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It's that time of year for many in the TV industry to start turning their minds to Cannes, as M.T.V. is just over a month away. This week we're previewing the reimagined four-day event and reveal what TV execs can expect on La Croissette in April. It's coming right up on this week's Telecast.
My guess this week is M.T.V. and M.T.Con boss, Lucy Smith. As we look ahead to next month's Cannes gathering, it's just a month away. Lucy, welcome back to the show.
Hi, Justin. It's great to be back on. Last time we spoke, I think it was just the closing day of M.T.Con, and I was telling you about what we'd be doing at M.T.V. this year.
So great to have an opportunity to chat a bit about it. It's funny how quickly it comes around every year. So yeah, how are preparations going for this, which is the 60th anniversary, right? Yeah, absolutely.
It's going to be the biggest M.T.V. news, which is great. I mean, M.T.V. is growing again.
So it's growing again in terms of the exhibition, in terms of the number of people who will be coming to the show, coming to Cannes, probably sort of around 20% give or take. What we're seeing is that the buyers in the industry, they really do need this spring content market to get deals done. That's what we are set up to do. That's our organization.
And M.T.V. has that role of bringing the global marketplace to Cannes, and we're expecting up to 100 countries to be present. And as you said, M.T.V. is 60 years young, as you like to say.
And we're growing again. So it's kind of feels like we're in a good place. We have to think back. We only reformatted M.T.V.
last year. And it's paying off. We listened. We did what people asked us to do.
And I really think we sort of found that nice position in the market. Companies are able to come at the scale. They need to come, which was the big difference. And we remain the second biggest international market in the world's up in the mid-com.
The TV industry is reinventing itself, which is what we continue to do. And we will continue to do that as time goes on, learning each time from what happened. But we said with ChangeMip TV, the changes are being well received. And we will deliver this for markets in one, which is building out the mid-doc in the format.
It's the biggest week in unscripted and being the must attend market for kids and drama with strands developed for those segments. And new this year, we've got a Fast and Global Summit, which is exciting. So there's a lot going on and we are very busy as you can imagine. Yeah, there's lots of different elements of Mip TV.
And I know it's an event that lots of international buyers and executives look forward to coming down to Cannes in April and kicking a lot of their buying patents off. Last week, there was a London Screenings. And I realised Mip TV has evolved over the years, over the 60 years. And we've obviously had COVID, which has changed the whole industry in the market.
How are you making sure that Mip TV is relevant now in 2023 and reimagining it for a new landscape? I agree. I mean, I think I would have been obviously read a lot about London Screenings and there's always another event. I was at Kid Screen a couple of weeks ago myself and it's always an opportunity.
We need those markets as well to meet other people and talk about our market. London, I think the distributors have done a great job. They've done what they wanted to do, which was to create their own sort of Screenings event. And I think that's the key is it's in London and it's a Screenings event in London.
That's great. And we all work as a cycle together. Buyers need to go and discover new content, but they then also need to have meetings after that to follow up. All of these events serve a purpose.
When there's a market in Cannes, what our promises is, is we're bringing the world to Cannes and we're set up as an organised exhibition and market place where people can do their needs. So, I mean, what we've heard a lot from buyers who are at the event and from some distributors who've also contacted us, it's been the event to say, you know what, it was great and I heard a lot. It sounded like it was a really great opportunity to discover all that new content. But you know what, we do still need to do more meetings to follow up.
And I think that's what's important. And we make a kind of more cost effective, organised environment to help people come and finalise those deals. And I think that that's the way those markets are going to work together. It's just another evolution that will continue to evolve, you know, to meet the moment and make sure we're giving our clients what they need.
There's a clear difference, isn't there? London Screens is much more sort of like a linear schedule of activity, whereas a BitTV, everybody comes together. There's the seminar activity to the buyer and seller meetings and the screenings and what have you. So, it's a sort of a much different offer.
No, I agree. Let's talk about it in a bit more detail then in terms of this year's BitTV. So, we've got NIP, Doc and MIP format. So, that's running alongside MIP TV.
And we're starting this year on the Sunday. Tell us a little bit about this Super Sunday, which is how it's been built. Tell us a bit more about that. So, yeah, we've really kind of embraced this because we can unscripted, which was building out the biggest part of this Super Sunday is MIP Doc.
