Reed Midem sets out MipTV 2020 vision

MipTV begins on March 30 next year

All3Media, Discovery and Warner Bros are among the first distributors to have been confirmed for next year’s revamped MipTV market, with event organiser Reed Midem promising a 50% increase in the number of hosted buyers attending.

Also signed up to attend next year’s event, which takes place from March 30 to April 2, are Beyond International, Blue Ant Media, Deutsche Welle, Global Agency, Global Screen, KOCCA, Shoreline Entertainment, StudioCanal, TF1 Studios and TV France International.

Meanwhile, following what it called in-depth consultation with existing and potential buyers, Reed Midem has made changes to the MipTV programme to include more curated screenings and exclusive research sessions.

These new screenings will take place each morning at MipTV. Reed Midem said ‘In Development,’ MipTV’s production forum focusing on financing factual, formats, drama and kids’ content, would continue to feature prominently within the schedule.

MipDrama Buyers Summit will be held on Sunday March 29 and the concept will be extended across the factual, formats and kids’ genres.

The new schedule will also feature twice daily ‘exhibition only’ time slots, when no conferences will be scheduled.

MipTV has come under pressure in recent years from an increasingly crowded event and conference calendar. Around 9,500 professionals attended last year’s event.

While Mipcom has remained strong in October, MipTV’s numbers have been in decline and major players like BBC Studios, Talpa, Fox and Endemol Shine opted not to take floor space at this year’s edition, which featured more than 3,300 buyers and commissioners.

Reed Midem confirmed radical structural changes to the annual event earlier this year, which included bringing the entire event indoors and reducing its floor space.

It also brought an end to the controversial policy of forcing distributors to attend the market in order to maintain their spot for fellow Cannes conference Mipcom, which takes place next week.

Lucy Smith, deputy director of Reed Miden’s television division, said: “Our primary focus is to create a new experience that delivers a global content market for the future, for exhibitors and buyers. Our consultations showed the former want flexibility and cost-effectiveness and the latter want access to fresh new content and exclusive market intelligence.

“The changes we have put in place have been co-created with them to offer exactly that. Change is not always easy and we appreciate that we need to work closely with distributors so they can make the most of the new MipTV, but we are hugely encouraged by the positive response from many of our partners and are confident that MipTV 2020 will deliver the exhibition experience we need to support the industry now and in the future.”