It’s going to be a busy fall for the international entertainment sector. The market portion of the Venice Film Festival (September 2-12) just wrapped, Toronto’s TIFF market is underway (September 10-16), and prep is starting for MIPCOM and MIPJunior in Cannes (October 12-15). Coming up fast are the NAB Show in New York (October 21-22), TIFFCOM in Tokyo (October 28-30), MIP Africa in Cape Town (October 28-30), the Dubai International Content Market (November 10-11), and MIP Cancun (November 17-20).
Add secondary but key gatherings — such as IBC 2026 in Amsterdam (September 11-14), the New York Film Festival (September 25-October 12), Italy’s MIA (October 19-23), Jornadas in Buenos Aires (October 27-28), and the International Emmys in New York City (November 23) — and executives face 14 events packed into 82 days across five continents. That averages out to more than one market every single week for nearly three months straight.
Anyone planning to cover most of them should bring along photos of loved ones and pets since it may be the only way to see them for a while.
Excluding MIPCOM, which operates as a global TV market, these are primarily regional events. While large media companies with regional offices can easily divide and conquer, small outfits covering multiple territories with leaner teams face some grueling months.
In many ways, the international TV sector is echoing the classic U.S. syndication era, when salespeople had to dry-clean clothes on the road and rarely stayed home long enough to visit a local laundromat.
So, what is a journalist to do? Whether you write for a trade publication (like VideoAge) or work as a salesperson for a small distributor, just grin, bear it, and pack extra snacks for the road.
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