One of the main changes this year will see the launch of the Seaview Producers Hub, a networking lounge and event space for “creators, producers, commissioners and development executives” stretching across more than 10,000-sq-feet and positioned as a new centre for cross-border co-production and development activities.
The bread-and-butter business of licensing deals will remain part of MIPCOM but that has become a year-round activity and is one aspect of the industry that can be efficiently done online. That fact has rocked the industry events business. MIPCOM, at least, looks in ruder health. Smith estimates some 10,000 delegates from 101 countries will be in attendance in Cannes next week, including 3,000 buyers, the majority from the U.S. Every major global player will be there in some form, from Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV to every major studio, including Disney, Paramount and NBCUniversal —“back in full force” notes Smith — and the newly-merged Warner Bros. Discovery.
Returning to this market after a three-year absence will be Fox with its new Fox Entertainment Global sales unit, headed up by CEO Fernando Szew. MIPCOM will be Fox Entertainment Global’s coming out party. Speaking tobefore the market, Szew said the company would be offering international partners a real alternative to the siloed approach of the big studios with their in-house streaming platforms.