Global Bulletin: October’s Mipcom Adapts to New Normal, No Parties

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Reed Midem head of television Laurine Garaude joined presenter Justin Crosby on TV industry news review podcast TellyCast where the two discussed the current state of Mipcom, set to be one of the first major global marketplaces to return to an in-person format when it kicks off in Cannes this October.

Predictably, much of the conversation focused on health and safety concerns, and Garaude outlined some ways Mipcom is adapting, while acknowledging that other changes are likely to come in the intervening months.

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Traffic flow in the exhibition hall will be regulated and additional entrances and exits added. Conference halls will be limited to 50% capacity and cleaned and sterilized for 45 minutes between presentations. Facemasks will be mandatory and hand sanitizer will be widely available. Face-to-face meetings are being redesigned to allow for one-meter social distancing, as are all areas where queuing may be necessary.

Garaude also said there won’t be any major social events, but the org is investigating ways of holding outdoor parties. No concrete plans have yet been made.

“There is a need to meet in person and we have a duty to enable that in the safest way,” Garaude said. “That’s what we are focused on right now. Creating a new normal.”

Knowing that many attendees won’t be able to travel to Cannes, this year’s event will be an in-person-online hybrid thanks to the Mipcom Online Plus platform. Similar to the MipTV Online Plus platform used for March’s online-only event, the platform will allow interaction between in-person attendees and those abroad.

Another new addition, Mipcom will host a series of Global Upfronts presentations meant to kickstart sails for new projects, either in production or finished, from across all genres, by providing an exclusive first look to buyers.

Finally, Garaude addressed how Mipcom is adapting to current global social movements. “We think this is the time and place to discuss how we can bring about social change. This is not new to Mipcom or the Mips, but it’s something we want to elevate to a higher level,” she explained.

To that end, Sky’s Jeremy Darroch will attend and receive the Sustainable Development Goals Award, originally announced before MipTV. Under Darroch’s leadership, Sky was the first media company to go carbon neutral in 2006 and earlier this year launched the #GoZero campaign through which the company hopes to achieve a net zero carbon footprint by 2030. This year’s Diversify TV Excellence Awards are also being expanded, with more details to be announced soon.

DISTRIBUTION

Upstart international distributor Rainmaker Content has secured international distribution rights to this year’s Emmy Awards outside of the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The ceremony will take place Sunday, Sept. 20.

Jimmy Kimmel will host the ceremony for the third time and executive produce. In recent weeks there has been pushback to the late-night host’s assignment after clips of him in blackface from the ‘90s sketch comedy program “The Man Show” began to recirculate on social media. Kimmel issued an apology for his participation in the skits, which was received with different levels of enthusiasm throughout the industry.

Rainmaker also confirmed that co-founder Vicky Ryan has been named COO and will join Graham Begg and Greg Phillips as directors of the company.

COMMISSION

Channel 4 in the U.K. has commissioned “The Talk,” an hour-long documentary about conversations that families of color have with their children to prepare them for the reality of living in a society where the color of their skin marks them out for a lifetime of challenges white people may not understand. Cardiff Productions is co-producing with Whisper.

Influential black public figures will share memories of the talks they were given or gave themselves, contextualized by family stories or a particular, often traumatizing, event which triggered the talks. Geoff Small will direct and Maxine Watson will executive produce with Patrick Young of Cardiff Productions and Sunil Patel, Whisper CEO.

FORMAT DEAL

Russian network NTV has commissioned a local version of popular Israeli series “Street Justice” from ITV Studios’ Armoza Formats. The new local adaptation will be produced by KIT Film Studio.

“Street Justice” was created by Artza Productions, Amir Mann, Dafna Prenner and Shai Eines and broadcast on Channel 10 in Israel. Featuring intense stunts, gun fights, car crashes and a bit of romance, the series turns on a hot-headed detective who cleans up the streets, often blurring the lines between legality and morality.

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