So, we've really gone big on factual. It's the 25th MIP Doc, actually, which as we said, we would bring intimate TV. So, it's all included on the same registration. But, yes, we're opening.
That's also going to be in the pally. Absolutely. It was in different approaches. But everything is on site within the pally.
Absolutely. So, it's in the pally. So, on the Super Sunday, we have introduced the new international buyer screenings. We have had a call for entries and we had over 80 entries coming from companies around the world of some really good high-end documentary content.
And we've had a selection process. We'll be announcing that very soon. But we'll have 10 series that are going to be screened in the Debussy Theatre. And we invite our buyers and we invite to come in on the Saturday night.
So, we're obviously offering the extra night hotel to make sure they can be in Cannes. We're kicking off the day with the opportunity for the buyers to discover the first ever Cannes Series International Documentary Series Festival, the official selection. There'll be five series. And that is something that we've really kind of worked on together.
We've worked more and more closely with Cannes Series over time and then launching the International Competition as well for Doc, really felt like your timing was right. So, we're going to make that selection available exclusively for our buyers in the morning. We also have opened and reopened the MIP Doc screenings library. Now, that had been a really important key part of MIP Doc, which we had made the choice last year of making it online only.
That was not what clients wanted. Yeah. Explain a little bit about what that is. I haven't come across that myself.
So, what is that screening library? It's actually the same format as MIP Junior. It's something that we have created over the last 25 years. You have an onsite screening booth in a closed space.
So, we have two big rooms up on the third floor of the Palais that will be open and where the buyers will have individual PCs where they'll be able to watch and screen content that the distributors have put onto the library. So, it's finished programs or project looking for pro production partners. Now, that onsite screening library opens on the Sunday morning, but we also, it's available for the week ahead for buyers to be able to start looking and preparing so that everybody has the opportunity to see content before. They're obviously carrying on during their meetings in Cannes, but they can also stay and do other moments when they might want to screen during the week.
And one other thing that is important to mention on that Sunday is that we'll be having an opening cocktail for the MIP Doc population, which is sponsored for the first time by Paramount Global Content Distribution, which is great. They've really got behind all of this documentary factual part of the show. And then obviously during the week, we also have a lot of content happening for MIP Doc with a MIP Doc pitch, co-production, summit because obviously co-production is always hugely important. So, yeah, that's what we're doing on the documentary side.
And the other part of the Super Sunday is MIP Drama. So MIP Drama, we've evolved so that we really did feel that we were not kind of connecting with Cannes series as much as we needed to, and it was feeling a little like a little too separate. So what we decided this year, because we know a lot of buyers never have the opportunity. They've got, not so they're having meetings, which is what we also want them to be doing during the show is they needed an opportunity to discover that Cannes series official selection, which they'll be announcing the 28th of March.
It's looking like they're going to have an incredible lineup. They just actually announced their opening series, which is an Apple TV Plus original silo. They're really kind of up in the game and each year, I think the selection is better. So we're doing MIP Drama on the Sunday afternoon, a preview, especially for our buyers coming in on the Sunday again.
Let's talk about exhibitors then, because I think there's quite a few regions of the world that are making a bit of a comeback to MIP TV this year. Tell us a little bit about that. We really are back to growth, which feels great. Obviously last year, there were certain territories that couldn't attend.
So part of that growth is coming from China, APAC. So we have the big Chinese pavilion and some other companies coming back and some buyers. Also, Japan, Korea, Australia, Philippines, India, Hong Kong. That means it's not just the exhibitors, but Japan, Korea, and China, for example, do really great format showcases.
Korea also have a scripted showcase because obviously these are great territories where you don't know what new content you can discover. We've got a lot of new exhibitors at the show, either who are back after an absence or new to the market. So some of those new exhibitors include Fox, which is great, Fox Entertainment, who came back and had their debut at MIP.com. via play film rise, Blue Ant, Slick Clark, all of those great Turkish distributors have got exhibits this year and the Japanese and great new pavilion as well.
