First, we’ll start with the good news: Despite cold temperatures in the mornings, the traditional rain has held off, and MIP-TV attendees have actually gotten some sun.
Now, the bad news: It seems the decision to start MIP on a Sunday — and Palm Sunday, no less — resulted in a slower first day out of the gate, with distributors remarking that things seemed a bit less busy that day. As one exhibitor remarked, “It was a Day One minus, but we later got a Day Two plus.”
One company that kept things busy on Sunday was indie FremantleMedia, which exhibited at their usual large outdoor tent. The company held a press breakfast and lunch on Sunday, showing off their new productions and new production partner, Morgan Spurlock.
Another indie — albeit a smaller one — had a strong presence at MIP. CABLEready celebrated its 20th anniversary with a party at the Palais de Festivals’ Les Marches.
Among the other parties at MIP were Monday’s Jersey Shore party, thrown by Viacom’s MTV and attended by stars Deena Nicole Cortese and Vinny Guadagnino, which celebrated TF1’s acquisition of the reality series; and a lovely eOne cocktail party celebrating its Femme Fatales, an anthology series exploring noir-style mysteries starring dangerous women.
At the more high-brow end of the event — the conferences — the Global Animation Marketplace Session opened with remarks from Amandine Cassi, of Eurodata, who talked about the explosion of children’s TV around the world, 60 percent of which is animated. But Cassi’s fellow panelists lamented the difficulties companies have when it comes to funding animated programming.
As was reported in the VideoAgeDaily, Canadian companies were well-represented at MIP this year, with 104 exhibiting companies, in addition to 88 more without a stand. Many Canadian independents choose MIP over the L.A. Screenings since it it more “in-tune” with their programming.
So what was the rumor mill spinning at this year’s MIP? A lot of talk has been dedicated to who will be chosen as Rick Feldman’s replacement as NATPE CEO. VideoAgeDaily reported that NATPE is looking at about 10 serious contenders. Interestingly, the person picked could be based outside the U.S.
Another big issue surrounding MIP-TV has been 3D TV. Nine conferences addressing the issue took place on Tuesday, and Wednesday marks a 3D TV producers’ bootcamp. Plus Jim Chabin, president of the Los Angeles-based International 3D Society delivered a keynote about the technological advances of 3D TV, as well as increased advertiser interest and a decrease in cost. Among the 3D news being made at MIP, A+E Networks announced that it has reached an agreement to license three new 3D titles — Titanic: 100 Years in 3D, History of the World in Two Hours and Invisible — to U.K. satcaster BSkyB.
And with the market wrapping up, talk turned to the L.A. Screenings, with the independent sellers getting ready to focus their attention mostly on the Latins.
For more detailed information on what’s happened straight from the MIP-TV floor, go to http://videoagedaily.com/.
