As international TV market Mipcom — the first full-strength edition of the fall confab since 2019 — prepares to come to a close in Cannes on Thursday, PvNew presents the top takeaways from a vibrant market.
Mipcom Proves Itself
Those of us who saw tumbleweeds rolling across the Croisette at a painfully quiet Mipcom 2021 and Miptv earlier this year will know that this Mipcom was the first since since pre-pandemic times that the international TV industry has congregated from all over the globe. Morale was sky high as sellers saw their Asian contacts for the first time in three years, and U.S. studios assured global buyers amid a strained period of domestic consolidation. While specialized markets such as Series Mania, MIA, Realscreen and Sunny Side of the Doc returned this year, delegates seemed to recognize the value of having the entire industry together in one place. Mip organizer RX has confirmed that MipTV is indeed going ahead in April — and will likely face the perennial struggle of getting exhibitor buy-in — but if there’s anything no one is questioning, it’s the fact that Mipcom is an essential meeting of minds for television.
One Big Transmedia Universe to Rule Them All
There’s been a metaverse effect on the media M&A front that promises to play a huge part in shaping entertainment in the future. Thomas Dey, president and CEO of ACF investment bank, told a Mipcom audience Oct. 19 that content-related buying and selling activity is increasingly powered by IP assets that have “transmedia” written all over them. Dey acknowledged that the T-word was in vogue a decade or so ago and never quite came to fruition. But with social media and truly massive gaming platforms that thread together affinity groups that are not bound by time or space in an on-demand environment, this could change.
Dey came to Mipcom to talk about the unusual and complex sale of certain rights, including video gaming, to Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” The buyer was Sweden-based Embracer, which has quietly been scooping up gaming-related companies, in addition to Dark Horse Comics. “We’ve always talked about the connectivity between the different boxes of monetization [for content]. It hasn’t really happened,” Dey said. “Now when we realize the power of established IP and the ability to monetize what they’re doing. The fact that [companies like Embracer] are coming in from these angles tells those of us who are mostly in the film and TV area that this is a really strong area of growth.”
ITV Studios Sales Rumors Fly
The potential sale of producer-distributor ITV Studios was the talk of Mipcom following a surprise Financial Times report on Oct. 17 revealing that U.K. broadcaster ITV was fielding expressions of interest to sell off a stake in the business. (Reported suitors Banijay and Fremantle have so far rubbished claims of their interest.) ITV Studios executives in Cannes on Monday appeared genuinely stunned by the news, which can’t have been great for morale among sales staff before the year’s biggest market. Many also questioned the report’s legitimacy given how crucial pipeline is to any broadcaster. However, with only an estimated third of ITV Studios sales going to the channel, and CEO Carolyn McCall desperate to boost her share price, a sale could indeed be on the horizon. Sources told PvNew that ITV Studios bosses have admitted to extreme pressure to keep up momentum and grow the outfit.
Will There Be Any Independent Distributors Left?
Banijay Group shocked the industry when it revealed plans to acquire Australia-headquartered distributor Beyond International. The deal, which Banijay CEO Marco Bassetti told PvNew was a play for high-end English-language factual, came off the back of acquisitions of Drive and Eccho Rights. Multiple sources have told PvNew that everyone from Beyond’s senior team to its production partners only found out about the deal in the press (likely due to Banijay now being a publicly listed company), and that urgent talks between Banijay and Beyond took place in Cannes to smooth out a rocky start.
Ultimately, it’s the perfect example of producers — particularly those without “change of control” clauses in their contracts — losing out as their shows get buried in massive catalogs. Of course, companies that do stand to gain are the few remaining independents, such as Cineflix Rights, which PvNew understands is not being acquired by Fremantle despite some market rumors. Cineflix Rights CEO Tim Mutimer, the former head of Banijay Rights, tells PvNew that producers are saying specifically that they’re keen to work with smaller outfits that can give bespoke care to their shows.
Run FAST For Your AVOD
The domination of AVOD and FAST channels as sources of revenue for sellers with deep catalogs is undoubtable. Some in Cannes predicted that FAST channels themselves may soon begin commissioning content as they become more profitable. Others say the ad-supported tiers that will soon roll out on streamers like Netflix will only serve to lift AVOD services that are actually free. “People talk about ‘AVOD Netflix and AVOD Disney+,’ and they’re really not,” explains Danny Fisher, CEO of studio and AVOD provider FilmRise. “What’s missing in the conversation is that there’s a very big difference between a lower-price tier with ads, and free. Free is free, and even when you’re paying $3.99 or $6.99, it’s more than a lot of people can afford. I believe the premium SVODs like Netflix or Disney+ adding a low-cost, ad-supported tier will accelerate the migration from SVOD to AVOD.”
