Mipcom 2021 has given the content market a sweet surprise: the post pandemic reactivation seems to be here, with strong enthusiasm to attend and move both delayed projects and new ventures. The business inertia looks fresh and healthy, opening very good perspectives for the upcoming events, as MipCancun, ATF and Natpe Miami. The big question: What market do we have? Post pandemic and new trends are mixed in an emerging bowl, still unstable but progressive.

What is different from before the pandemic? We can imagine a market with less people per event, with more people attending more segmented events, to reduce costs and focus targets. Everything seems to be more reduced from now. The hybrid formats are to gain the picture, as a good way to participate without travelling. There will be many more options like these from now.

About contents, the new standardized TV series format is 8 x 45’, set up by the big global OTTs. The new trend is the micro-series, with 3-4 episodes of 15-20 minutes each, which is the YouTube rule for people tolerance. Of course, all the formats will continue, but the wave is shorter contents per episode and per time. Disney+ includes more and more 3-4 minutes capsules of its famous toons. The idea is to be watched mobile, at any moment and place.

The irruption of mountains of OTTs, with different medium-sized players leading Asian and MENA territories, generates two big trends: a new production funnel and new financing veins. There are no certain global numbers, but we can say that in many regions in 2021, even with many blackout months, the production for OTTs has doubled the figures of before the pandemic. Every platform wants original content, the production is more and more expensive and the production houses with expertise and capacity are not so many. The risk is a new bubble that explodes, as the 2K .com fake.

So, it is very important the second trend, to find new financing options for SVOD apart from subscribers. Netflix has bought two months ago a videogame production house, many synergies among TV and games are to come. Other are the FAST systems, the AVODs, which are like linear TV, with traditional advertisement and 24-hour channels, many paid by brands. Some SVOD can compensate the numbers with AVODs. Third, Product Placement: to connect series, characters or moments of the stories with different brands. "Spencer Confidential", from Netflix, billed USD 84 millions in product placement. This changes the equation of SVOD business.

The last piece of the new bowl are the bundles: in the future, people can have not 15-20 OTTs to choose, can have 1-2 ‘aggregators’ encompassing all of them. Mipcom in four days advanced most of these tips, as PRENSARIO saw them also in Virtual Screenings Worldwide, with more segmented and regional buyer demand than ever. Let’s play again, now that the pandemic is beginning to say goodbye.

Nicolás Smirnoff, Fabricio Ferrara, Alberto Buitron and Marie Roche

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