The Italian Appa, which is the Audiovisual Producers Association, who are representing about 40 plus Italian companies, as well as the Turkish Pavilion, Koka, which is the Korean Pavilion. So a lot of territories and sort of growth coming from different markets where new exhibitors, and on the exhibits overall, I mean, there's some great participation. It's a really great, very complete list of international studios from around the world who were back in Cannes for this NixiVee. Could be really interesting to see all of those APAC regions coming back for the first time in four years.
A lot of those countries have been represented, so it would be really interesting to see how that stimulates the market. We've got an increase in exhibition stands and the bunkers open again, I believe. Now, the bunker has been reclaimed, redesigned, and it is now Leboudevard, and it really does link the entrance of the Palioure right through, and it's been redesigned right up to Radio 37. So it's Leboudevard, and it'd be a lot more dynamic.
There are a lot of stands there in that space, as well as two of our lounges. So on the PTV networking lounge, we've got a dedicated kids lounge, as well as an important conference room, which will host the past summit and also some other talks and other platforms. We've done a pilot project with a new speed matchmaking for producers, for example, and we've got a whole networking space there as well. So that's going to be a really cool dynamic.
The bunkers are going to be quite, sorry, boulevard. The boulevard. That's going to be quite integral, isn't it, by the sounds of it. So the actual event, whereas before, obviously, it's either been booked out as lots of different countries in the old format that we're familiar with.
But this time, it sounds like there's going to be lots of opportunities for people to hang out and network and relax in there as well as doing meetings and exhibit spaces as well. Yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, what we're really trying to do is kind of, and I think, you know, we've seen this with the different spaces we've designed differently and opened up with more opportunities for, you know, those people to people meeting, you know, you've got somewhere to sit. You do not have to go out across the road to have a room of your meeting.
You can be in the pally. There is, I mean, wherever you are in the pally, I mean, you're never far from, whether it be an exhibitor, a conference, a meeting table. And that's what we're trying to do is really make sure that there's spaces, spaces for everyone. And for example, in the, another networking area, we've always used this, that really, we've made that into a mid-format producers hub and lounge, which is going to be fantastic across the preview.
And there's conference and event space as well. So, I mean, it's really about making sure that, you know, participants will have spaces for their meetings. You've got a great exhibition halls with really making sure the traffic feels good. You're getting the flow of people.
We've got a bias club as well in the liberal of our hall. Yeah, there's a lot of really cool new ways for us to show how we redesigning and making this even more comfortable and user friendly for all of our participants. You talked earlier on just touched on a couple of new initiatives that's happening at MIT TV. And one of those is the Fast and Global Summits.
You know, we talked about the way that MIT TV is adapted to, you know, the way the markets, the landscape has changed over the last few years. And obviously, we've seen the emergence of fast and we've seen how important it is for a lot of distribution businesses. Give us a bit of an insight into what people can expect at this Fast and Global Summit. I agree.
I think that, you know, what we're saying is really a great opportunity for the distribution market. I mean, it's the, you know, the biggest sort of evolution is this explosion of fast and, you know, the faster channels all over the world. So it really does make sense for, you know, MIPS TV to be where you would come for this sort of global, the need for the global development because obviously it's been a bit very much a US gross market to start with. But now we really need to go global.
So what we're doing is putting on a fast summit where we've been working. We've got a lot of sponsors who, you know, supporting this with Margie, Ocass, my vice media, Vivo world. So all, you know, offering different aspects to the whole fast landscape and the program is, but I mean, it's incredible. The number of companies we've been in contact.
I mean, I'm getting messages on Zoom as well as the email as a conference team. Everyone wanting to get involved in this because there's so much, it's such a great new area to develop new business. So some of the speakers include VanniJ, Rekoutian TV, all three media, Fremantle, Pluto, Samsung TV+, and we could go on. And we've got some great hosts and moderators working with us.
So, I mean, I think a lot of people will have followed the Variety Intelligence Platform. Gavin Bridge does great surveys and analysis of that sort of fast market. So we're putting together a half day and we're really seeing this as it was a growth area. And let's see what we can do, what we can also learn about, what people need for that and we'll be taking that forward in a much bigger way for MIPSCOM as well.
