Over 13,700 delegates from 108 countries, including more than 4,800 acquisition executives, of which 1,600 were acquiring for digital platforms, gathered in Cannes for the 31st edition of MIPCOM.
Following Saturday’s floods, it was almost business as usual at MIPCOM. WiFi and internet access was difficult at most places, people were lining up before ATMs to get their hands on cash, there was no hot water in some hotels and a few events were moved to another location.
OTT took centre stage at this year’s MIPCOM, bringing together international broadcasters, the US majors, TV production and sales companies, digital powerhouses such as YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Facebook, Amazon Studios, Twitter and newer OTT players like UK-based Hopster or Icflix Media in the Middle East. MIPCOM focused considerable conference attention on how OTT, SVOD and streaming services are transforming business models and strategies.
According to Andrew Moss, CCO at media strategy consultancy Oliver & Ohlbaum, audiences of the future will consume content by “distribution methods we haven’t even contemplated yet.” He told a Carriage Deal Forum meeting that opportunities remain for channel operators, particularly in the BRICS countries.
Speaker after MIPCOM speaker talked of the power and importance of great content and the necessity to form strategic partnerships in the multiplatform entertainment ecosystem.
Media Mastermind keynote Sophie Turner Laing, Endemol Shine Group’s CEO, poured cold water on those who predict the death of TV. She told her MIPCOM audience that in one of the most exciting times for the business, forming partnerships with different media creators will be the path forward in the multiplatform world. She said that Icon, the new Endemol Shine joint venture with YouTube superstar Michelle Phan, was an example of this kind of partnership.
Endemol Shine generated plenty of media coverage at MIPCOM as it announced a multi-year strategic partnership with DreamWorks Animation’s online youth network AwesomenessTV. The deal sees Endemol Shine helping to launch AwesomenessTV channels in new markets including France, UK, Germany, Spain and Brazil.
ITV’s CEO, Adam Crozier made a stirring defence of traditional television telling his MIPCOM keynote audience that “channel brands are not dead…TV is the most powerful medium in the world – the internet would love to have what we have.”
