Record attendance at MIPCOM

According to the figures released by Reed Midem in Paris, this year's MIPCOM was the best yet, with 13,371 people attending - 17% more than last year. Significantly, international buyers were up 10% up on last year. Things look good for the "content" business.

Entertainment Master Class launches at Cannes

TV is set to remain the most important entertainment format for some time - and certainly if the Entertainment Master Class has anything to do with it. Launched during MIPCOM, this event is intended as a launch pad for new TV production and direction talent. The international format academy is an initiative of the Potsdam-based Erich Pommer Institut and offers worldwide unique training for the development, production, marketing and distribution of programme formatting for entertainment television.

At the opening reception, ITV entertainment boss and member of the EMC Advisory Board, Paul Jackson said: “With the television format business now officially worth billions of dollars worldwide, you could say we are long overdue in having a properly accredited academy where experts in the field can pass on their knowledge and insights on how the business runs. The Entertainment Master Class is the right idea at the right time.”

See Entertainment Master Class for details.

India uses MIPCOM to showcase spectacular growth

India's importance as an audiovisual producer has been growing steadily over the past ten years, reflected in the 70+ Indians that are currently at MIPCOM in Cannes. According to The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), revenues from television industry alone are expected to grow from $4.2 billion to $11 billion by 2011. "The Indian entertainment industry has outperformed the country's economy and is one of the fastest growing sectors," said Amit Mitra, secretary general of FICCI. Two key players - Subhash Chandra of Zee Network and Ronnie Screwvala of the UTV group - spoke of the country's rapidly expanding entertainment landscape on MIPCOM's opening day. The Zee network is widely known amongst the vast Indian diaspora worldwide, and India is already the world's third largest pay-TV market. But producers are looking more closely at building awareness outside this group as well.

NEWS FROM MIPCOM Junior. According to a report in the Hollywood Reporter, although business was brisk at MIPCOM Junior, producers are saying that it is becoming harder to sell new products into the market. In the UK, a downturn in commissions from ITV and BBC is pushing prodcos to look towards international partners at a time when multi-party deals are falling out of favour.

To get live news from MIPCOM, check the live interviews being conducted from MIPCOM by CNBC Europe.

MIPCOM Mobile and TV awards on Second Life

There's nothing like practicing what you preach. MIPCOM has been championing new media for some time now. For the third time the event will host the Mobile and TV Awards for innovative programming in "cross-media" formats. What's new this year is that they are showcasing the event on the online game Second Life.
Categories include:

1. Best Short Form Audiovisual Entertainment made for Mobile and/or Internet:
Drama
2. Best Short Form Audiovisual Entertainment made for Mobile and/or Internet:
Comedy
3. Best Short Form Audiovisual Entertainment made for Mobile and/or Internet:
Lifestyle/Music
4. Best Short Form Audiovisual Entertainment made for Mobile and/or Internet:
Factual
5. Best Cross Platform & interactive Mobile TV Format
6. Best Made-for-Mobile TV or Film Channel
7. Best Mobile service for Social Community & User-Generated Content
8. Best Short Film originally Created or Repurposed for Mobile
9. Best Film shot on a Mobile Device

The nominees will be announced in September. Check back for details. MIPCOM will be held October 8-12.

MIPCOM Mobile TV Awards

Although it's not the only thing to happen at MIPCOM, the Mobile TV Awards generated a lot of buzz. It's certainly true that the media landscape is undergoing massive changes, with TV shows now available as paid downloads. This opens the door in terms of new distribution possibilities and the so-called "long tail" of revenue after intial broadcasting.

The mobile sector is also growing significantly. No one is entirely what it will grow into, of course, but there's a general feeling that more can be done than offering re-runs of material from other media. But as one participant pointed out, although the telcos are very excited about offering exciting new content to their subscribers, few are willing to invest in actual production.

