This MIPTV 2024 is extremely special, full of nostalgia above all. It will be the last MIPTV ever, with 61 editions -Mipcom is in its forties- and the RX FRANCE announcement of replacing MIPTV next year by MIP LONDON, a full new event held in late February, simultaneously with the LONDON SCREENINGS… nothing to do with MIPTV. But well… this year, what? We have MIP DOC, MIP FORMATS and MIP DRAMA first in the weekend, pushing the idea of ‘The unscripted week’, that the Cannes event has posted the last decade.

More or less people being the last edition? Let’s see during the week. On one hand, some people say they want to attend as it is the last time. MIPTV till the end would be the second event of the calendar after Mipcom, last year with 5600 participants from 86 countries. For independent companies in Europe, the event is to attend for sure. But, on the other hand, MIPTV has been involved into a negative trend for years, and the announcement should deep the not coming. We imagine 4500/5000 people this April, with good push of the AVOD/FAST sector, whose summit was the great success at last MIPTV.

Last existential comment… is it fine the RX decision of replacing MIPTV by a London event in February? We would have liked to see the same MIPTV in time and format, but in another city, with lower costs. The problem was not the attendance or the traffic, it was the cost-benefit outcome due to Cannes costs of booths, logistics, hotels, etc. An the always unfair comparison to Mipcom. But well, let’s see MIP LONDON next year. We agree, it is easier to perform well with a brand-new event than to revert an existing one. And London is now the epicenter of the high-end European content industry.

Highlights of Cannes weekend, from today? The journey begins with the classic tips & trends of The Wit, in its “Fresh Garden: Content Creators” session on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Later in the day there are “MIPDoc Pitchs”, the traditional pitching of docs & factual contents, and the case study of "Destination X", the successful competition and adventure format (Be TV, Belgium) told by NBCUniversal and BBC (UK).

On Sunday, the day starts with the keynote of documentary filmmaker Dawn Porter from Trilogy Films, telling his unique evolution in the genre. Also, there is the “MIPDrama Selection” an early-stage showcase for buyers and press, focused on series and miniseries projects. And lastly, the “MIPFormats Pitch” takes place, sponsored by German ZDF Studios.

In parallel, CANNESERIES developes its usual Festival activities during the weekend, open to public and with premiere screenings: the first one is "This Is Not Sweden", the copro between RTVE Play, TV3 and SVT 1. Also Globoplay Original series Living On A Razor's Edge (Brazil) and iQiyi’s drama "To the Wonder" (China) are screened at the event. On Sunday night, "Becoming Karl Lagerfeld", the bioseries produced by Gaumont and distributed by The Walt Disney Company (Benelux) BV, will handle the main screening, with the presence of main protagonists.

CANNESERIES, though the end of MIPTV, has announced that will continue as usual in Cannes in April 2025. So, content industry members will have this option to continue the traditional spring push in the south of France. Some people say that the festival could create also a market as other French Festivals have set up, as SERIESMANIA in Lille, but it is still too early to speak about.

Nicolás Smirnoff, Alberto Buitron

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