The international market took place in Cannes with a with a reduced format in terms of exhibition space, the presence of European companies and a timid participation of Latin execs, and, given the evolution of the industry, sowing more questions than certainties.

*By Sebastián Amoroso and Rodrigo Ros, from Cannes, France

The 60th edition of Miptv came to an end this Wednesday, April 19, after three days of activities at the Palais des Festivals, in Cannes.

The international content and co-production market -according to figures disclosed by the organization and highlighted by Lucy Smith, head of Miptv, in the traditional press conference held on the morning of this last day-, had more than 180 stands and 530 exhibiting companies, and 1,600 buyers from more than 80 countries, including TV channels, distributors, studios, producers and streamers.

This anniversary edition of the event located on the French Riviera, which on Monday night had its anniversary celebration with a party at The Majestic de la Croisette hotel -with cake and candles included-, marked the pulse with a low tone of a television industry in permanent evolution that adapts to an increasingly virtual and globalized world, but seems not still seek classic television formats.

In this sense, as expected, this was a truly European market, with a timid presence of Latin American companies, especially TelevisaUnivision, which presented dramas from Las Estrellas, along with ViX original productions, led by the Montecristo series, starring William Leavy.

Likewise, TV Azteca from Mexico, Caracol Televisión from Colombia and Globo from Brazil expanded the presence of Latin American producers and distributors, who in this market made dramas a strong point in their international sales strategies for the regions of Europe, East and Asia.

“Before the pandemic, fewer melodramas were being produced in Latin America. We went to the big miniseries. Let’s remember that the Turks came in very strong with our stories. We have realized that the audiences like those stories”, said José Escalante, from Latin Media Corporation.

“Now we are seeing countries like Peru, Mexico or Colombia return to drama production. This allows the international market that is asking for this type of content to come out,” analyzed the executive.

The presence of Spanish delegations in the hands of Audiovisual from Spain, the ICEX umbrella for the promotion of production companies and distributors, as well as Catalan Films, a unit of the Government of Catalonia that promoted some 20 companies in the Spanish region, among which was Cabal Films, one of the MipDoc winners, with the documentary La caravana.

And, as usual, the three days had a very strong presence of Turkish companies, under the umbrella of the Turkish Chamber of Commerce, among which were Acun Medya, ATV Distribution, Calinos Entertainment, Inter Medya, Global Agency , Kanal D International, Madd Entertainment and TRT, among others; being one of the neuralgic points of the Palais.

In this sense, Turkish public channel TRT, announced that in the coming weeks it will launch an OTT platform to the international market, which will be available in the coming months in Latin America.

In parallel, Merzigo, a Turkish technology and media company, sealed a new four-year strategic alliance with production company Medyapim, through which it will seek the global distribution of Turkish content, covering numerous regions such as Latin America, Africa and Asia, with a wide range of titles and more than 20 language options.

American localization companies such as Universal Cinergia, The Kitchen and Dinter were also present, confirming the good moment that the dubbing and subtitling business is going through, thanks to the high demand and consumption of multi-territorial content, which the globalization of streaming platforms has boosted.

Moreover, Miptv had a wide agenda of conferences, keynotes and panels throughout the week, around key issues in the industry, which include the rise of FAST channels, international co-production, and various business models to exploit. content today, the classic presentation of The Wit on the latest trends in entertainment formats, as well as launches and presentations.

Regarding Hispanic platforms, Rakuten TV, one of the leading streamers in Europe, announced during the first edition of the FAST Channels Summit, the launch of new channels, including multiple genres, such as movies, documentaries, series and children’s.It was also the turn of the launch of Monaco TV, at the Carlton Hotel, a project of the Principality with a varied programming, to which a total of 15 million euros will be allocated.

Likewise, in the Auditorium A of the Palais des Festivals, the Ready, Set, Startup! format of the company Pictures in Motion was launched. And Tuesday at sunset was the presentation of SoFast, a company of Israeli origin with a presence in multiple territories, with ambitious plans for landing in Latin America.

After this special edition of Miptv, in its 60th anniversary, the following weeks will be devoted to seeing how the market will evolve and how the post-pandemic industry will continue to be shaped by new trends.