Mipcom Bounces Back But Numbers Below Pre-Pandemic Peak

Leo Barraclough
·3 min read

International TV market Mipcom came back with gusto this year, but it’s not back to the level reached at its pre-pandemic peak.

A total of 10,896 delegates attended this year, which is down from the peak year of 2019, when more than 13,500 delegates came to the Cannes event. MipJunior, which ran over the weekend, had 1,311 delegates this year. In 2019, there were 1,500.

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There were 3,100 buyers this year, compared with more than 4,700 in 2019. The largest numbers of buyers this year came from the U.S. (442), followed by the U.K. (301), France (251), Germany (242) and Spain (140). In 2019, it was U.S. (461), U.K. (450), France (423), Germany (359) and Russia (207).

The number of company stands this year was 321, with Paramount, BBC Studios and Disney in new homes. Other major players attending included Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony Pictures Television, Paramount Global Content Distribution, NBCUniversal Intl., AMC Studios, A+E Networks, ITV Studios and Fremantle.

Lucy Smith, director of Mipcom and MipTV, told Variety Wednesday: “The main part of [the shortfall] is effectively due to the fact that some territories are not as big as they were because of the tail-end of COVID, because we are all aware that China is not really travelling again yet, and there is no Russian participation, and the war on Ukraine is affecting that. Other than that there is of course consolidation [in the industry]. I’m sure that is also there. That is the general explanation I would give for the difference in numbers.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, she said: “Our ambition for Mipcom Cannes was to come back with a bang and be true to the billing as ‘The Mother of All Entertainment Content Markets.’ And we have delivered that big annual global market to the industry after what’s been a long three years for some, and certainly a different experience for all of us.”

Star guests included Emily Blunt, Cara Delevingne and Brian Cox. Top executive speakers included Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment, Marco Bassetti, Banijay’s CEO, Jennifer Mullin, Fremantle’s CEO, and Erin Underhill, president of Universal Television.

Innovations included the Seaview Producers Hub, with its focus on co-production and financing, which offered a sunlit tented space on the roof of the Riviera Center for panel discussions and networking. “Let’s not forget this was exhibition space previously, which we chose to transform to meet a market need – and it was so much fun to design and plan,” Smith said.

Speakers at Seaview Producers Hub included Lars Blomgren, head of scripted, Banijay; Christian Vesper, president of global drama, Fremantle; Lisa Perrin, managing director, international production, ITV Studios; Thomas Dubois, Amazon’s head of originals, France; and Nicole Morganti, Amazon’s head of originals, Italy.

Looking ahead to MipTV, Smith said it would take place April 17-19. As with this year’s event, it will be “a more productive and concentrated market,” she said. So, Mipdoc, Mipformats, Mipdrama and the kids’ sidebar would run concurrently with MipTV. One badge will cover all events.

The series festival, Canneseries, will again run in parallel to MipTV, and will introduce its first international documentary series competition. The documentary buyers’ events will be staged on the Sunday. Mipdrama will become a buyer preview of the Canneseries official selection. Also returning will be the “Future of Kids TV Summit,” focusing on future trends.

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