Vertical Integration Be Damned, Studios are Still Selling Globally
U.S. studios may be prioritizing their streaming counterparts to compete with Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video, but to say they’ve entirely stopped serving the international market would be wrong. This week, Paramount Global flew “Knives Out” director Rian Johnson from London to Cannes for a day to pitch his new TV series “Poker Face” to global buyers. Lisa Kramer, president of international TV licensing for Paramount Global Content Distribution, says offers for the “hyper-premium” Peacock series are already flying in and a pre-sale has been secured.
“Where we can, we will look at creative windowing,” says Kramer. “The reason we do that is because we’ll actually get better distribution and awareness by being able to share an appropriate window with a broadcaster.” Meanwhile, Disney+ and Paramount+ are also demonstrating a flexibility that’s benefiting distributors. For example, Paramount+ has its original “Last King of the Cross” for Australia but Cineflix Rights is selling the show internationally. “It gives us a real opportunity to work with global players when they’re looking at local productions,” says Mutimer. “If something has legs, we invest in it for rest of the world.”
Be Where You Are
As the global content business grows apace, Hollywood studios are more in need of international development and production expertise than ever before. Rola Bauer, president of MGM International Television Productions, is based in Munich, for good reason. Her proximity to all of Europe is good for business with her mandate to produce high-end series for streamers and to pursue co-productions for other platforms. “The paradigm on local-language has shifted to companies allowing creatives to talk to somebody who’s a decision-maker who’s in their own time zone,” Bauer said during her Oct. 17 session. An alumnus of Canal+, Studiocanal, ProSieben and Tandem, Bauer credits MGM leadership with “understanding that we can build a lot in Europe when we have a lot of people here working during our daytime as opposed to being driven from an L.A. perspective.” It comes down to quality of life for those in the fertile TV co-production arena. “Talent would rather be having a cocktail [in the evenings] rather than dealing with an L.A. conference call,” Bauer observed.
English-Language Series on a High
Streamers may be investing in local content, but international TV groups and producers still favor the English language for shows with significant budgets. Executives say it opens the door to higher international pre-sales and co-production opportunities. During Mipcom, a number of execs, including Ludovic Attal, senior VP of production financing strategy at MGM Intl. TV Productions, said the company was primarily pursuing English-language series even if these are produced locally, outside of the U.S. Attal presented trailers for “The Reunion,” a TV adaptation of Guillaume Musso’s bestseller “La jeune fille et la nuit” (produced by Sydney Gallonde), and “Last Light” with “Lost” actor Matthew Fox (produced by NENT and Gallonde). Both titles have sold widely.
Newen, the TF1-owned group, is also increasingly pursuing English-language projects, said Newen Connect’s boss Rodolphe Buet during the banner’s Mipcom presentation. Newen’s production label Capa Drama just delivered “Marie Antoinette,” a period show about the last queen of France, which was created by “The Favorite”’s Deborah Davis. The series was sold by Banijay Rights to PBS on the eve of Mipcom.
Period Pieces (Still) in Vogue
Historical series have always been attractive, and the market is now seeing the launch of more intimate, character-driven series with a subjective point of view. “Marie Antoinette” is one of the many female-driven series biopics that were on sale at Mipcom. Another high-profile title, “Diane de Poitiers,” which is being repped by France Televisions, stars Isabelle Adjani as the long-time favorite of French King Henri II. Elsewhere, Sydney Gallonde at Make it Happen Studio is partnering up with MGM intl. TV Productions on a biopic of Eugene Bullard who fled racial segregation and lynchings in the U.S. and moved to Paris in 1914, later becoming one of the Black American military pilots.
True Crime and True Lies
Virginia Mouseler of The Wit noted during a Fresh Fiction presentation of notable international series at Mipcom that “true crime, true lies and men lying” were the central themes to a raft of hot scripted titles being shopped. True crime titles include Banijay Rights’ “Bali,” the U.K.’s “Maxine,” Belgium’s “1985” and Dutch skein “The Crash,” both from Studiocanal. Meanwhile, stories of men lying ran a gamut from Newen Content’s “For Better or Worse” to ZDF Studios’ German title “Dear Vivi” and France’s “Serial Lover.” Other titles show women attempting to forge the lives they want for themselves, despite cancer (Norway’s “Afterglow”), being branded as disabled (Spain’s “Simple”) or a sex change (France’s “about Sasha”).
