Mip TV director Lucy Smith talks about US majors in Cannes as the annual market pivots towards an “efficient business” approach

Exclusive: The influx of US studios and streamers headed to Mip TV next week should ease losses for some of Europe’s largest distributors, says Lucy Smith, who manages the annual market.

Delegates from Netflix, Amazon and HBO make their way to Cannes as streamers quickly make their way to Europe and seek content for their growing platforms, with HBO chief Max Global Johannes Larcher ready to provide keywords, as he studies traditional Fox, Sony and Lionsg. , Universal, Warner Bros., Paramount, eOne and A + E will be featured in some way.

While not everyone exhibits (Warner Bros. intends to take its traditional booth, but many simply send delegations), Smith has welcomed the arrival of so many great beasts in the pond, including new outlets on the market like Fox Alternative Entertainment. .

“It adds a really strong presence and the United States is very important to the market as a whole,” Smith told Deadline.

With February London shows already part of the annual distribution schedule, US delegations could make up for the loss of some major European distributors, such as ITV Studios and Banijay Rights, although Smith pointed out that they would still be in Cannes.

“Some of the major European players have been prioritizing the London screen for several years, so it’s not surprising,” he added. “But the projections allow buyers to see the content and that leads to more meetings that can be held at the Mip, so there are always opportunities.”

“Efficient business”

After two difficult years with significant results for RX France, the newly established company that manages Mip TV, this year is the first in three years to be held in attendance and presents a new “effective trading” approach. This is in addition to Mipcom’s biggest October event.

Mip TV will be more focused on face-to-face meetings, with the floor plan modeled on the Palais, while the fraternal events Mip Doc and Mip Formats are involved in a larger market.

“When we spoke to customers, they said they wanted to expand their presence in some other way,” added Smith. “Mipcom is undoubtedly the biggest on the calendar and we wanted to offer them an alternative with Mip TV”.

That said, more Mipcom attendees, around 5,000, are expected from Mipcom last October, although the latter had limited access due to the coronavirus.

Some participants will come from Ukraine, Mip TV will unveil an additional pavilion and a Tuesday afternoon session for the Ukrainian delegation, which will come after a nearly six-week war with Russia, a nation that has practically banned the market.

“It is extremely important that our Ukrainian clients are represented in some way, so offering a pavilion will give them this space and help popularize the content in the panel session,” continued Smith.

Former Disney CEO Kevin Meyer, Sony Wayne Garvey and Bad Wolfe Jane Tranter, big names in the global content market, also talk about the market, which Smith says would give panel sessions a “next-generation feel.”

Candle Media co-CEO Meyer is considering creating the next generation media company with Moonbug Entertainment CEO Rene Rehtman.

And while Mip TV has had to adapt its many approaches to the online world, nothing is going to be as good as the global television industry in one place on the Croisette, Smith added.

“The absolute response from our customers has been that there is nothing better than a face-to-face market. This need on the personal side of the company is very lacking. “