MIPCOM 2023 is showing above all, a healthy effervescence: lots of press announcements, content launches, more cocktail events than ever (perhaps) considering the recent times. PRENSARIO could know that RX France would announce about 10.500 attending people, 4000 buyers. This is below from the 13000 attendees registered the last time before the pandemic, but it is 6% up vs. official last year figures. For PRENSARIO, we must not compare to before Covid, it was another market, and this year is clearly 10/15% up vs. Mipcom 2022. In the post pandemic world, everybody wants to be in content business.

Just yesterday, the first official day of Mipcom, PRENSARIO checked events from ITV, Fremantle, Treasure Box Japan, Paramount, Inter Medya, Global Agency, Cineflix, Fox EG, Eccho Rights, Movistar+, Red Arrow, ORF, apart from the RX’s Welcome Party. Today there are FRAPA, a Globo Screenings, Unifrance, Acun Medya, Mediapro, among others. The Turkish distributors, mainly with dramas, continue on top exposure. If the market is not as before the pandemic, why are there so many events? ‘When most of the contents reach good production & script levels, marketing and relationships make a difference’, a high-end buyer said.

Trendy testimonials? Maxime Saada, executive director at Canal+ France, received the VARIETY VANGUARD award. He said: ‘A good part of our success is due to Netflix. We’ve developed 7-8 years of window actions together’. Gerhard Zeiler, president, international, WBD EMEA: ‘We have to: expand our catalogue; to integrate fast HBOMax with the linear channels; to make a difference in content vs. the Americas, with European productions as ’30 coins’ (Spain); to create a new culture for the unified company truly sustainable. On all of these, linear TV will continue healthier than ever’.

Virginia Mousseler from The Wit, provided the traditional ‘Fresh TV’ session, focused on entertainment formats: ‘Two big trends for formats are: new formats based on ideas from 20 years ago, so it is another return to the classics; and formats based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) applications. For instance, ‘Find me’, from French Ah Productions, a dating show where single men have to find the real human being option from 5 proposals, with 4 created by AI’.

Disruption formats? Many industry members are mentioning ‘Bargain’ (SLL, South Korea) as the new ‘The Squid Game’ from Asia. A young man is tricked and his body is object of human organ trafficking, while he is alive in a collapsed building after an Earthquake.

The Governments have more influence in TV & production evolution. Aldo Di Felice, TLN Canada: ‘A new law is coming in our country that will rule not only the online platforms to pay taxes as traditional media, but also the broadcasters, to continue or not with their systems. The role of public channels is discussed too. We will see many changes next year’. A local rep & producer, Greece: ‘Nowadays in our country there is a good level of productions, even there are exportations, but the main part of them is afforded by Government subsidies. We need an own selfish industry’.

Latin America: Azteca (Mexico) has launched three new FAST channels, completing 10 total. And it is planning a full AVOD platform for first semester 2024. Goyo Garcia, SBT Brazil: ‘At Mipcom we are buying not only for free TV, but also for a new AVOD platform and FAST channels we are launching. We need all kinds of programming and special formats’.

Alberto Buitron and Francisco Ferryra from Cannes, France

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