Anyway, here is the drum-roll for this year's awards:

. Best Original Made- for- Mobile Film or Video Content
"Jokes", Green Paddy Animation Studio (Taiwan)
. Best Repurposed Content From Existing Film or TV Property
"On This Day in History (OTDIH)", ITN ON (UK)
. Best Made- for-Mobile TV Channel
NHK Mobile-G Channel, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) (Japan)
. Best Format for Interactive Mobile TV
"Forget the Rules", Global Dilemma Pty Ltd. (Australia)
. Best Mobile Format for User-Generated Content
3 Mobile's See Me TV service, 3 Mobile (UK)
. The Orange Grand Prize For Innovation
"Soccer Addicts", Buongiorno (Italy).

To check the Best Format for Interactive, visit Australia's Forget the Rules. In their own words, "Why just watch when you can control what happens".

Icelandic celeb protests own show at MIPCOM

What would Cannes be without a good PR stunt? Icelandic celebrity Silvia Night, whose song was almost banned from the last Eurovision song contest for naughty language, is in town to protest against her own show. Night is a character featured in The Silvia Night Show. But she claims she is deliberately being made to look bad. "The series The Silvia Night Show is total junk. I am a little goodhearted girl who only does things which are good, and the people behind the T.V. series are making me look really bad. They were always making me look like a total bitch and only show the worst bits and never show the parts where I'm really good. So if anybody tries to sell you the show in Cannes do not buy it."

You have been warned.

Stars lined up for MIPCOM

There's nothing like a star to add a little buzz to a trade fair. This year's MIPCOM, that kicks off on Oct. 9, will see a few fly in. The stars of "Prison Break" are guests, as is the former James Bond Pierce Brosnan, in Cannes to promote the sequel to 1999's gentleman thief flick "The Thomas Crown Affair". British comedian and author Stephen Fry, who recently hosted a touching documentary series on bi-polarity (aka clinical depression) for the BBC will be the special MIPCOM guest of Portman Entertainment. US comic fraternity the Wayans brothers will be promoting "Thugaboo", their new kids animation series.

Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons is MIPCOM Personality of the Year

This year's MIPCOM Personality of the Year is industry heavyweight Richard D. Parsons, CEO and Chairman of Time Warner. Parsons is credited with turning Time Warner's results around, overseeing the success of New Line Cinema, AOL, Warner Brothers and other divisions. “In an ever-evolving world defined by constant technological and demographic change, Time Warner - with its long tradition of innovation and creativity - continues to shape not only our industry, but the culture we live in," said Reed Midem boss Paul Zilk. Parsons himself declared: "This award is a testament to the more than 85,000 Time Warner employees who are the creative source for all that we do. I dedicate it to them and to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who continue to inspire us to provide the best in entertainment and information in these rapidly changing times.”

Parsons will receive the award at a gala evening on October 11 at MIPCOM in Cannes, France.

Backtrack

MIPCOM early bird deadline: Sept 7

If you're considering attending MIPCOM this year, don't forget to sign up in time for the Early Bird rate. September 7 is the last day you can benefit from savings of €300 on the walk-in rate. Just under 12,000 people from over 1,500 companies attended last year.

MIPCOM 2006 will again feature the Mobile TV Awards (deadline: Sept. 4) that "recognise outstanding achievement in mobile film and video content as well as honouring innovation in new Mobile TV formats".

This year will also for the first time feature a special section for cinema producers attending the event. For details of this and more, visit MIPCOM.com.

UPDATE: Young producers from Berlin might be interested in the following:

TV: Send in Cannes entries now: “How to Mip” makes it to round four
(Entry deadline: August 25th, 2006 for MIPCOM; October 9th – 13th, 2006; Cannes)
Now through August 25th, young television producers from Berlin-Brandenburg can enter Medienboard’s “How to Mip” contest. The submission of a brief outline of a proposed TV project and a short company description are enough to send young TV professionals to the international television trade fair MIPCOM (October 9th – 13th, 2006) in Cannes. Register with b.reuter@medienboard.de.