In October, I mean, the demand we haven't been able to be frank, we've not been able to cater to everyone's demand. But then there's a lot of companies will be coming and being part of it, but they don't get to necessarily get on stage where they may have wanted to. But we believe that that's a really important area to help. Again, it's always about following and accompanying industries, growth areas, and this is one of them.
Fast is certainly on everybody's lips, I think. And as you say, in the States, it's really developing and I think it's 9.10s of the market is actually over there, but it's moving over to Europe and the popularity of Fast Champs is growing and growing. It's a really interesting time for that whole market. There's also some keynotes that I cast my over.
One of our old friends on telecast, Evan Shapiro, is doing a keynote. What's he going to be talking about? He's been carrying out some new research that he's going to come and present. I think we all know his incredible graphic.
Cartography. Thank you. Cartography. I knew I was going to get that word wrong.
But yeah, absolutely, which is just great. So he's going to be doing some new research. I know he's out at South by South West right now. We're working on and talking to everyone.
We've partnered on this new research that will actually sort of communicate and share together. I think what's really interesting is always getting those keynotes are really going to be talking about how their strategies are and their strategies and then having somebody who's going to come and challenge and talk about how he might see the world a bit differently. We've also asked him to join the Future of Kids TV Summit because it's all about looking to the future and who better than the Emdinger Piero to do that with us. Well, he certainly gives everybody pause for thought and really wakes everybody up in terms of what's coming down the track or potentially what's coming down the track, making everybody perhaps wake up to the opportunities or the threats as well in the industry because we obviously know that we're going to be able to do that.
We're obviously know we're in turbulent times at the moment. Let's continue for a little while. And there's also going to be a bit of a birthday celebration, I believe, for MIPS TV 60. Totally.
On the Monday evening, we're going to be having an opening party in a birthday bash actually in the Majestic Hotel. We've got actually a partner who's going to be joining us for that, which is motioning pictures. We're coming to promote a new format, which is really exciting because obviously there's a lot going on around formats at MIPS TV. So yeah, it'll be a big birthday party.
We're kind of developing that. I'm actually off to Cannes on a couple of days this week to go and see our participants show MIPS MIPM, which is the huge property shows happening. We're going to be doing some hotel visits because I think you will have seen that Cannes is also developing and doing some exciting things. The Carlton has just reopened after its big refurbishment.
The Grand Hotel has reopened as the Mondrianne. That was new. That was a surprise which just opened this week as well. So we're in the Majestic because it really works for what we want to do this time for the party, but there's a lot of exciting things in Cannes as well.
It'll be interesting to see because I remember the splendid as well, which was right in the centre of Cannes. That whole area was getting developed at MIPS wasnt it? The whole Plaza area outside Cafe Roman all along with that boulevard there. I wonder how that's shaping up.
I'll just cover this in the next couple of days is that that has now been finished and apparently is looking great, but that still works going on further up the quiet there because everything is being modernised in Cannes, which is a bit of a pain going through the work. We all know that, but it really is because I think it's going to be fantastic when it's all finished. Losing, looking forward to seeing all of that and being at MIPS TV again in a few weeks time. Just to refresh everybody's minds on the dates of MIPS TV this year, it kicks off on Super Sunday the 16th of April.
It goes right through to Wednesday, doesn't it? Correct. It's running Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday will be the full exhibition and everybody there. I've described the kind of exciting and dynamic MIPS TV for its 60th anniversary.
I think it's more relevant than ever at the right time of the year. Companies are signing up every day and it's not too late. I hope people want to get on a plane or a train and join this in Cannes for this incredible 60th anniversary edition. It certainly has got the broadest programme that I've seen for a knit TV for a long time.
Looking forward to experiencing all of that on the Questette. Lucy, thanks very much for joining us as usual. I'll see you in about four weeks time in Cannes. I will look forward to it, Justin.
Thanks a lot for inviting me on again to chat with you about MIPS TV. Well, that's about it for this week's Telecast MIPS TV preview show. Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed it.
And if you did, please share it with friends and colleagues. And don't forget to check out Telecast's sister brand, DropMedia.co.uk for all of your digital first news. This week's show was recorded in London and edited by Inchangers. Next week I'm in Lille at the Series Mania Forum with some of the world's leading drama execs to find out how the world of scripted is shaping up in 2023.
Until then, stay safe.