Curtain falls on final MipTV in Cannes, organiser RX reveals 3,500 delegates
According to RX France, the 61st and final edition of MipTV was attended by 3,537 delegates
MIPTV: The last ever MipTV was wrapping up in Cannes today with organisers claiming the spring market had ended on a high note – but with attendance in fact significantly down on the previous year.
According to RX France, the 61st and final edition of MipTV was attended by 3,537 delegates, a sharp decline from the 5,000-plus recorded in 2023.
However, both those statistics are a far cry from the glory days of the festival when more than 10,000 delegates would descend on the Croisette for the April event annually.
This year, people from 84 countries attended MipTV, with 1,200 buyers and 135 exhibitors, plus pavilions covering 11 countries, according to RX.
The conference kicked off with a pre-opening weekend of Mipdoc and Mipformats, running in tandem with Canneseries screenings and premieres in the Palais des Festivals.
Monday saw the opening of the event proper, though regular attendees quickly noted that the final MipTV was operating in somewhat reduced circumstances.
Most of the panel sessions were held in much smaller rooms than previous years, with the Grand Auditorium reserved for Canneseries events.
Additionally, the basement part of the Palais – aka the Bunker – was closed off, except for the MipTV Lounge and café.
Senior TV executives attending the 61st edition expressed mixed feelings about the curtain officially coming down on MipTV after years of rumours about its inevitable demise.
Ana Langenberg, senior VP of format sales and production at NBCUniversal, said: “It has felt really quiet this year and I think it was time for a change.
“I’ve been coming to MipTV since 1999, so there is a kind of nostalgic sadness to it being the last one.”
Amanda Groom, MD of The Bridge, said: “It is the end of an era and in some ways it’s very sad. There’s a little bit of confusion about what’s going to take the place of MipTV as we know it.
“It’s hard to see how many of the things people found valuable about MipTV – networking, thought leadership and coproduction conversations – can be replaced by an event in London in February in the pouring rain.”
Lucy Smith, director of MipTV and Mipcom, in Cannes today
Organisers, however, hailed this week’s market as a success and thanked delegates for attending. Lucy Smith, director MipTV and Mipcom Cannes, said: “The plan was for MipTV to have a stellar send-off and the last few days have been just that.
“We’re grateful to the international TV industry across generations, geographies and genres for their support of MipTV over the last six decades.
“All our energies on the Croisette will now be solely focused on Mipcom Cannes, and in delivering and growing the flagship international entertainment content market for the industry, starting with the 40th anniversary edition later this year.”
Late on Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of curious delegates packed out Riviera Stage to hear RX announce further details about next year’s planned Mip London event. It will take place from February 24 to 27 in London’s West End at the Savoy Hotel and IET London: Savoy Place.
RX claimed it would be complementary to the existing London TV Screenings, rather than in direct competition with it. Smith said: “Mip London has been shaped through market feedback. It will be very different in format and scale to MipTV.
“It’s complementary to London TV Screenings, because Mip London brings the potential of more buyers and therefore more business to London in February. That really is to the benefit of all.”
