At first glance, the utility of the second annual MIP London event may not be obvious. The RX-organized market is scheduled for Sunday to Tuesday, February 22 to 24, 2026, at the Savoy Hotel and in the adjacent Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) building.
The first edition, held in February 2025, attracted some 2,800 participants from 74 countries. For its second edition, MIP London shortened its format to a three-day schedule (from five days in 2025).
As of December 15, 2025, MIP London had already reported 350 buyers, and in terms of participants, the large majority is expected to be coming from the U.K. As for European attendees, France tops the list, followed by Germany, then Spain. From across the “pond,” the largest contingent will arrive from the U.S., followed by Canada.
However, if the reason to have a MIP London were to be analyzed in detail, a case would gradually be made that it makes sense and even cents (i.e., business).
Traditionally, the London Screenings and the BBC Showcase attract over 700 buyers from all over Europe, and they are a magnet for London-based British entertainment companies, as well as London-based American studios. The BBC (which is celebrating its 50th BBC Showcase this year), in particular, asks buyers to register months in advance if they want to secure chairs in their screening rooms for its screenings, which will take place February 23 and 24 at the 180 Studios, on Strand Street.
For London-based companies, the costs are minimal (compared, let’s say, to MIPCOM), but the potential benefits are enormous. But what about the rest of the independent entertainment companies that are not based in London or cannot afford to rent a theater in town?
Without MIP London, these enterprises would be in a quandary. They need to be where this many buyers congregate, but cannot afford their own individual screenings.
Enter MIP London, where, for just U.S.$4,676 for a meeting table and registration (instead of $50,000 for a full-fledged separate screenings event in a cinema or $19,000 for a four-hour screening room at a hotel), participants can partake of all the amenities of a full-fledged private screenings event, including meeting tables, a buyers’ participation list, screening rooms (at extra cost), and even refreshments.
Now, the question is: How can an independent compete with the major and large studios for buyers’ attention? And the answers are: promotion, marketing, visibility, and good TV content.
MIP London can provide the facilities at affordable prices, but all the rest is on the shoulders of the exhibiting companies.
Naturally, good content is essential, and just one show would do the trick of attracting buyers. After all, acquisitions executives are attracted by anything of good quality from indies that is priced low, allows for accommodating windowing, and offers all-around flexibility. But around this “bait,” producers and distributors need to create a hook — something colorful, prominent, and attractive, something that every fish requires in order to bite. MIP London can provide the pond and the fish, but the indies have to bring all the rest.
The London Screenings will run for six days between February 22 and February 27, 2026, and this time with 33 companies officially registered (down from 35 in 2025), with Monday, February 23, as the heaviest day for cocktail parties, and Tuesday the heaviest for the number of screenings. Unofficially (i.e., not listed on the London Screenings website), some companies like, for example, the U.S. Fox Studios (which was part of the official schedule last year), will run its own schedule, supposedly in order to be free to change dates and times so as to have less of a clash with others.
Going back to MIP London, this year, the organizers, RX France, will inaugurate pre-scheduled meetings between sellers and buyers MIP Cancun-style. The Opening party will be held on Sunday, while the Happy Hours will run on Monday and Tuesday evenings.
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