MIPFormats Sets Judges for International Pitch

PARIS: The judges selected for the 2017 MIPFormats International Pitch hail from all3media International, Tower Productions, Objective Media Group U.S. and Mediaset.

The competition, backed by global partner all3media International, will take place during MIPFormats, which is being held from April 1 to 2. Judging the pitches this year are Nick Smith, the senior VP of international format production at all3media International; Philipp Schmid, the creative director and deputy managing director of Tower Productions; and Layla Smith, the executive VP of Objective Media Group U.S. They will be joined by Fabrizio Battocchio, the head of the format department at Mediaset who is responsible for factual entertainment and documentaries. A further onstage judge representing the Asia region will be announced in February.

The panel will be chaired by Stephen Lambert, the chief executive of Studio Lambert. Joining Lambert will be Noah Pollack, who recently joined all3media’s Lime Pictures as executive VP of nonfiction programming; Rachel Glaister, the executive VP of press and marketing at all3media International; and Maria Silver, the president of Optomen USA.

The winner of the MIPFormats International Pitch will be awarded a €5,000 cash prize by all3media International, plus a package worth €15,000 aimed at further developing the winning format to be ready to pitch to broadcasters. Submissions must be received before February 17.

Battocchio commented: “I’m delighted to have been invited to be a judge for the MIPFormats International Pitch Competition 2017. In this role, I am looking forward to interacting with talented and gifted format creators from around the world and I hope to provide a small personal contribution to the success of the next big format.”

Liraz Mia Shagrir, the owner of Israel’s Liraz Casting whose pitch for The Claw won the 2016 competition, said: “The MIPFormats International Pitch was our springboard to the world of TV formats. Attending MIPFormats for the first time, we were amazed to discover a completely new world of marketing opportunities and priceless exposure to countless content buyers from all over the world. In one given moment we were able to expose our content to more relevant people than we could have in years of work. We left the conference event with a vast and extensive knowledge and important business connections.”