In the golden years of the international TV content business, there were some seven trade publications, of which four were based in the U.S. and the rest were scattered about in the U.K., France, and Italy.

Today, in the twilight of the international TV business, the number of printed content TV trade publications has mushroomed to 18, of which six are based in LATAM alone (although one recently went only-online). Plus, there are many others from different countries that appear only around the most important TV markets, such as MIPTV and MIPCOM. Some of these publications’ titles can be seen in the above photo.

All of this is unfolding after the sector went from 1,946 exhibitors at MIPCOM 2017 to today’s 350 at MIPCOM 2023. To make matters worse, the writers and actors strikes in Hollywood will penalize those publications that depend on “For Your Consideration” ads, which evolve around the awards season.

Under strike guidelines there will be no ads for any category, since it would constitute a promotional appearance, which is not allowed under guild/union guidelines.

Traditionally, awards seasons are veritable goldmines for publications that publish special editions. However, those trades are unlikely to reveal the amount of lost revenue. The only likely comment we’ll possibly get will be an acknowledgement of a loss of considerable revenue, but no one will likely release any actual figures. However, some financial publications may well find figures from past years and use those as a comparison for each industry paper. Nevertheless, the actual amount is not expected to be revealed until their respective annual financial reports are published and made public.

Also changing is the business model of house organ publications. In the past, these were used to jazz up rental floor space for major markets, since free ad space was given as an incentive to get larger floor space. With increased publishing costs and reduced floor space rentals, such incentives ultimately proved to be too costly and anachronistic.

At the same time, trade publications in Canada (Brunico), and in the U.K. (C21) are successfully morphing in the TV trade show business by leveraging their publications as marketing tools, and possibly sacrificing their editorial independence for company support as exhibitors.

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